Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Niger (Ratification: 1962)

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention. Adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and acts of interference against public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. The Committee previously noted that neither the General Public Service Regulations nor Decree No. 2008-244/PRN/MFP/T of 31 July 2008, implementing those Regulations, contains any provisions which explicitly prohibit acts of anti-union discrimination or interference or which ensure adequate protection for workers’ organizations against acts of anti-union discrimination or interference by means of prompt and effective penalties and procedures. The Committee requested the Government to indicate whether any regulations are in force which ensure such protection for public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. While noting the Government’s comments on administrative and judicial remedies available to public servants who consider that their rights have been infringed, the Committee insists on the need to adopt specific legislative provisions prohibiting acts of anti-union discrimination or interference and setting out prompt and effective penalties. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to that effect and to provide information on all developments in this regard.

Article 4. Promotion of collective bargaining. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that new Act No. 2012-045 of 25 September 2012 issuing the Labour Code of the Republic of Niger has been adopted. The Committee notes that, in accordance with section 238 of the Labour Code, the Council of Ministers, further to the opinion of the Advisory Committee on Work and Employment, determines the conditions for submission, publication and translation of collective agreements. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether measures have been taken in this regard.

The Committee also notes that, under section 242 of the Labour Code, at the request of one of the workers’ or employers’ organizations concerned and considered the most representative, or at its own initiative, the Minister responsible for labour shall convene the meeting of a joint committee with a view to concluding a collective labour agreement to regulate the relationships between employers and workers from one or several branches of economic activity at the national, regional and local levels. The section also stipulates that the composition of this Committee, which is chaired by the Minister and includes an equal number of representatives from the most representative workers’ and employers’ trade union organizations, is determined by order of the Minister responsible for labour. The Committee recalls that, as Article 4 of the Convention aims at the promotion of free and voluntary collective bargaining, workers’ and employers’ organizations must be able to freely designate their representatives for that purpose. In that connection, the Committee requests the Government to specify the terms for appointing representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations to the negotiating committees indicated in section 242 of the Labour Code.

Criteria for representativeness. The Committee notes that, pursuant to section 229 of the Labour Code, the trade unions or professional groups of workers recognized as the most representative may engage in collective bargaining. The Committee also notes that, under section 185 of the Labour Code, the representative nature of workers’ and employers’ trade union organizations is determined by the results of professional elections, that the classification resulting from these elections is announced by order of the Minister responsible for labour, which determines the arrangements for these elections, following consultation with the workers’ and employers’ trade union organizations, and that, to determine the representativeness of enterprise trade unions, the results of elections for staff delegates are taken into account. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in order to determine the most representative workers’ and employers’ organizations, the Government is committed to the professional election process and that several decisions have been taken in this regard, leading, inter alia, to the establishment of the National Professional Election Committee (CONEP). The Committee welcomes these initiatives. Recalling that the procedures for determining the representativeness of workers’ and employers’ organizations must be undertaken according to precise, objective and pre-established criteria and implemented by an independent body which has the confidence of the parties, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the unfolding of the professional elections and their outcome regarding the determination of representative workers’ and employers’ organizations.

Articles 4 and 6. Right to collective bargaining of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take steps to guarantee the right to collective bargaining to public servants not engaged in the administration of the State and to provide information on any measures taken towards this end. In this regard, the Committee notes with satisfaction the information provided by the Government concerning the conclusion, between 2012 and 2014, of four major collective agreements concerning workers from both the public and private sectors, the content of which is described in the Committee’s comments relating to the Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981 (No. 154). In this regard, the Committee recalls that it is not aware of any specific legal provisions guaranteeing the right to collective bargaining to public servants not engaged in the administration of the State that are subject to special legislation or regulations and are, therefore, exempt from the application of section 252 of the Labour Code. The Committee, therefore, invites the Government to ensure that the legislation in force regarding the recognition and exercise of the right to collective bargaining in the public sector is aligned with the practice and to continue providing information on the number of collective agreements signed, the sectors concerned and the workers covered.