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Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Caribbean Part of the Netherlands

The Committee takes note of the observations provided by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) in a communication received on 1 September 2014.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of workers’ organizations to organize their administration and activities. The Committee recalls that, in its previous comments relating to the Netherlands Antilles, it had been commenting for a number of years upon the need to amend section 374(a), (b) and (c) of the Penal Code and section 82 of Ordinance No. 159 of 1964 containing the Conditions of Service of Public Servants, which prohibited public employees, including teachers, from striking under penalty of imprisonment. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that not all Dutch legislation and policies apply directly to the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, which became part of the country, and that the Antilles legislation that was in force on these three islands prior to 10 October 2010 remained the same. The Committee has noted with interest the decisions taken by the Governments of Curaçao and Sint Maarten to withdraw the reservation formerly made for the then Netherlands Antilles rendering Article 6(4) of the European Social Charter (right to strike) not applicable to civil servants. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether a similar decision is being envisaged for the Caribbean Part of the Netherlands, and requests the Government to indicate the measures contemplated or taken to amend the Penal Code, as well as section 82 of Ordinance No. 159 of 1964, so as to bring the legislation of the Caribbean Part of the Netherlands into conformity with the Convention.