Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Algeria (Ratification: 1962)

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of organizations to organize their activities and formulate their programmes in full freedom. The Committee previously requested the Government to give examples of situations in which, in accordance with section 43 of Act No. 90-02, a strike had been prohibited on the grounds of the interruption of essential services or the possibility that it might give rise to a serious economic crisis. The Committee notes the Government’s reply indicating that no strike had been prohibited under this provision on the basis of its potential impact.

Articles 2, 3 and 5. Legislative amendments. The Committee notes the version of the draft bill issuing the Labour Code sent by the Government, dated October 2015. The Committee trusts that the Government will duly take into account the following points relating to the application of the Convention and will take all the necessary measures to amend the following provisions of the draft bill issuing the Labour Code to bring them into conformity with the Convention.

• -Sections 510 to 512 of the draft Bill: The Committee notes that sections 510 and 511 refer to organizations in the same occupations, branches or sectors of activity as regards the establishment of unions, federations or confederations. These provisions have the effect of preventing trade unions, irrespective of the sector to which they belong, from establishing federations and confederations of their own choosing, in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to amend sections 510 and 511 by removing the reference to the same occupations, branches or sectors of activity, in order to remove any obstacle to the establishment by workers’ and employers’ organizations, irrespective of the sector to which they belong, of federations and confederations of their own choosing.
• -Section 514 of the draft Bill: The Committee notes that this provision restricts the right to establish trade unions to persons who are originally of Algerian nationality or who acquired Algerian nationality at least five years earlier. This provision is contrary to Article 2 of the Convention, which recognizes the right to establish and join trade unions or employers’ organizations without distinction, including on the basis of nationality. The Committee requests the Government to amend section 514 so that it recognizes the right of all workers, without distinction on the basis of nationality, to establish trade unions.
• -Section 517 of the draft Bill: The Committee requests the Government to clarify the last paragraph of this provision, specifying the publicity requirements applicable to trade unions when they are established.
• -Section 525 of the draft Bill: The Committee requests the Government to submit to consultation with the social partners the second paragraph of this provision, which requires the publication in two national daily newspapers, one of which is in the national language, of information on the amendment of statutes or changes in executive boards, so that they may be challenged by third parties.
• -Section 534 of the draft Bill: The Committee notes that, under this section, gifts and bequests from foreign trade unions or organizations may only be received following authorization by the public authorities which verify the origin, amount, compatibility with the objective declared by the statutes of the trade union, and the constraints to which they may give rise. This provision is contrary to the principles of freedom of association established under Articles 3 and 5 of the Convention, according to which national workers’ and employers’ organizations should have the right to receive financial assistance from international workers’ and employers’ organizations without being required to obtain prior authorization. The Committee requests the Government to amend section 534 by abolishing the requirement to obtain prior authorization from the public authorities.