Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Portugal (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes the Government's report.

The Committee recalls that for many years its comments have referred to the need to bring into conformity with the Convention and national practice the following provisions of national legislation (which require too high a number of workers and employers to establish a representative organization): section 8(2) of Legislative Decree No. 215/B/75, which requires 10 per cent or 2,000 of the workers concerned, and section 7(2) of Legislative Decree No. 215/C/75, which requires one-quarter of the employers concerned to establish a representative organization; section 8(3) of Legislative Decree No. 215/B/75, which requires one-third of the trade unions of a region or category, and section 7(3) of Legislative Decree No. 215/C/75, which requires a minimum of 30 per cent of employers' associations to establish a group or a federation.

The Committee notes the Government's indication in its report that: (1) sections 8(2) and (3) of Legislative Decree No. 215/B/75 and section 7(2) and (3) of Legislative Decree No. 215/C/75 are no longer in force due to their incompatibility with the Constitution and international Conventions, on the grounds that the Portuguese legal system includes the concept of implicit derogation, which has the same value as explicit derogation; and (2) that the provisions in question will be expressly repealed when the legislation is revised, which is not currently envisaged.

In these conditions, the Committee once again draws the Government's attention to the need to explicitly amend the provisions in question and requests it to transmit with future reports any draft text which it envisages adopting in this respect.