Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Angola (Ratification: 1976)

New General Labour Act. The Committee takes due note of the new General Labour Act No.7/2015, published on 15 June 2015, repealing Act No. 2/00 of 11 February 2000.

Article 1 of the Convention. Adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. The Committee notes that section 49 of the new General Labour Act removes the power of employers to apply the disciplinary measures of temporary transfer, wage reduction and demotion. The Committee also notes that, in sections 207(1)(a), 208(3) and 209, the new Act preserves the special protection of trade union representatives, the invalidity of dismissal based on the union membership of the worker and in both cases establishes the requirement to reinstate the worker and make up the unpaid wages and additional emoluments. The Committee also observes that, while the new Act does not establish specific fines penalizing acts of anti-union discrimination, section 308 provides generally that violations of the provisions of the Act and the related legislation shall be punishable by fines, the amount of which shall be fixed by a specific standard. Recalling the importance that the penalties applicable for anti-union acts are sufficiently dissuasive, the Committee requests the Government to indicate to which standard section 308 of the Labour Act refers and to specify if this standard establishes fines for anti-union acts that are distinct from those provided for by Trade Union Act No. 21-D/92.

Article 2. Adequate protection against acts of interference. The Committee notes that the new General Labour Act does not contain provisions prohibiting acts of anti-union interference. In this respect, the Committee also notes that Trade Union Act No. 21-D/92, of which section 35 prohibits in general terms obstacles to trade union activity, does not specifically prohibit acts of interference. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the legislation explicitly prohibits all of the acts covered by Article 2 of the Convention and that it provides for sufficiently dissuasive penalties in this respect.

Article 4. Measures to promote collective bargaining. In its previous comments, having noted the low number of collective agreements in force, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote collective bargaining at the enterprise level or at a higher level and to indicate the number of collective agreements in force and the number of workers covered by these collective agreements. Noting that the Government’s report does not contain information in this respect, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide the requested information.