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Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Argentina (RATIFICATION: 1960)

Article 2 of the Convention. The right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to form and join organisations of their own choosing. The Committee noted that under section 23(a) of Act No. 23551, the trade union association has the right to represent its members' individual interests, while associations which are granted trade union status under section 31(a) of the Act, have the exclusive right to further the individual and collective rights of workers. The Government states in its report that the definition of "worker" in section 1 of implementing Decree No. 467/88 does not prevent the establishment of trade unions of self-employed workers and that a trade union association can, at the request of the party concerned, represent the individual interests of workers in accordance with section 23 of the Act. The Committee requests the Government to indicate explicitly whether such representation can be carried on in the event that an organisation having trade union status exists in the same field of activity.

Article 3(1). The right of workers to elect their representatives. Section 18(c) of the Act on trade union associations requires, as one of the conditions to become a member of an executive body, membership of the trade union association and to have been engaged in the activity represented by the association for at least two years; the Committee considered that greater flexibility should be given to these clauses, that persons who have worked previously in the occupation should be acceptable to have access to trade union office and that the requirement of exercising the occupation should be withdrawn for a reasonable proportion of the officers of the organisations.

The Government states that section 18(c) ensures that trade union officers have acquired sufficient practical experience, particulary since in the Argentinian trade unions there are in fact no full-time trade unionists. The Committee considers that in general it should be for the statutes of trade unions and not the legislation to impose, where appropriate, conditions as regards whether persons should belong to a profession in order to hold trade union office.