Interim Report - Report No 108, 1969

Case No 506 (Liberia) - Complaint date: 26-JAN-67 - Closed

1. 208. The Committee previously examined this case at its meetings in May and November 1967, when it submitted to the Governing Body the interim reports contained, respectively, in paragraphs 47 to 101 of its 99th Report and paragraphs 407 to 452 of its 101st Report, which were in turn approved by the Governing Body at its 169th Session (June 1967) and its 170th Session (November 1967).
2. 209. Certain of the allegations originally presented in the case were the subject of final recommendations made by the Committee and approved by the Governing Body. The following paragraphs refer only to the allegations which remain outstanding.
3. 210. By a communication dated 13 August 1968, the Government supplied certain information in reply to requests made by the Governing Body.
4. 211. Liberia has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

Allegations relating to the Affiliation of Trade Unions with International Trade Union Organisations

1. 212. These allegations originally related to the Act of 9 February 1966 to Restore, Supplement and Enlarge Emergency Powers Granted to the President of Liberia. On examining the case at its meeting in November 1967, the Committee noted the expiry of that Act, and the entry into force of new legislation entitled " An Act Extending Emergency Powers Granted the President of Liberia ", promulgated on 21 March 1967, which, while differing in certain respects from the previous Act, involved the same points of substance.
2. 213. The allegations were that, in so far as they related to trade union organisations, subsections (r) and (s) of section 1 of the two Acts in question constituted a violation of Article 5 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), which provides, inter alia, that national trade union organisations shall have the right to affiliate with international trade union organisations. Section 1 (r) of the Act of 21 March 1967 provided for the banning of " any and all organisations where there is evidence that they are under the influence or direction of any outside source ", and section 1 (s) of the Act for the banning of " any and all organisations where there is evidence that they receive financial assistance or other benefits from any outside source unless such financial assistance or other benefits be approved by and channelled through government ". According to the International Federation of Plantation, Agricultural and Allied Workers, the powers accorded to the Government in these provisions were used to interfere with and hamper the free exercise of trade union activities. As examples of this interference, the complainant alleged that meetings between representatives of international trade union organisations and Liberian trade unionists are, unless given the sanction of the Government, prohibited and that trade unionists must obtain specific permission from the Government before being able to participate outside Liberia in meetings or conferences of international trade union organisations with which their union is affiliated or of which they are elected officials. The Committee observed, moreover, at its meeting in November 1967, that the Government did not challenge these allegations.
3. 214. Accordingly, in paragraphs 419 to 421 of its 101st Report, the Committee recalled the principle of the right of affiliation to international trade union organisations, indicating that this principle implied that representatives of national organisations shall have the right to maintain contact with the international organisations with which they are affiliated and to take part in the work of these organisations, and that national trade union organisations have the right to receive the benefits which may result from such affiliation.
4. 215. In paragraph 424 of its 101st Report, the Committee therefore recommended the Governing Body:
5. ......................................................................................................................................................
6. (b) to note that subsections (r) and (s) of section of the Act of 21 March 1967, to the extent that they might refer to the right of international affiliation of trade unions, are not compatible with Article 5 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), ratified by Liberia;
7. (c) to express to the Government the hope that it will take account of the Committee's comments:
8. (i) in the application to trade unions of subsections (r) and (s) of section 1 of the Act of 21 March 1967;
9. (ii) in the enactment of any new legislation on the expiry of the Act of 21 March 1967;
10. (d) to request the Government to be good enough to keep the Governing Body informed of the state of its legislation and practice with regard to the right enunciated in Article 5 of Convention No. 87.
11. 216. In its communication of 13 August 1968, the Government states that it had taken no action to prevent workers' and employers' organisations affiliating with international organisations of workers and employers. " The only restriction on said organisations ", the Government continued, " was that if they are being financially supported by foreign sources the National Labour Affairs Agency had to approve of said transaction for it to be legal. This provision was designed to prevent subversive activities generated from foreign sources. It did nothing to hinder legitimate trade union rights in Liberia." The Government concludes by indicating that the Emergency Powers Act has expired and has not been re-enacted.
12. 217. The Committee recalls that, as indicated in paragraph 213 above, these allegations also refer to restrictions on meetings between representatives of international trade union organisations and Liberian trade unionists and on the participation abroad of trade unionists in meetings or conferences of international trade union organisations. As these restrictions do not appear to have a direct link with the provisions of the Emergency Powers Act, it is not clear to the Committee to what extent the questions dealt with in this aspect of the allegations have been affected by the expiry of the Act.
13. 218. In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
14. (a) to note with interest that the Emergency Powers Act, 1967, section 1 (r) and (s) which had been the subject of this aspect of the case, has expired and has not been re-enacted;
15. (b) to request the Government to be good enough to indicate to what extent the expiry of the Act has affected the questions referred to in paragraph 217 above, and to indicate the present state of its law and practice in this respect.
