Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Jamaica (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report. It recalls that it has been commenting for several years now on the necessity to amend sections 9 and 10, paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8 of the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act No. 14 of 1975, as amended in 1978, which empower the Minister to submit industrial disputes to compulsory arbitration and hence to terminate any strike in cases of essential services which, in the Committee's view, are too broadly defined in the legislation and where a dispute is likely to be "gravely injurious to the national interest".

In its latest report, the Government indicates that it is in the process of re-examining the legislation and that instructions have already been given to eliminate those services on the list of essential services which cannot be defined as essential in the strictest sense of the term. A tripartite Labour Advisory Committee has been established and a number of amendments to the Act have been proposed, submitted to Cabinet and further referred to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel with drafting instructions.

With regard to the power of the Minister to refer an industrial dispute to compulsory arbitration, the Government indicates that there is scope in the Act for such a decision being overturned in Parliament and that section 10, which provides for such referral where a dispute is likely to be gravely injurious to the national interest, has not been used in the last two decades and, prior to 1978, was only used twice. It adds that the rationale for this section flows entirely from considerations of national interest and is not intended to deprive workers and employers of their rights to freedom of association.

The Committee would once again recall that the wording of section 10 can be broadly interpreted in such a way as to permit the use of compulsory arbitration in situations other than those involving essential services or in acute national crises. It therefore hopes that, along with the proposals made to restrict the sectors covered by the term "essential services", measures will be taken to amend this section so that the imposition of compulsory arbitration be clearly limited to essential services or acute national crises; otherwise, recourse to compulsory arbitration may only occur at the request of the two parties concerned in the dispute. Given that the Government has been indicating for several years now that the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act is undergoing review, the Committee trusts that the Government will be able to indicate in its next report the progress made in bringing this Act into conformity with the principles of freedom of association and requests the Government to furnish a copy of any proposed or adopted amending text in this regard. Furthermore, the Government is requested to continue to indicate whether section 10 is used in the future and, if so, under what circumstances.