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

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Sudan (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the comments submitted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in communications of 26 August 2009 and 26 August 2010, referring to the issues the Committee has been raising for a number of years and in particular, trade union monopoly controlled by the Government, denial of trade union rights in the export processing zones (EPZs) and nearly non-existent collective bargaining. The Committee recalls that it had previously requested the Government to provide its observation on similar 2008 ITUC comments. The Committee notes the Government’s reply denying the ITUC allegations, which it considers general, unfounded and mostly political. It also notes the observations of the Sudanese Businessmen and Employers Federation (SBEF) and the Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation (SWTUF). According to the SBEF, Sudanese society is characterized by an active involvement of trade union organizations, which enjoy full freedom in carrying out their activities and participate in tripartite activities, as partners of tripartite social dialogue. Finally, the SBEF indicates that it collaborates with workers and enjoys the right to bilateral negotiations to determine the conditions of work and service in conformity with the legislative provisions in force. The SWTUF concurs with the SBEF. It denies the ITUC comments and stresses the independence of the Sudanese trade union movement, the efficiency of its bodies and its democratic structure. The Committee notes that a new Trade Union Act had been adopted on 28 January 2010. The Committee requests the Government to send this legislation and to indicate if it maintains trade union monopoly.

Violence against trade unionists and repression of trade union rights. In its previous comments, the Committee expressed its deep concern over the allegations of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrest, detention and torture made by the ITUC. The Committee had urged the Government to take the necessary measures to guarantee the personal safety of trade unionists and ensure respect for the rights enshrined in the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government points out that these issues are of a political nature and are not related to the Convention. In this respect, the Committee recalls the Resolution of 1970 concerning trade union rights and their relation to civil liberties which recognizes that “the rights conferred upon workers’ and employers’ organizations must be based on respect for those civil liberties which have been enunciated in particular in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and that the absence of these civil liberties removes all meaning from the concept of trade union rights”. The Resolution refers, in particular, to the right to freedom and security of person and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. The Committee notes with concern the most recent allegations of the ITUC on brutal and fatal repression of workers in the oil sector, who demanded improved working conditions, by security forces. The Committee notes that the Government states that no arrests of workers have occurred at the company in question. The Committee points out that, according to the ITUC, two workers were shot and injured. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations on the ITUC allegations. It urges the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to guarantee the personal safety of trade unionists and ensure respect for the rights enshrined in the Convention. Recalling that trade union rights can only be exercised in a climate that is free from violence and intimidation, the Committee requests the Government to ensure observance of civil liberties and human rights.

Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that it had observed that section 112 of the 1997 Labour Code allowed referral of a collective dispute or a collective labour dispute to compulsory arbitration and had requested the Government to take measures to amend the legislation so that arbitration may only be compulsory with the agreement of both parties, or in the case of essential services. The Committee notes that the ITUC comments also refer to this issue. In this respect, the Committee had previously noted the Government’s indication that a new Labour Code was being prepared (the Committee understands that the reference was made to the draft Labour Code for Northern Sudan) and requested the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in this respect. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the law currently in force is the Labour Code of 1997, which provides for optional phases of resolving conflicts and that a draft Labour Code was sent to the ILO Office in Cairo for review, advice and comments. The Committee has been informed that the Office has indeed provided its assistance with regard to the draft Labour Act of Southern Sudan, section 117(1) of which stipulates that parties “may agree” to refer their dispute to arbitration, however no request for assistance was formally made with regard to the draft Labour Code for Northern Sudan, which is currently pending before the Federal Assembly. The Committee expresses the hope that the new Labour Code (for Northern Sudan) will ensure that compulsory arbitration may only be permitted with the agreement of both parties or in the case of essential services. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the said Code as well as a copy of the Labour Act of Southern Sudan, once these legislative texts are adopted.

Collective bargaining in practice. The Committee previously noted the ITUC’s allegation that collective bargaining was nearly non-existent and that salaries were set by a government-appointed and controlled tripartite body. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Higher Council for Wages, a body responsible for preparing collective agreements and studies on minimum wages, has a tripartite structure. The Government further indicates that it is up to employers and workers at the level of undertaking, factory, province and industry to engage in open bargaining between each other in order to reach agreements which determine their wages. The Government states that there are many collective agreements attesting to it and provides a copy of one such agreement. The Committee requests the Government to keep providing information on the application of the right of collective bargaining in practice, including the number of existing collective agreements as well as the sectors and workers covered, as well as the ways the authorities promote the exercise of this right.

Scope of the application of the Convention. On the issue of trade union rights in the EPZs, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that legislative texts clearly determine the exempted categories of workers employed in the oil exporting zones and the Port of Sudan. The Committee requests the Government to transmit the relevant legislative texts.

The Committee recalls that the only possible exemptions from the application of the Convention are the armed forces, police and public servants engaged in the administration of the State. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all workers engaged in the EPZs and the Port of Sudan can enjoy the rights provided to them under the Convention.