Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Lebanon (Ratification: 1977)

Observations made by the ITUC. In its previous comments the Committee asked the Government to send its observations in reply to the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dated 29 August 2008, according to which the legislation hampers any possibilities of launching collective bargaining, that the authorities interfere in trade union activities and that migrant workers, particularly domestic workers, and Palestinian workers do not have any trade union rights. The Committee notes that the Government refers in its report to the new draft Labour Code, which contains an appropriate definition of collective bargaining, that it refutes the allegation of interference by the authorities in trade union activities, indicating that its role is merely to monitor the smooth running of trade union elections, and that it indicates that domestic workers have the right to join any trade union authorized by the Ministry of Labour. In addition, an amendment is planned to section 59 of the Labour Code in order to grant Palestinian workers the same trade union rights as national workers. The Committee notes the comments dated 24 August 2010 from the ITUC to the effect that the law imposes a high threshold on representative organizations for engaging in collective bargaining, as well as imposing the requirement of obtaining the agreement of two-thirds of the union membership at a general meeting to validate a collective agreement. The Committee requests the Government to send its observations in reply to the comments made in 2010 by the ITUC.

Legislative amendments. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the draft new Labour Code had been the subject of comments from a tripartite committee established pursuant to Ordinance No. 210/1 of 21 December 2000 and that a committee had been given the task of reviewing the draft in order to include certain amendments concerning collective bargaining and collective agreements. The Committee had then reiterated certain points contained in its previous comments so that the Government could take due account of them when finalizing the draft new Labour Code.

Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee previously noted that the draft amendments to the Labour Code had reduced the percentage of representation required by a trade union for collective bargaining from 60 to 51 per cent and asked the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that, if no trade union represents the percentage required in order to be declared as the exclusive bargaining agent, collective bargaining rights are granted to the most representative unions of the unit concerned, at least on behalf of their members. In its report, the Government indicates that, under the terms of section 180 of the draft new Labour Code, the figure of 51 per cent corresponds to the threshold of representativeness required in the bargaining unit nominated by a trade union for engaging in bargaining with respect to a collective labour contract, not a collective agreement. The Committee therefore reiterates its previous comments.

Article 6. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 224(c) of the draft new Labour Code provides with respect to the three public sector enterprises governed by Decree No. 5883 of 1994 (port administration, joint tobacco company and Radio Orient) that, should mediation fail, the dispute will be settled by an arbitration board. The Committee asked the Government to ensure that the draft be amended in such a way that recourse to compulsory arbitration is only at the request of both parties. The Committee recalled that, except in the case of essential services in the strict sense, compulsory arbitration imposed by the authorities or at the request of one party is generally contrary to the principle of the voluntary negotiation of collective agreements established in the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the draft new Labour Code is still under examination and that due account will be taken of the Committee’s comments. The Committee expresses the strong hope that the points which it reiterates above will be taken into account in the finalization of the draft new Labour Code and requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to this end in its next report.

The Committee also notes that the Government has supplied a copy of the draft amendments to the Labour Code with its report. The Committee will continue its examination of these amendments once they have been translated. In the meantime, the Committee reminds the Government of the possibility of availing itself of technical assistance from the Office with respect to the revision of the Labour Code and requests the Government to send a copy of the final legislative text adopted.