Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Tunisia (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 1 September 2022, which contain allegations of interference in trade union activities concerning: (i) the annulment by the Tunis Court of First Instance in December 2021 of the decision of the National Council of the General Federation of Tunisian Workers (UGTT) to convene an extraordinary non-elective congress, and (ii) infringements of the right to strike in the public broadcasting sector, with the large-scale deployment of police forces and the conduct of interrogations. The Committee notes the Government's reply, dated 28 October 2022, which states in this respect that the UGTT has appealed against the decision of the court of first instance, and that the police forces were deployed solely to ensure the maintenance of public order. The Committee also notes the Government’s reply to the observations made by the ITUC in 2018 concerning allegations of intimidation and threats against the UGTT. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has not officially received any complaints in this regard from the UGTT, nor have such allegations been raised in meetings with its members, during collective bargaining or in meetings of the National Social Dialogue Council (CNDS). In view of the above, the Committee recalls the obligation under the Convention for States to ensure that trade union leaders and members can conduct their activities without hindrance in a climate free from violence, pressure and threats of any kind. With reference to the annulment of the extraordinary non-elective Congress of the UGTT, the Committee requests the Government to provide the judgment of the Court of Appeal as soon as it is available.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Legislative amendments. The Committee notes with deep regret that the Government has not reported any progress in bringing the legislation into conformity with the Convention and that it only repeats the explanations already supplied in response to the Committee's long-standing recommendations. The Committee is bound to recall below its main recommendations and once again urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to give full effect to the provisions of the Convention:

• (i)Right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 242 of the Labour Code to ensure that minors who have reached the statutory minimum age for admission to employment (16 years under section 53 of the Labour Code) are able to exercise their trade union rights without authorization from their parent or guardian.
• (ii)Right of organizations to elect their representatives in full freedom. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 251 of the Labour Code to allow foreign workers access to the functions of trade union leadership, at least after a reasonable period of residence in the host country.
• (iii)Right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities and formulate their programmes. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the following sections of the Labour Code concerning restrictions on the exercise of the right to strike: section 376bis (approval of the central workers’ confederation before declaring a strike); section 376ter (compulsory indication of the duration of the strike in the strike notification); and sections 387 and 388 (possibility of imposing penalties in the event of an unlawful strike). With regard to section 381ter of the Labour Code (determination of the list of essential services by decree), the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether the decree provided for by this section has been adopted.

Right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities and formulate their programmes without interference from the public authorities. The Committee notes the adoption of the decree of 26 September 2018 establishing criteria for trade union representativeness at the national level, which include: (i) the number of union members up to the end of 2017; (ii) the date of the last electoral congress of the trade union organization; (iii) the number of sectoral structures of the trade union organization and the nature of its activity; and (iv) the number of local and regional structures of the organization concerned. The Committee notes the Government's indication that, pursuant to this decree, the minister for social affairs has designated the following organizations as the most representative at national level for the appointment of members of the CNDS, namely: the UGTT for workers' organizations; the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts (UTICA), for employers' organizations in the non-agricultural sector; and the Tunisian Federation of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP), for employers' organizations in the agricultural sector. Observing that trade union representativeness was determined by taking into account the number of members at the end of 2017, the Committee requests the Government to specify in its next report the frequency and mechanism for measuring trade union membership for the purpose of appointing members of the CNDS.In addition, the Committee, like the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2994 (400th Report, November 2022, paragraph 70) requests the Government to engage in inclusive consultations with all workers’ and employers’ organizations concerned to ensure that the determination of representative organizations at sectoral and enterprise level are also based on clear, pre-established and objective criteria. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on all measures taken in this regard.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2023.]