Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 321, June 2000

Case No 1884 (Eswatini) - Complaint date: 23-MAY-96 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 80. During its last examination of this case at its meeting in November 1998, the Committee once again expressed the firm hope that the Industrial Relations Bill would be adopted in the very near future and that, in its final form, it would ensure full respect for the principles of freedom of association. It further expressed the firm hope that, with the passage of this Bill, the 1973 Decree and the 1963 Public Order Act would no longer be used to suppress legitimate trade union activities. Finally, the Committee once again urged the Government to establish independent investigations into the death of the 16 year-old schoolgirl during the January 1996 stay-away, the abduction of Jan Sithole in August 1996 and the dismissal of Jabulani Nxumalo [see 311th Report, paras. 85-88].
2. 81. In a communication dated 2 May 2000, the Government indicates that the recommendations of the Committee and those of the Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations were taken on board in every legislative structure when the Industrial Relations Bill was being processed to become law. The Government states that the Bill has passed through both houses of Parliament and is now only awaiting the assent of the Head of State. Regarding the need to set up commissions of innquiry into the abduction of Mr. Sithole, the death of the schoolgirl and the dismissal of Mr. Nxumalo, the Government adds that its position has not changed.
3. 82. The Committee takes note of this information. It notes in particular that, while the Industrial Relations Bill has apparently now been passed by Parliament, it still needs the assent of the Head of State to enter into force. The Committee must therefore recall that two years have passed since the Government first indicated that the Industrial Relations Bill had been drafted with a view to bringing national legislation and practice into conformity with the freedom of association principles and standards. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures as a matter of urgency to ensure that the Industrial Relations Bill enters into force in the near future and to keep the Committee informed of developments in this regard. As concerns the remaining matters raised in this complaint, the Committee must express its deep regret at the Government's refusal to carry out independent investigations in respect of the killing of a schoolgirl during the 1996 stay-away, the abduction of Mr. Sithole and the dismissal of Mr. Nxumalo.