Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Chile (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee notes the Government’s reply to the 2009 and 2011 comments from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and from the National Inter-Enterprise Union of Airport Workers of Chile and other unions in various sectors. The Committee further notes that, according to the Government these comments as well as the Government’s reply to them have been examined by the Committee on Freedom of Association in the context of Case No. 2912.

The Committee also notes the comments from the Trade Unions Federation of CODELCO Chile Supervisors and Professionals (FESUC) dated 14 June 2012 and the Government’s reply to them. Specifically, as regards the objection of FESUC to the obligation for non-unionized workers receiving the benefits laid down in a collective agreement to pay 75 per cent of standard monthly union dues (section 346 of the Labour Code), the Committee considers that such clauses should be the result of free negotiation between workers’ organizations and employers [see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 99]. The Committee requests the Government, in the context of aligning the legislation to the Convention as referred to in its report, to consider the possibility of amending the abovementioned section in the manner indicated and to provide information on this matter in its next report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of organizations to organize their activities and formulate their programmes. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to its comments on the right to strike made in this year’s observation on the application of the Convention which refer to the need to take measures to amend the provisions of the Labour Code relating to: (i) the excessive majorities required for calling a strike (sections 372, 373 and 379); (ii) the excessively short time for carrying out a strike once it has been called (section 374); (iii) the possibility of replacing strikers (section 381); (iv) the prohibition on strike action in services that are non-essential in the strict sense of the term (section 384); and (v) the possibility that the President of the Republic may order the resumption of work (section 385). Furthermore, the Committee asked the Government to: (a) ensure that agricultural workers enjoy the right to strike; (b) repeal section 11 of Act No. 12927 concerning the internal security of the State, which provides that a stoppage or strike in certain services may be penalized with imprisonment or banishment; and (c) amend section 254 of the Penal Code, which provides for criminal penalties in the event of interruption of public services or public utilities or of dereliction of duty by public employees.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information in its next report on any measures taken to amend the legislation in the manner indicated.