Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Namibia (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee notes the provisions of the new Labour Act of 2007.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and interference. The Committee notes that the Labour Act of 2007 prohibits and sanctions acts of anti-union discrimination, as well as acts of interference by the employer in the internal affairs of a trade union. The Act also provides for reinstatement and the issuance of back pay compensation awards as remedies for acts of anti-union discrimination. The Committee further notes that allegations of anti-union discrimination or interference may be referred to the Labour Commissioner for referral to arbitration, and cases alleging anti-union discrimination suits may also be brought before the Labour Court. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the rapidness of the arbitration procedures in cases alleging anti-union discrimination and interference, including the average time period for the disposal of such cases.

Article 4. Recognition for purposes of collective bargaining. The Committee notes that section 64(1) of the Labour Act states that “a registered trade union that represents the majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit is entitled to recognition as the exclusive bargaining agent of the employees in that bargaining unit for the purpose of negotiating a collective agreement on any matter of mutual interest”. Furthermore, section 64(2) prohibits an employer or employers’ organization from recognising a trade union as an exclusive bargaining agent unless the requirements of section 64(1) have been fulfilled. In these circumstances, the Committee recalls that problems may arise when the law stipulates that a trade union must receive the support of 50 per cent of the members of a bargaining unit to be recognized as a bargaining agent: a majority union which fails to secure this absolute majority is thus denied the possibility of bargaining. The Committee also recalls that in these conditions, if no union covers more than 50 per cent of the workers, collective bargaining rights should be granted to all the unions in this unit, at least on behalf of their own members (see General Survey of 1994 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 241). The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate whether, if no union covers more than 50 per cent of the workers, the minority unions in the bargaining unit enjoy collective bargaining rights, at least on behalf of their members.

Finally, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether trade union federations and confederations enjoy the right to bargain collectively and, if so, to specify the legal basis for said right.