Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Jamaica (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is bound to repeat its previous comments on the application of Article 4 of the Convention which concerned:

–      the denial of the right to negotiate collectively in the case of workers in a bargaining unit when these workers do not amount to more than 40 per cent of the workers in the unit or when, if the former condition is satisfied, a single union that is engaged in the procedure of obtaining recognition does not obtain 50 per cent of the votes of the workers in a ballot that the minister has caused to be taken (section 5(5) of Act No. 14 of 1975 and section 3(1)(d) of its regulations);

–      the need to take measures to amend the legislation so that a ballot is made possible where one or more trade unions are already established as bargaining agents and another trade union claims that it has more affiliated members in the bargaining unit than the other trade unions, and therefore invokes its most representative status in the unit in order to be considered as a bargaining agent.

Recalling once again that, by ratifying the Convention, the State undertook to promote collective bargaining and that this implied granting of collective bargaining rights to the most representative trade union or (jointly) trade unions, the Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures in order to amend its legislation, lowering the percentage mentioned and allowing a ballot in cases of conflicts of representativeness, so as to bring it into full conformity with the Convention in the very near future. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.

The Committee also notes the comments on the application of the Convention submitted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) which refer in part to issues already raised. The ITUC refers also to some comments concerning anti-union discrimination and refusal to recognize a union and states that no union exists in the export processing zones.

The Committee requests the Government to send its observations on the ITUC’s comments.