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Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Montserrat

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Article 4 of the Convention. Promotion of collective bargaining. The Committee had previously referred to the need to amend the Labour Code in order to ensure that if there was no union representing the 50 per cent threshold of representativeness required to be designated as the collective bargaining agent, collective bargaining rights would be granted to the existing unions, jointly or separately, at least on behalf of their own members. The Committee had also noted that the Government was in the process of amending the Labour Code, and that the Committee’s comments would be given due consideration. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the current requirements for collective bargaining are well established for many years and are the same for the establishment of most if not all unions. The Government nevertheless indicates that the 1995 volcanic activity caused massive dismantlement of trade unions, as the businesses were destroyed and the workforce significantly reduced; as the economy is still recovering, and the workforce is facing high employees and migrants’ turnover, serious challenges are encountered in the establishment of trade unions, in particular in the private sector. The Committee takes due note of the mentioned challenges to unionization and stresses that they make even more necessary the need to ensure that the legal threshold for entering into collective negotiations has the effect of promoting rather than dissuading unionization and collective bargaining. The Committee therefore regrets that no steps appear to have been taken by the Government to amend sections 163–185 of the Labour Code. It recalls once again that if no union in a specific negotiating unit meets the required threshold of representativeness to be able to negotiate on behalf of all workers, minority trade unions should be able to negotiate, jointly or separately, at least on behalf of their own members. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the Labour Code, in line with the Committee’s previous comments and without further delay, in order to ensure that if there is no union representing the required percentage to be designated as the collective bargaining agent, collective bargaining rights are granted to the existing unions, jointly or separately, at least on behalf of their own members. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on all progress made in this regard.