Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Mongolia (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

With reference to its previous comments, the Committee points out that the existence of a single-trade-union system in the country results from the very terms of its legislation. In the first place, sections 4 and 185 of the Labour Code confer trade union functions (collective bargaining, representation of workers' interests, solution of labour problems, etc.) solely on the trade union committees mentioned, which excludes the possibility of workers setting up any other trade union organisation that can promote and defend their interests. The Committee also noted that section 82 of the Constitution names the People's Revolutionary Party of Mongolia as the leader and guide of all state bodies and other organisations of the working masses. In the opinion of the Committee, this provision implies that no mass organisations, particularly trade unions, would have any possibility of operating outside the Party framework. 1. Trade union unity. The Committee notes the views advanced by the Government according to which the fact that no legislative provision prohibits or prevents the establishment of trade unions is sufficient to ensure the application of Article 2 of the Convention. The Government adds that the trade union system corresponds to the specific economic and social conditions prevailing in the country at the time when the trade union movement emerged and that sections 4 and 185 of the Labour Code protect trade union rights and ensure the participation of trade unions in the administration of society and the State. It also specifies that the trade union rights referred to apply to all trade unions whether they exist now or will be established in the future. In the Government's opinion, little is achieved merely by ensuring under the law that workers' organisations have the right to draw up their constitution and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes, and the legislation must therefore consolidate the legal foundations of trade union activity - sections 4 and 185 were envisaged for this purpose. The Government also states that the current trade union system is considered by the workers to be one of their most important achievements and that the Central Council of Mongolian Trade Unions and the central committees are responsible for dealing with essential issues affecting the vital interests of all workers. However, the Committee considers that although the legislation does not in theory prevent a trade union from being constituted, the provisions of the Labour Code, which specifically and exclusively confer essential trade union functions on the Central Council of Mongolian Trade Unions and on the trade union committees (sections 4, 183 and 185 of the Code) are in themselves an obstacle to other trade union organisations being able to exercise in practice activities of a trade union nature. In its General Survey of 1983 on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining, the Committee emphasised that, even in a case where a de facto monopoly exists as a consequence of all the workers having grouped together, legislation should not institutionalise this factual situation, for example, by designating the single central organisation by name, even if the existing trade union so requests (see paragraph 137 of the General Survey). The Committee is once again bound to draw the Government's attention to the fact that it should be possible for workers' organisations to be set up, where this is so desired, outside the existing trade union structure, to defend their members' interests and to formulate their programmes, as envisaged in Article 3. The Committee points out that the principles laid down in the Convention are aimed at ensuring that workers are able, both in theory and practice, to establish freely organisations of their own choosing to represent their interests. 2. Political ties. With regard to the ties between the People's Revolutionary Party of Mongolia and the trade unions, the Committee notes from the Government's reports that the Party constantly supports the trade unions in their activities since these organisations have the common background of having been established and developed principally as working class organisations. According to the Government, as a result of the fact that the Party plays an essential role in social development for the good of the whole of the population and supports the workers' struggle in a planned and scientific manner corresponding to the objectives of national development and the ideals of the working class, it is normal for the Party's programme to be followed and supported by the masses and social pressure groups, including the trade unions. Consequently, the Government considers that the provisions of section 82 should be viewed in the context of the situation as it describes it and that it is an internal political matter which is not dealt with by the Convention. In the first place, the Committee wishes to emphasise that it recognised in paragraph 195 of its General Survey of 1983 on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining that the participation of trade unions in economic and social policy-making bodies, in order to achieve the objective of promoting working conditions, means that trade unions must be able to devote attention to matters of general interest, i.e. "political" in the broadest sense of the word. However, the Committee referred in paragraph 196 of the above Survey to the 1952 resolution concerning the independence of the trade union movement to point out that the political relations of trade unions with political parties or their political activities intended to further the achievement of their economic and social objectives should not be of such a nature as to compromise the freedom and independence of the trade union movement. The Committee stresses this point, since the links between the trade union organisation and the political party are in this case imposed by legislation, namely the Constitution of the State, contrary to the provisions of Article 3, under which organisations shall have the right to organise their activities in full freedom. The Committee therefore requests the Government to reconsider the situation in the light of its comments in order to give full effect to the provisions of the Convention. Furthermore, the Committee reiterates its request concerning the regulations respecting the rights of the trade union committees to which the Government referred in 1977. It urges the Government to attach a copy of them to its next report.