CMNT_TITLE

Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) - Uruguay (RATIFICATION: 1989)

Articles 1 to 6 of the Convention. Application of the rights established in the Convention to a particular category of workers. The Committee notes the communications received in March and November 2013, in which the National Trade Union of Women Caregivers of Uruguay provides information on the employment situation of caregivers providing foster care for abandoned young persons. The union indicates that despite the fact that the caregivers have an employment relationship with the Uruguayan State, since they provide services for the Children and Young Persons’ Institute which is a government body, the State does not recognize their relationship as one of employment, thereby denying them a number of basic workers’ rights, arguing that this is a voluntary connection between the caregiver and the State. The Committee requests the Government to send its comments on this matter.

Articles 4 and 6. Right to collective bargaining. In its previous observation, the Committee noted the adoption of the Collective Bargaining Act (No. 18508 of 26 June 2009) in the framework of labour relations in the public sector. In its report submitted in August 2014, the Government analyses the content and structure of the aforementioned Act and its functioning in practice. The Committee notes that the bargaining system in the public sector operates in practice, since there are many different bargaining units in which numerous agreements have been concluded. The Committee notes that in terms of pay increases during the 2010–15 period of government, two major framework agreements were concluded, one on 30 December 2010 between the Executive Authority and the Confederation of Civil Servants’ Organizations (COFE) for central government officials and non-commercial and non-industrial entities, the other on 14 January 2011 between officials in commercial and industrial bodies and the trade union coordinating committee. The Government emphasizes that there are a large number of agreements that regulate diverse subjects such as staff recruitment, administrative careers and training. The Committee welcomes this information and invites the Government to continue providing information on the application in practice of Act No. 18508 and on the agreements concluded through collective bargaining in the public sector.