Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Mozambique (Ratification: 1996)

Application of the Convention in the private sector

Article 4 of the Convention. Collective bargaining in practice. The Committee had previously requested the Government to provide information on any measures taken to promote free and voluntary collective bargaining and on any collective agreements concluded, with an indication of the sector concerned and the approximate number of workers covered. The Committee notes that according to the information provided by the Government: (i) the Government is organizing trainings and holding workshops for social partners on social dialogue, conciliation and mediation in labour-related issues; and (ii) the Labour Mediation and Arbitration Commission (COMAL), a tripartite extrajudicial mechanism created in 2009, has contributed to the resolution of collective conflicts, for example, during the strikes of 4,500 workers at the Maragra and Xinavane sugar plantations in 2017. While taking due note of the information provided by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on measures taken to promote free and voluntary collective bargaining in the private sector with an indication of the sector concerned, the number of collective agreements signed and enforced, and the approximate number of workers covered.

Adoption of the Act on trade union organization in the public service

Legislative matters. In its previous comments, the Committee welcomed the adoption of the Act on trade union organization in the public services and, with a view to ensuring that public servants and employees who are not engaged in the administration of the State (such as workers in public enterprises, municipal employees and employees in decentralized institutions, or teachers in the public sector) benefit from the guarantees afforded by the Convention, it raised with the Government the following matters:

• -Adequate protection against anti-union discrimination and interference. The Committee noted that: (i) section 8(a) of the Act provided that state workers shall not be denied any right or freedom on the grounds of their membership, or not, of a trade union association; (ii) section 20(2) of the Act guaranteed the employment stability of trade union representatives during their term of office, except in the event of a breach of discipline; and (iii) section 13 prohibited interference by the State in the organization and administration of trade union associations; and it requested the Government to indicate the machinery and sanctions applicable in the event of acts of anti-union discrimination or interference by a public employer, and the legislative texts referring to such procedures and sanctions.
• -Right of workers and employers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. The Committee noted that the thresholds of representativity for the establishment of provincial federations, national federations and confederations was particularly high and requested the Government to take the necessary measures, in consultation with the trade union organizations concerned, to facilitate collective bargaining by public officials and employees who are not engaged in the administration of the State, either by significantly reducing the threshold of representativity required for the establishment of provincial federations, national federations or confederations, or by recognizing the possibility for various trade union organizations to group together provisionally so as to be able to participate jointly in the bargaining process concerning public servants and employees who are not engaged in the administration of the State.
• -Scope of application of the Act on trade union organization in the public service. In its previous comments, the Committee, with a view to assessing more fully the extent to which the categories of public employees covered by the Act on trade union organization in the public service were also covered by the Convention, requested the Government to provide information on the various institutions and bodies covered by section 3 of the Act and to specify in particular the institutions considered as indirect administration of the State.

Noting with regret that the Government did not provide any specific information in this regard, the Committee reiterates its previous request. The Committee recalls that the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO.