Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association

Right of workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and to join organizations3

Distinctions based on the nature of the contract

1. The Committee referred to the findings of the General Survey of the Committee of Experts on the fundamental Conventions on labour rights in the light of the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, paragraph 935, in which it is indicated that: the Committee observes that one of the main concerns expressed by trade union organizations is the adverse impact of insecure forms of employment on trade union rights and the protection of workers rights, especially in the case of repeatedly renewed short-term temporary contracts; outsourcing, which is used even by some governments in their own public services to perform legally mandated ongoing tasks; and the non-renewal of contracts for anti-union reasons. Some of these modalities often deprive workers of access to freedom of association and collective bargaining, especially when they conceal a genuine and ongoing labour relationship. Some forms of job insecurity can also deter workers from joining trade unions. The Committee wishes to emphasize the importance of examining, within a tripartite framework, the impact of these forms of employment on the exercise of trade union rights in all member States.

1. All workers must be able to enjoy the right to freedom of association regardless of the type of contract by which the employment relationship has been formalized.

1. The status under which workers are engaged with the employer should not have any effect on their right to join workers organizations and participate in their activities.

1. All workers, regardless of their status, should be guaranteed their freedom of association rights so as to avoid the possibility of having their precarious situation taken advantage of.

1. The criterion for determining the persons covered by the right to organize is not based on the existence of an employment relationship. Workers who do not have employment contracts should have the right to form the organizations of their choosing if they so wish.

1. All workers employed in agri-food enterprises, irrespective of the type of their employment relationship with those enterprises, should have the right to join the trade union organizations representing the interests of the workers in that sector.