16. Allegations relating to the Act of 11 February 1966 to Amend the Labour Practices Law
17. 219. The allegations refer to section 4601-A of the Law, which provides that " no industrial labour union or organisation shall exercise any privilege or function for agricultural workers and no agricultural labour union or organisation shall exercise any privilege or function for industrial workers ". This provision, it was contended, was contrary in particular to Article 5 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), in accordance with which workers' organisations shall have the right to establish federations and Confederations.
18. 220. At its meeting in May 1967, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to request the Government to furnish its observations on the particular allegations referred to in paragraph 70 of its 99th Report, which read as follows:
19. If the Committee understands the position correctly, the single Liberian trade union centre, the Congress of Industrial Organisations, is a national Confederation of which the occupational unions in the various branches are constituents. It is alleged that the plantation or agricultural workers had in fact been organised to some extent by the C.I.O. but that such degree of organisation as had been achieved among them was ended by the amendment made to the Labour Practices Law on 11 February 1966, and that the Law as now applied prevents the C.I.O. directly seeking to further the interests of plantation workers and to assist them to organise in a union or unions under its own aegis and as a constituent union or unions of this national trade union centre or Confederation, and also prevents the existence of a single national trade union centre including all the trade union organisations in the country. ...
20. 221. When it considered the case again at its meeting in November 1967, the Committee, having taken note of a communication from the Government dated 11 September 1967, accepted, on the basis of assurances given by the Government, that the Law does not prevent an agricultural union from affiliating to the Congress of Industrial Organisations (C.I.O.), provided that the union in question is in fact a union grouping exclusively agricultural workers and not a mixed agricultural-industrial union. It therefore considered that the allegations claiming that the Law prevented the existence of a single national trade union centre including all trade union organisations did not call for further examination. The Committee, however, requested the Government to furnish its observations on the other aspect of this allegation, namely that the Law had destroyed such degree of organisation as had been achieved among plantation and agricultural workers and that the Law, as now applied, prevented the C.I.O directly seeking to further the interests of plantation workers and to assist them to organise in a union or unions under its own aegis.
21. 222. In its communication of 13 August 1968, the Government indicates that it has taken neither formal nor informal steps to destroy organisation among plantation or agricultural workers. " However, it is the opinion of this Government ", it continues, " that industrial and agricultural workers should not be represented by the same labour union or the same federation. To permit this to take place may very well be detrimental to the interests of both groups of workers. The C.I.O is a major industrial union in Liberia and to permit it to organise plantation and agricultural workers would very likely result in inadequate representation of the rights of these workers. The agricultural workers of Liberia should be represented by a union which is concerned solely with their interests. To allow the C.I.O to give uncontested support to the organisation of agricultural or plantation workers might result in a puppet labour union of the C.I.O being formed for the agricultural or plantation workers whose interests may not be served as well as if they are represented by a union not subservient to the C.I.O and a union whose primary and sole purpose was to further the rights and benefits of agricultural and plantation workers."
22. 223. It appears to the Committee that there might be some inconsistency between the observations previously made by the Government-in its communications of 3 May 1967 and 11 September 1967-and those presented in its more recent communication. In its earlier observations the Government had stated that it " accepts the right of industrial unions and agricultural unions to affiliate (at the national level) ". On the basis of that statement, the Committee had formed the impression, at its meeting in November 1967, that the Law did not prevent an exclusively agricultural union from affiliating at the national level with an exclusively industrial union, and that it therefore permitted the affiliation to the C.I.O of agricultural and plantation workers. The Committee had noted in this respect that in its communication of 3 May 1967 the Government stated that the C.I.O was a " national centre of workers' organisations ". On the other hand, the Government now states in its communication of 13 August 1968 that " the C.I.O is a major industrial union in Liberia and to permit it to organise plantation and agricultural workers would very likely result in inadequate representation of the rights of these workers." It also indicates that " it is the opinion of the Government that industrial and agricultural workers should not be represented by the same labour union or the same federation ". In the light of this information, the Committee is bound to reconsider the situation in this respect.
23. 224. As the Committee now understands the position, the Government is prepared to permit neither a trade union catering for both industrial and agricultural workers, nor a federation grouping unions of industrial and agricultural workers. The Committee wishes to make certain observations on this situation,
24. 225. While in certain cases legislation providing that all the members of a trade union must exercise the same occupation or be engaged in the same industry might not be incompatible with Convention No. 87, importance has always been attached to the right of such unions to form federations grouping unions of workers engaged in different occupations and industries. In this connection, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations pointed out in an observation in 1963, in respect of a provision of national law prohibiting organisations of public officials from adhering to federations or Confederations of industrial or agricultural organisations, that " it seems difficult to reconcile this provision with Article 5 of the Convention...". It indicated, in the same observation, that while the legislation permitted organisations of public officials, to federate among themselves, and provided for the official recognition of such federations, these provisions " did not appear to be compatible with Article 6 of the Convention, which, refers to Article 2 of the Convention with respect to the establishment of federations and Confederations and adhesion to these higher organisations. According to this provision of the Convention, trade union organisations should have the right to establish federations or Confederations of their own choosing without previous authorisation."
