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Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
- 58. The Committee last examined this case – which concerns the prohibition imposed by the legislation of North Carolina to make any collective agreement between cities, towns, municipalities or the State and any labour or trade union in the public sector – at its March 2010 meeting [see 356th Report, paras 67–69]. On that occasion, the Committee expected that the new legislation would be adopted in the very near future, so as to remove the collective bargaining ban imposed on state and local public employees. It further requested the Government to continue promoting the establishment of a collective bargaining framework in the public sector in North Carolina, as well as the effective recognition of the right of collective bargaining.
- 59. In a communication dated 16 March 2011, the Government states that none of the four bills introduced in the 2009–10 session of the North Carolina legislature to repeal or modify the provision contained in the North Carolina General Statute (NCGS)
- sections 95–98 prohibiting agreements between governing bodies of the state’s political subdivisions and public-sector labor organizations were enacted into law during the legislative session. The Government further states that similar legislation has not yet been introduced in the legislative session that began in January 2011.
- 60. The Government further indicates that the United States is committed to the promotion of the principle of freedom of association and has made efforts to do so in public sector workplaces. On 9 December 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13522, which aims to establish a cooperative and productive form of labor–management relations throughout the executive branch. Similarly, steps are being taken to protect, assess and encourage progress at the state and local levels. There have also been efforts at the federal level to enact legislation giving collective bargaining rights to public safety employees at the state and local levels of government with the introduction in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009 and the conduct of public hearings on 10 March 2010. The bills – which would give state and local safety officers the right to form unions or collective bargaining units, mandate recognition of their representatives as well as the right to bargain for wages, hours and others terms and conditions of employment and make available a mediation process to resolve impasses in negotiations – are no longer under consideration as the legislative session has ended and similar legislation has not yet been introduced.
- 61. The Committee notes the above information provided by the Government and regrets that none of the bills introduced in North Carolina to remove the collective bargaining ban imposed on state and local public employees were enacted into law. The Committee expresses the firm hope that similar legislation will be introduced and adopted in the very near future. Taking note of the efforts made by the Government, the Committee urges it to continue to promote freedom of association and collective bargaining rights in the public sector, including by promoting the establishment of a collective bargaining framework in the public sector in North Carolina and to keep it informed of developments in that respect.
