Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Angola (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the Government’s response to the observations made in 2019 by the National Union of Angolan Workers (UNTA) concerning the application of the Convention.

Legislative reforms. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the bills revising the Trade Unions Act No. 21 C/92 and the Strikes Act No. 23/91, which included a number of amendments suggested by the Committee. The Committee recalls that its previous comments referred to the need to:

• -amend section 3 of the Trade Unions Act, which provides that first-level organizations must include in their membership at least 30 per cent of workers in the occupational branches and sectors of economic activity at the provincial level, by lowering the percentage of workers needed to establish a first-level organization;
• -provide clarification regarding section 3(6) of the Trade Unions Act concerning the right to establish unions at the enterprise level. The Committee had asked the Government to confirm whether this provision enabled workers to organize at the enterprise level.
• -amend section 2(2) of the Strikes Act, which provides that any reduction or alteration of hours and methods of work that has been agreed upon collectively and does not imply refusal to work is not deemed to be a strike and may therefore be subject to disciplinary action, so as to ensure that the aforementioned forms of collective action are not subject to disciplinary measures;
• -amend section 6 of the Strikes Act, which bans strike action by civilian workers in military institutions, so as to ensure that these workers may resort to strike action without incurring any penalties;
• -amend section 10 of the Strikes Act, which provides that a strike may be declared only if two-thirds of the workers present in the assembly so agree, and that the employer is entitled to demand the presence of a representative of the public authority at any assembly for the calling of a strike, in order to check that it is properly constituted and its decisions properly adopted;
• -provide clarification of the wording of section 20(1) of the Strikes Act, which provides that public service workers and trade unions must, in the event of a strike, provide “through pickets”, the services required to meet the basic needs of the population, and indicate the exact meaning of the term “pickets” and the manner in which the necessary minimum services are determined in such an event. The Committee had requested the Government to take advantage of the legislative reform to draft section 20(1) more precisely and to ensure that minimum services were determined, not solely by the public authorities, but in consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned and that any disagreement is settled by an independent body;
• -amend section 20(3) of the Strikes Act, which allows workers to be requisitioned in the event of a strike in (a) the postal services; (b) fuel supply; (c) public transport; and (d) the loading and unloading of foodstuffs, since these are not essential services in the strict sense of the term (that is, services the interruption of which would endanger the lives, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population). The Committee recalls that, although employers may require compliance with minimum services, which are determined with the participation of workers’ organizations, requisitioning by a decision of the administrative authorities should only be possible in the following circumstances: (i) in the public service, only for public servants exercising authority on behalf of the State; (ii) in essential services in the strict sense of the term, namely, services the interruption of which would endanger the lives, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population; and (iii) in an acute national crisis. Negotiated minimum services may be required in cases (a), (b), (c) and (d);
• -amend section 27 of the Strikes Act, which provides for the penalties of imprisonment and fines to organizers of a strike that has been forbidden, declared unlawful or suspended;
• -indicate whether sympathy strikes or action to protest against economic and social policy considerations not contemplated in section 3 of the Strikes Act can be held without incurring penalties. The Committee had requested the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the new legislation did not preclude the possibility of resorting to strike action against economic and social policy or to sympathy strikes;
• -provide information on section 8(1) of the Strikes Act, under which the right to strike of workers in ports, airports, railways, air and maritime transport, and any other enterprise that provides essential goods or services for the army shall be exercised in a manner that does not affect the supplies needed for national defence. The Government had indicated in its previous report that the bill revising the Strikes Act repealed this section and the Committee had therefore requested the Government to ensure that section 8(2), which provides for compulsory arbitration and for a mediation procedure in the case provided for under section 8(1)), was also repealed;
• -explain the meaning of the phrase “in situations threatening public order or in the event of public disaster” in section 8(4), which provides for the suspension of the right to strike by a decision of the Council of Ministers in these cases, and indicate in what circumstances and how many times this provision had been applied. The Government had pointed out that, as yet, a disaster had never coincided with a strike and that the legislative authority would take account of the fact that this section was outdated (the Government had also indicated in its previous report that the new bill would provide that the suspension would be at the decision of the judicial authority).

The Committee notes that the Government reiterates that the Acts in question are still under review and that their content is subject to a public debate, with a view to reaching a consensus on various matters, including those relating to the amendment of section 3(2) of the Trade Unions Act and sections 2(2), 6, 10(2) and 20(3) of the Strikes Act.

Regretting the lack of significant progress in this area, the Committee is bound to reiterate its hope that the process of the revision of the Trade Unions Act No. 21 C/92 and the Strikes Act No. 23/91 can soon be completed and that all of the Committee’s comments will be taken into account to ensure the full conformity of the legislation with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

In addition to the question of the requisitioning of workers during a strike, regarding the anticipated amendment of section 20(3) of Act No. 23/91, the Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 33/20 of 17 August 2020 on civil requisitioning. In this regard, it notes that, under the terms of section 1(2), “civil requisitioning is a measure of an exceptional nature enabling the State to have recourse to a number of specific measures necessary to ensure, in especially serious circumstances, the regular functioning of services or the availability of goods that are essential to the population or to vital sectors of the national economy”. The Committee also observes that the scope of application of Act No. 33/20, under section 13, includes activities that are not solely essential services in the strict sense of the term, including radio, television and teaching. In view of the foregoing, the Committee asks the Government to specify that the decision by authorities to resort to civil requisitioning, including under Act No. 33/20, can only have the effect of restricting the right to strike: (i) in the public service for public servants exercising authority on behalf of the State; (ii) in essential services in the strict sense of the term; or (iii) in an acute national crisis. The Committee requests the Government, in its next report, to provide information on the effect given in practice to Act No. 33/20.

The Committee reminds the Government that it may avail itself of ILO technical assistance in relation to the revision of laws concerning the application of the Convention.