Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Burundi (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation, which read as follows:

Repetition

The Committee requests the Government to send its observations on the comments submitted in 2008 by the Trade Union Confederation of Burundi (COSYBU) and in 2009 and 2010 by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), particularly the allegations regarding death threats to trade union officials and an assault on the Chairman of the Trade Union of Medical Doctors of Burundi (SYMEBU) and other acts of intimidation of trade unionists.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of public employees without distinction whatsoever to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. The Committee once again notes with regret the lack of the statutory provisions on the right to organize of magistrates and observes that this situation is the reason behind difficulties of registration of the Trade Union of Magistrates of Burundi (SYMABU). The Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures without delay in order to adopt such statutory provisions so as to ensure and clearly define the right to organize of magistrates.

Right to organize of minors. For several years, the Committee has been raising the matter of the compatibility of section 271 of the Labour Code with the Convention, as this section provides that minors under the age of 18 may not join a trade union without the explicit permission of their parents or guardians. The Committee requests the Government to recognize the right to join trade unions of minors under 18 years of age who are engaged in an occupational activity without the permission of their parents or guardians being necessary.

Article 3. Right of workers’ and employers’ organizations to draw up their constitutions and rules, elect their representatives in full freedom, organize their administration and activities and formulate their programmes without interference by the public authorities. Election of trade union officers. The Committee recalls that its previous comments related to section 275 of the Labour Code which sets the following conditions for holding the position of trade union officer or administrator:

• – Criminal record. Under section 275(3) of the Labour Code, holders of trade union office may not have been sentenced to imprisonment without suspension of sentence for more than six months. The Committee recalls that conviction for an act which, by its nature, does not call into question the integrity of the person and implies no real risk for the performance of trade union duties should not constitute grounds for exclusion from trade union office.
• – Belonging to the occupation. Section 275(4) of the Labour Code requires trade union leaders to have belonged to the occupation or trade for at least one year. The Committee previously requested the Government to make the legislation more flexible by allowing persons who had previously worked in the occupation to stand for office or by lifting this requirement for a reasonable proportion of trade union officers.

The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 275(3) and (4) of the Labour Code, taking fully into account the principles recalled above.

Right to strike. In its previous comments, the Committee raised the matter of the succession of compulsory procedures to be followed before calling a strike (sections 191–210 of the Labour Code), which appear to authorize the Minister of Labour to prevent all strikes. Recalling that the right to strike is one of the essential means available to trade unions to further and defend the interests of their members, the Committee urges the Government to adopt and provide a copy of the text to be issued under the Labour Code on the modalities for the exercise of the right to strike, taking into account the principles recalled above.

The Committee also noted that, under section 213 of the Labour Code, strikes are lawful when they are called with the approval of a simple majority of the employees of the workplace or enterprise. The Committee recalled that, when voting on strikes, the ballot method, the quorum and the majority required should not be such that the exercise of the right to strike becomes very difficult in practice. If a member State sees fit to establish in its legislation provisions requiring a vote by workers before a strike can be held, it should ensure that account is taken only of the votes cast and that the required majority and quorum are fixed at a reasonable level (see General Survey of 1994 on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 170). The Committee urges the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken to amend section 213 of the Labour Code in the light of the comments made above.

In its previous observation, the Committee noted that the Government had adopted a legislative decree prohibiting the exercise of the right to strike and to demonstrate throughout the national territory during the period of the elections. According to the Government, this legislative decree has not been used in practice. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether this legislative decree was repealed following the elections.

The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that trade union organizations can exercise in full their right to organize their activities freely without interference from the public authorities.

The Committee notes that the Government has set up a tripartite committee responsible for rapidly proposing new provisions of the Labour Code which would take into account the claims of the social partners, the reports of the labour inspection and the comments of the Committee. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any progress made in revising the Labour Code and recalls that technical assistance of the Office is at its disposal.

Lastly, the Committee notes the comments of 4 August 2011 by the ITUC on the application of the Convention and requests the Government to provide its observations thereon.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.

The Committee notes with concern the comments made by the ITUC in its communication dated 31 July 2012 concerning the increase in acts of violence in the country, including death threats and intimidation against trade unionists in the education and health sectors. The Committee also notes the comments made by COSYBU dated 31 August 2012 concerning serious deficits in social dialogue, the withdrawal of the check-off facility, the abusive detention of a trade unionist and obstacles to the trade union’s right to conduct its activities. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations in relation to the comments made by the ITUC and COSYBU.

The Committee notes the comments made by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) on the right to strike, in a communication dated 29 August 2012, which are dealt with in the General Report of the Committee.