Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Honduras (Ratification: 1956)

Comments from workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes the comments of 4 August 2011 by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) referring to pending legislative issues and to the killing and shooting of trade unionists. The Committee recalls that in 2009, the ITUC referred to the murder of the General Secretary and another official of the Workers’ Central Union of Honduras (CTH) on 24 April 2008, the murder of an official of the National Peasant Farmers’ Association of Honduras (ANACH) in May 2008, and armed attacks against the President and Vice-President of the AFL Workers’ Union of Honduras (SITRAFLH) and the raiding of the headquarters of the Single Confederation of Workers’ of Honduras (CUTH) in September 2008. The Committee deplores these serious allegations relating to acts of violence against trade unionists and notes with regret that the Government has not sent comments on these serious allegations and points out that freedom of association can be exercised only in a situation in which fundamental rights are respected and fully guaranteed, particularly those pertaining to human life and safety, and that where there have been attacks on physical or psychological integrity, an independent judicial inquiry should be conducted without delay, as this is a particularly suitable method for fully determining the facts, apportioning responsibility, penalizing the perpetrators and preventing the repetition of such acts. The Committee asks the Government without delay to send its observations on these comments, and on the comments of 6 October 2009 from the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP).

Furthermore, the Committee notes the comments made by the Workers’ General Central Union (CGT), the Single Confederation of Workers of Honduras (CUTH) and the Workers’ Central Union of Honduras (CTH), dated 30 March and 22 August 2011, objecting to the national programme on hourly employment which, in the view of these organizations, has adverse consequences for freedom of association, collective bargaining, employment, wages and weekly rest. Lastly, the Committee notes the comments of 30 September 2011 from the CUTH on the application of the Convention. The Committee takes note of the Government’s reply in relation to these allegations. The Committee observes that these matters are already examined by the Committee on Freedom of Association.

Legislative issues. The Committee recalls that for many years it has been referring to the need to amend several provisions of the Labour Code so as to bring the Code into conformity with the Convention. The Committee’s comments referred to:

• – the exclusion from the scope of the Labour Code, and consequently from the rights and guarantees of the Convention, of workers in agricultural and stock-raising enterprises which do not permanently employ more than ten workers (section 2(1) of the Labour Code);
• – the prohibition of more than one trade union in a single enterprise, institution or establishment (section 472 of the Labour Code);
• – the requirement of more than 30 workers to establish a trade union (section 475 of the Labour Code);
• – the requirement that the officers of a trade union, federation or confederation must be of Honduran nationality (sections 510(a) and 541(a) of the Labour Code), be engaged in the corresponding activity (sections 510(c) and 541(c) of the Labour Code) and be able to read and write (sections 510(d) and 541(d) of the Labour Code);
• – the following restrictions on the right to strike:
• – the ban on strikes being called by federations and confederations (section 537 of the Labour Code);
• – the requirement of a two-thirds majority of the votes of the total membership of the trade union organization in order to call a strike (sections 495 and 563 of the Labour Code);
• – the power of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to end disputes in oil production, refining, transport and distribution services (section 555(2) of the Labour Code);
• – the need for Government authorization or a six-month period of notice for any suspension or stoppage of work in public services that do not depend directly or indirectly on the State (section 558 of the Labour Code);
• – the submission to compulsory arbitration, without the possibility of calling a strike for as long as the arbitration award is in force (two years), of collective disputes in public services that are not essential in the strict sense of the term, that is those the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population (sections 554(2) and (7), 820 and 826 of the Labour Code).

The Committee notes the Government’s response to all these issues to the effect that: (1) section 472 of the Labour Code allows the existence of two or more unions provided that they are not of the same category; (2) the literacy requirement for membership of the executive body of a union does not apply at the time of communicating changes in executive bodies; (3) there are no initiatives to amend the legislative provisions mentioned by the Committee; and (4) in order to promote collective bargaining and freedom of association, the Secretariat of State for Labour and Social Security has been conducting workshops and publishing handbooks on collective bargaining techniques, along with guidelines on the exercise of freedom of association.

The Committee notes with regret that the initiatives to amend the law mentioned by the Government in its previous report (preparation of a bill to reform the Labour Code that included several amendments requested by the Committee) have not been pursued. The Committee hopes that the Government will take all necessary steps to bring the Labour Code into conformity with the Convention and trusts that all the points raised by the Committee will be taken into account. It asks the Government in its next report to provide information on any measures taken to this end and reminds it that it may avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office.