Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1961)

Civil liberties. In its previous comments, the Committee noted with concern the 2017 observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and of the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM), denouncing violent repression resulting in deaths during trade union demonstrations and the systematic arrest of trade unionists during trade union demonstrations. It requested the Government to provide its comments in this respect. Regretting the absence of information in this regard in the Government’s report, the Committee urges the Government to provide its comments in response to the serious allegations above.

Article 3 of the Convention. Trade union elections. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that three orders relating to staff delegates and the procedures for their election, the consolidation of election results and practical procedures for the organization and operation of the National Social Dialogue Council had been adopted since 2014. The Committee requested the Government to provide copies of these orders and continue providing information on the progress achieved and on the legislative reform process that has been initiated with a view to the holding of elections. The Committee notes that the Government, in its report, reiterates that it will continue to provide information on the progress made towards the organization of workers’ representatives to determine union representativity in the public and private sectors, and will include all the organizations concerned in its consultations on the legislative reform process, but the Government does not provide a copy of the orders requested nor any specific information on the development of the situation. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide a copy of the abovementioned orders and to provide specific information on any developments relating to the legislative reform process with a view to holding the elections of workers’ representatives.

Articles 2 and 3. Legislative amendments. In its previous comments, the Committee reiterated its expression of firm hope that in the near future the Government would report tangible progress in the revision of the Labour Code with a view to bringing it fully into conformity with the Convention. In this regard, the Committee expressed hope that the Government would take due account of all the points recalled below:

• – Right of workers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing without prior authorization. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to amend section 269 of the Labour Code so as to remove any obstacles that prevent the exercise of the right to organize by minors who have access to the labour market (14 years of age, in accordance with section 153 of the Labour Code), whether as workers or apprentices, without the permission of their parents or guardian being necessary.
• – Right to organize of magistrates. The Committee recalls that for many years it has been requesting the Government to take measures to ensure that magistrates enjoy the right to establish and to join organizations of their own choosing, in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention. Noting the Government’s indication that magistrates now have their own organization in which they exercise their trade union rights to the full, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the legal basis that has enabled this progress.
• – Right of workers’ organizations to freely elect their representatives and to organize their administration and activities in full freedom, without interference from the public authorities. The Committee recalls that the combined implementation of sections 268 and 273 of the Labour Code is liable to be an obstacle to the right of organizations to elect their representatives in full freedom, by preventing them from electing qualified persons or depriving them of the experience of certain leaders when they do not have among their own ranks sufficient numbers of competent persons. The Committee therefore requests the Government to make the conditions less rigid for eligibility as trade union leaders or officers, for example by removing the requirement to belong to the occupation for a reasonable proportion of leaders. The Committee also requests the Government to amend section 278 of the Labour Code with a view to ensuring that any change in the administration or leadership of a trade union can take effect as soon as it has been notified to the competent authorities, and without the latter’s approval being necessary.
• – Compulsory arbitration. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to amend section 350 of the Labour Code to ensure that the possibility for the Minister of Labour to have recourse to compulsory arbitration in the event of a collective dispute is limited to cases involving an essential service in the strict sense of the term, that is a service the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population, and situations of acute national crisis.
• – Duration of mediation. Recalling that the maximum duration (120 days) of a mediation procedure before a strike may be called, as set out in section 346 of the Labour Code, is excessive, the Committee requests the Government to take measures to amend this provision in order to reduce the maximum duration.
• – Strike pickets. The Committee recalls that the restrictions imposed on strike pickets and the occupation of premises should be limited to cases in which the action ceases to be peaceful or in which the observance of the right to work of non-strikers or the right of the management to enter the premises of the enterprise is impaired. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take measures to amend section 359 of the Labour Code in order to abolish the prohibition of the peaceful occupation of workplaces or their immediate surroundings, and to ensure that no penal sanctions are imposed against a worker for having carried out a peaceful strike, and that in no case prison sentences are imposed, except in cases of violence against persons or property or other serious breaches of the law, in accordance with the provisions punishing such offences.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it will report tangible progress in the revision of the Labour Code, taking account of the comments formulated by the Committee and that two experts will review the provisions of the Code and propose implementing texts. Observing once again that it has been commenting for many years on the abovementioned issues, the Committee urges the Government to complete its revision of the Labour Code in the very near future and, recalling that it may avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO, requests the Government to continue to report on all developments in this regard.