Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Djibouti (Ratification: 1978)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received.

In its previous comments, the Committee noted the comments contained in the communications from the Labour Union of Djibouti (UDT), the General Union of Djibouti Workers (UGTD) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received between 2005 and 2007 denouncing dismissals and acts of discrimination and anti-union interference in the postal and other sectors. In this respect, the Committee requested the Government to order without delay an independent investigation into the alleged acts. The Committee notes that, in a report of May 2008, the Government indicates that the matter was the subject of in-depth discussions with the direct contacts mission which visited Djibouti in 2008, which encouraged all the parties to bring an end to the disputes. The Government also indicated that it would provide information on developments in the situation. The Committee, observing that the Government has not provided any information since then, requests it to indicate the cases referred to which have been resolved and to specify the cases in which the penalties established by the law were imposed when violations of the rights set out in the Convention were found to have been committed.

The Committee notes the comments of the ITUC, dated 26 August 2009, indicating that the ILO mission to Djibouti in January 2008 had offered some hope of an opening, but that the commitments made on that occasion by the Government, including those relating to the reinstatement of workers and trade unionists who suffered abusive dismissal, have not been given effect. The ITUC also denounces the pressure exerted on the Postal Union. Following the dismissal of its Secretary-General and the defection of two members of its executive board, the union had to establish a new executive board headed by Abdourahman Ali Omar, who had been reinstated in his job following suspension. However, the management interrupted the check-off of workers’ trade union dues, thereby preventing the union from defending the rights of postal workers. The Committee notes with concern the deterioration in the situation in the postal sector and urges the Government to provide its observations in reply to the ITUC’s comments.

The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide a copy of the Decree envisaged under section 282 of the Labour Code, establishing the structure and procedures of the National Joint Committee on Collective Agreements and Wages, and any relevant information on its work.