Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1973)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and observes that it does not contain the information requested in its previous observations.

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that in its previous observations it noted that Supreme Decree No. 25421, of 11 June 1999, prohibited any anti-union discrimination against workers (in broad terms, that is, not only against trade union leaders), as well as any act of discrimination or interference by employers’ organizations in workers’ organizations and vice versa, and that infringements of these provisions would be penalized in conformity with the General Labour Act and its related provisions. The Committee had requested the Government to indicate clearly the penalties provided for in the law which would be applicable to such violations and to provide information on the manner in which the system operates in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that Legislative Decree No. 38 of 7 February 1944 provides in section 5 that, inter alia, a financial fine of between 1,000 and 5,000 bolivianos may be imposed upon any employer or representative of an employer who directly or indirectly impedes the free exercise of trade union activities. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to take measures to review the rates of financial fines so that they are of a sufficiently dissuasive nature in respect of acts of anti-union discrimination or interference.

Articles 4 and 6. The Committee notes that the legislation denies the right to organize to public servants. The Committee emphasizes that, in accordance with the Convention, public servants not engaged in the administration of the State must have the right to bargain collectively through their organizations. The Committee requests the Government to take steps to amend its legislation accordingly and to provide information in its next report on any measure adopted to remedy this grave violation of the Convention.

Finally, in a previous direct request, the Committee noted that the Ministry of Labour was promoting collective bargaining and requested the Government to provide copies of the most relevant collective agreements concluded at the national, branch of activities and enterprise levels in which negotiations not only concerned questions of wages. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that there is only a dialogue between the Government and the workers represented by the Bolivian Central of Workers for the purposes of discussing and negotiating the payment of wages and that the Confederation of Private Sector Employers (CEP) does not participate in such negotiations, generally due to the deficiencies in the organization of the agenda of the Ministry of Labour and Micro-enterprises, and that this is to the prejudice of the workers since the participation of the CEP would provide greater opportunities for negotiation, not only on wage matters. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government, in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention, to take measures to encourage and promote the full development and utilization of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers’ organizations and workers’ organizations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment (which include matters other than wages) by means of collective agreements. Under these conditions, the Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the collective agreements in force and their contents.