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Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Zambia (RATIFICATION: 1996)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations. With reference to its previous comments concerning the exclusion from the scope of the Labour Relations (Amendment) Act, 1997 (the "Act"), of the prison service, judges and registrars of the court, magistrates and local court justices (section 2 of the Act), the Committee notes with interest that, despite their exclusion from the scope of the Act, judges and magistrates have formed their own association through which they have jointly articulated and protected their rights. The Committee also notes that freedom of association, including the right to form or belong to any trade union, is guaranteed under articles 11 and 21 of the Constitution of Zambia Act, 1991. Nevertheless, the Committee recalls that pursuant to Article 2 of the Convention, workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, are to have the right to form and join organizations of their own choosing, with the only possible exception being the police and armed forces (Article 9 of the Convention). Therefore, the Committee asks the Government to supply the legislation that guarantees the right of association to defend the professional interests of workers in the prison service, judges and registrars of the court, magistrates and local court justices.

2. Article 3. Right to elect their representative freely. Regarding the right of workers’ and employers’ organizations to elect their representatives in full freedom, the Committee recalls that pursuant to sections 18(1)(b) and 43(1)(a) of the Act, a person is disqualified from being an officer of a trade union or employers’ organization if, having been an officer of such an organization whose certificate of registration has been cancelled, the person fails to satisfy the commissioner that he did not contribute to the circumstances leading to such cancellation. The Committee noted the information supplied by the Government in its last report to the effect that these sections were not intended to curtail the right to elect representatives freely but were intended to protect employees’/employers’ organizations from being managed by leaders who have not acquired the desired experience to appreciate the needs of the workers and employers concerned. The Government also indicated that, where an individual’s integrity is in question, such person would be disqualified from being an officer of a trade union or employers’ organization. The Committee recalls that having committed an act, the nature of which is not such as to call into question the integrity of the person concerned and is not such as to be prejudicial to the performance of trade union duties, should not constitute grounds for disqualification from trade union office, and it requests the Government to indicate it in its next reports cases where a person has been disqualified from being an officer of a trade union or employers’ organization in application of sections 18(1)(b) or 43(1)(a).

The Committee asks the Government to forward in its next report the legislation and information requested above.