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

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

Article 1 of the Convention. Adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the observations of the National Trade Union of Teachers (SINPROF) and Education International (EI), received on 1 September 2017, alleging the existence of anti-union reprisals by the Government in several provinces of the country. In the absence of information received from the Government in this regard, the Committee recalls that it is the responsibility of the latter to take all necessary measures to ensure that the competent authorities conduct the necessary enquiries into these alleged acts of anti-union discrimination, and to take remedial measures and apply suitable penalties if the trade union rights recognized in the Convention are found to have been impaired. The Committee urges the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

Article 4. Measures to promote collective bargaining. Compulsory arbitration. The Committee recalls that for several years it has been requesting the Government to take the necessary measures to amend sections 20 and 28 of Act No. 20-A/92 on the right to collective bargaining, which impose compulsory arbitration in terms contrary to the indications of the Committee. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 273(2) of the General Labour Act No. 7/2015 establishes that collective labour disputes shall be resolved through mediation, conciliation and voluntary arbitration, without prejudice to specific legislation, and further noted that section 293 establishes that collective labour disputes shall be settled preferably through voluntary arbitration. Given that the General Labour Act of 2015 repeals any contrary provision, the Committee requested the Government to indicate whether sections 20 and 28 of Act No. 20 A/92, which impose compulsory arbitration on an array of non-essential services, had been repealed or whether these sections remained in force. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that there is indeed a contradiction between the two above-mentioned items of legislation and that the contradiction should be resolved when Act No. 20-A/92 is revised. Recalling that compulsory arbitration in the context of collective bargaining is only acceptable in relation to public servants engaged in the administration of the State (Article 6 of the Convention), essential services in the strict sense of the term (services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population) and in the event of an acute national crisis, the Committee expects that sections 20 and 28 of Act No. 20-A/92 will be amended rapidly and requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this regard.

Articles 4 and 6. Collective bargaining of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. The Committee recalls that for several years it has been requesting the Government to take measures to ensure that the trade union organizations of civil servants who are not engaged in the administration of the State have the right to negotiate both wages and other terms and conditions of employment with their public employers. The Committee recalls that, under Article 6 of the Convention, a distinction has to be made between, on the one hand, public servants who, through their functions, are directly engaged in the administration of the State (for example, in certain countries, officials in government ministries and other similar bodies and their auxiliary personnel), who may be excluded from the scope of application of the Convention and, on the other hand, all other persons employed by the Government, public enterprises or autonomous public institutions, who should benefit from the guarantees set out in the Convention (for example, employees in public enterprises, employees in municipal services and employees in other decentralized bodies, as well as public sector teachers). The Committee notes that the Government confines itself to indicating that the collective bargaining rights of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State are safeguarded under the General Labour Act of 2015 and Act No. 20-A/92 on the right to collective bargaining. In this regard, the Committee observes that under the terms of sections 1(1) and 2(f) of the General Labour Act, the only public employees covered by the Act are those in public enterprises and that section 2 of Act No. 20-A/92, similarly, excludes officials in the central and local State public administration from the scope of its application, as well as workers in public services not organized as enterprises. In view of the foregoing, the Committee observes that the scope of application of the laws mentioned above does not appear to cover all categories of workers considered by the Committee to be public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. In the absence of other information made available to it, the Committee requests the Government to specify the provisions under which or the collective negotiation mechanisms through which the various categories of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State can negotiate their conditions of work and employment, and to provide detailed information on the various agreements concluded with organizations of public servants and public employees. The Committee further requests the Government to ensure that its recommendations are taken into account during the revision of Act No. 20-A/92 referred to by the Government and requests it to indicate any progress in this regard.

The Committee reminds the Government that it may seek technical assistance from the Office in connection with the revision of the laws relating to the application of the Convention.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.