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

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Switzerland (Ratification: 1975)

The Committee notes the comments submitted by the Union of Swiss Employers (UPS) and the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (USS/SGB) in September 2010, and the Government’s reply. It further notes the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on 24 August 2010 concerning the application of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to send its observations in reply to the ITUC’s comments.

Article 3 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Ordinance on Confederation Personnel, which took effect on 1 January 2002, excludes from the right to strike persons exercising authority in the name of the State or providing essential services, and asked the Government to take the necessary steps to establish compensatory machinery for workers exercising authority in the name of the State or providing essential services who are denied the right to strike. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government states that: (1) the Federal Council decided at its sitting of 12 March 2010 to postpone revision of the Act on Confederation Personnel until a federal strategy on personnel has been adopted; (2) in revising the abovementioned Act and simplifying decision-making and dispute-settlement procedures, the Confederation as employer seeks greater flexibility in its relations with its employees; (3) the revision of the Act pursues a number of objectives, such as greater flexibility in regulating the termination of employment relationships and the simplification of appeals procedures; and (4) as regards the interpretation of Article 3 of the Convention, it refers to its previous comments. The Committee is bound once again to recall its basic position that the right to strike is an intrinsic corollary of the right to organize protected by the Convention and, where this right is restricted or prohibited, workers who are thus deprived of an essential means of defending their socio-economic and occupational interests should be afforded compensatory guarantees, for example conciliation and mediation procedures leading, in the event of deadlock, to arbitration machinery seen to be reliable by the parties concerned. The Committee trusts that in the process to adopt a federal strategy on personnel which should culminate in the revision of the Act on Confederation Personnel, due account will be taken of the need to provide workers exercising authority in the name of the State or providing essential services, who are deprived of the right to strike, with compensatory guarantees for the settlement of disputes. The Committee requests the Government to address this matter in consultation with the trade union organizations concerned and in its next report to indicate all progress made in this regard.

With regard to the prohibition on the right to strike for public officials of some cantons and the obstacles to the exercise of this right which allegedly exist in some communes, the Committee has been pointing out for many years that any prohibition on the right to strike in the public service should be confined to public officials exercising authority in the name of the State. In this connection, the Government refers the Committee to its previous reports in which it stated that it is the responsibility in the first place of the cantons and communes to bring their laws and regulations into conformity with the Federal Constitution, under which strike action is lawful in certain circumstances. The Committee requests the Government and the competent authorities to ensure that the prohibition of the right to strike in the public service is limited to public officials exercising authority in the name of the State. The Government is requested to indicate in its next report any initiatives, measures or consultations undertaken on this matter.

In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to provide any information, including decisions and judgements, on instances of trade union leaders being denied access to the workplace. The Committee notes that in its latest communication the USS/SGB yet again cites new instances of obstacles to the presence of unions at the workplace. The Committee notes that in reply the Government states that the principle of the separation of powers bars it from taking a position on decisions made by judicial bodies. The Committee can only recall once again that the right conferred by Article 3 of the Convention on workers’ and employers’ organizations to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes in full freedom in order to defend the occupational interests of their members, in observance of the law, includes in particular the right to hold trade union meetings and the right of trade union officers to have access to places of work and to communicate with management. The Committee requests the Government to ensure full observance of this principle.