25. 226. With regard to the present case, the Committee considers that while the prohibition of a single union catering for industrial and agricultural workers is not necessarily contrary to the Convention, the Government's refusal to permit agricultural unions to affiliate with a national centre of workers' organisations comprising industrial unions is incompatible with Article 5 of the Convention.
26. 227. The Committee recalls the allegations made with regard to this aspect of the case to the effect that the Law had destroyed what organisation and membership the C.I.O had been able to achieve in the rubber plantations industry, this, it was alleged, being a result of the enactment of the Law, which prohibits industrial unions exercising " any privilege or function for agricultural workers ". In its communication of 13 August 1968, the Government, in referring to these allegations, indicates, however, that it " had taken neither formal nor informal action to destroy organisation among plantation or agricultural workers ".
27. 228. It would appear to the Committee that the Law, by forbidding close links between the C.I.O and the agricultural and plantation workers, has had the effect of depriving any union which might be formed in the agricultural sector of the benefit of the experience and facilities of the C.I.O, thereby rendering the formation of such a union particularly difficult. In certain cases such assistance may be of great importance for the effective enjoyment of the right guaranteed to workers by Article 2 of Convention No. 87, which provides that workers shall have the right to establish and join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation. In this connection it should be pointed out that, in accordance with Article 8 (2) of the Convention, the law of the land shall not be such as to impair, nor shall it be so applied as to impair, this right.
28. 229. In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
29. (a) with respect to the allegations that the Law prevented the existence of a single national trade union centre including all the trade union organisations in the country:
30. (i) to note the Government's statement in its communication of 13 August 1968 that, in its opinion, " industrial and agricultural workers should not be represented by the same labour union or the same federation ", and in view of this statement, to express the opinion that the Law in question, in forbidding the joint affiliation of industrial and agricultural trade unions with a national centre of workers' organisations, is incompatible with Article 5 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (No. 87), ratified by Liberia, and to draw the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations to this conclusion;
31. (ii) to emphasise the importance which the Governing Body attaches to the right of workers' organisations to join federations, which is guaranteed by Article 5 of Convention No. 87;
32. (iii) to request the Government to be good enough to inform the Governing Body of the steps it proposes to take to bring its legislation into conformity with Article 5 of this Convention;
33. (b) to emphasise the importance which the Governing Body attaches to the right of workers without distinction whatsoever to establish and join organisations of their own choosing, which is guaranteed by Article 2 of Convention No. 87, and to the principle that the law of the land shall not be such as to impair, nor shall it be so applied as to impair, this right as provided for in Article 8 (2) of this Convention.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 230. Accordingly, with regard to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
2. (1) with regard to the allegations relating to the affiliation of trade unions with international trade union organisations:
   • (a) to note with interest that the Emergency Powers Act, 1967, section 1 (r) and (s) of which had been the subject of this aspect of the case, has expired and has not been re-enacted;
   • (b) to request the Government to be good enough to indicate to what extent the expiry of the Act has affected the questions referred to in paragraph 217 above, and to indicate the present state of its law and practice in this respect;
3. (2) with regard to the allegations relating to the Act of 11 February 1966 to Amend the Labour Practices Law:
   • (a) with respect to the allegations that the Law prevented the existence of a single national trade union centre including all the trade union organisations in the country
   • (i) to note the Government's statement in its communication of 13 August 1968 that, in its opinion, " industrial and agricultural workers should not be represented by the same labour union or the same federation ", and, in view of this statement, to express the opinion that the Law in question, in forbidding the joint affiliation of industrial and agricultural trade unions with a national centre of workers' organisations, is incompatible with Article 5 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (No. 87), ratified by Liberia, and to draw the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations to this conclusion;
   • (ii) to emphasise the importance which the Governing Body attaches to the right of workers' organisations to join federations, which is guaranteed by Article 5 of Convention No. 87;
   • (iii) to request the Government to be good enough to inform the Governing Body of the steps it proposes to take to bring its legislation into conformity with Article 5 of this Convention;
   • (b) to emphasise the importance which the Governing Body attaches to the right of workers without distinction whatsoever to establish and join organisations of their own choosing, which is guaranteed by Article 2 of Convention No. 87, and to the principle that the law of the land shall not be such as to impair, nor shall it be so applied as to impair, this right, as provided for in Article 8 (2) of this Convention;
4. (3) to take note of the present interim report, on the understanding that the Committee will report again when it is in possession of the additional information specified in subparagraphs 1 (b) and 2 (a) (iii).