Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Angola (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the Government’s reply to the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) of 2009, the National Union of Angolan Workers–Trade Union Confederation (UNTA–CS) and the General Federation of Independent and Free Trade Unions of Angola (CGSILA). The Committee also notes the comments made by the ITUC dated 4 August 2011 on matters already dealt with by the Committee.

New Constitution. The Committee notes the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic on 21 January 2010, which recognizes, in its articles 48–51, the freedom of assembly and demonstration, the freedom of association, the freedom of occupational association, the right to organize and the right to strike, respectively.

Legislative reforms. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted new Bills revising the Trade Unions Act No. 21-C/92 and the Strikes Act No. 23/91 that contained a number of amendments it had suggested. Noting that the Government’s report does not provide any new information concerning the state of progress of the abovementioned bills, the Committee recalls its previous comments on the need to:

Article 2 of the Convention. The right of workers to establish organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization.

• -amend section 3 of the Trade Unions Act No. 21-C/92 providing that first level organizations must include in their membership at least 30 per cent of workers in the occupational branches and sectors of economic activity at the provincial level, by lowering the percentage of workers needed to establish a first-level organization. The Committee had noted that according to the Government the new Bill repeals section 3;

Article 3. The right of workers to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes.

• -amend section 2(2) of the Strikes Act No. 23/91 (providing that any reduction or alteration of hours and methods of work that have been agreed upon collectively and do not imply refusal to work are not treated as a strike and may therefore be subject to disciplinary action), so as to ensure that these other forms of collective action are not subject to disciplinary measures;
• -amend section 6 of the Strikes Act No. 23/91, which bans strike action by civilian workers in military institutions, so as to ensure that these workers may resort to strike action without incurring any punishment;
• -amend section 10 of the Strikes Act No. 23/91 providing that a strike may be declared only if two-thirds of the workers present in the assembly so agree and that the employer is entitled to demand the presence of a representative of the public authority at any assembly for the calling of a strike in order to check that it is properly constituted and its decisions properly adopted. The Committee reminds the Government in this connection that workers’ organizations must be free to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes without interference by the public authorities; it also points out that, during a vote on whether a strike should take place, only those votes cast should be taken into account;
• -provide clarification of the wording of section 20(1) of the Strikes Act No. 23/91 which provides that workers and trade unions in public utilities must, in the event of a strike, provide, “through pickets”, the services required to meet the basic needs of the population, and to indicate the exact meaning of the term “pickets” and the manner in which the necessary minimum services are determined in such an event. The Committee had requested the Government to take advantage of the legislative reform to draft section 20(1) more precisely and to ensure that minimum services were determined, not by the public authorities alone, but with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned and that any disagreement should be settled by an independent body;
• -amend section 20(3) of the Strikes Act No. 23/91 which allows workers to be requisitioned in the event of a strike in: (a) the postal services; (b) fuel supply; (c) public transport; and (d) the loading and unloading of foodstuffs, since these are not essential services in the strict sense of the term (i.e. services the interruption of which would endanger the lives, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population). The Committee recalls that, although employers may demand compliance with minimum services established with the participation of workers’ organizations, requisitioning by a decision of the administrative authorities should be possible only in the following cases: (1) in the public service only for officials in positions of authority acting on behalf of the State; (2) in essential services in the strict sense of the term, i.e. services the interruption of which would endanger the lives, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population; and (3) in an acute national or local emergency. Negotiated minimum services might be demanded in cases (a), (b), (c) and (d);
• -amend section 27 of the Strikes Act No. 23/91, which provides for penalties of imprisonment and fines for the organizers of a strike that has been forbidden, declared unlawful or suspended. The Committee recalls that a worker having participated in a peaceful strike must not be liable to penalties and that no prison term should be imposed; penalties of this nature may only be envisaged if, during the strike, violent actions against persons or goods, or other serious infringements of criminal law are committed, in application of legislation penalizing such action, for instance the Penal Code;
• -indicate whether the suspension of the employment contract of trade union officials, provided for under section 31 of the Trade Unions Act No. 21-C/92 is a worker’s right, or whether all union officials are required to suspend their employment temporarily in order to carry out trade union activities. The Government had indicated that temporary suspension of the employment contract was a right of trade union officials;
• -indicate whether sympathy strikes or protest actions for economic and social policy considerations not contemplated in section 3 of the Strikes Act No. 23/91 can be held without incurring penalties. The Committee had requested the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the new legislation did not exclude sympathy strikes or actions to protest against economic and social policy;
• -provide information on section 8(1) of the Strikes Act No. 23/91, under which the right to strike of workers in ports, airports, railways, air and transport and any other enterprise that provides essential goods or services for the army shall be exercised in the manner that does not affect the supplies needed for national defence. The Government had indicated in its previous report that the bill revising the Strikes Act repealed this section and the Committee had therefore requested the Government to ensure that section 8(2) (providing for compulsory arbitration and for a mediation procedure in the case provided for under subsection 8(1)) was also repealed;
• -explain the meaning of the phrase “in situations threatening the peace or in the event of public disaster” in section 8(4) providing for the suspension of the right to strike by a decision of the Council of Ministers in the event of public disaster, and to indicate in what circumstances and how many times this provision had been applied. The Government had pointed out that, as yet, a disaster had never coincided with a strike and that the legislative authority would take account of the fact that this section was outdated (the Government had also indicated in its previous report that the new Bill would provide that suspension would be at the decision of the judicial authority);
• -provide clarification regarding section 3(6) of the Trade Unions Act No. 21 C/92 concerning the right to establish unions at enterprise level. The Committee had asked the Government to confirm whether this provision enabled workers to organize at enterprise level.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the state of progress of the Bills revising the Trade Unions Act No. 21-C/92 and the Strikes Act No. 23/91, and hopes that they will take account of all the Committee’s comments so as to make current legislation fully consistent with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government once again to provide a copy of these Bills with its next report, or texts that meanwhile might have been adopted.