Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Burundi (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 31 August 2016, relating to matters raised by the Committee and allegations of administrative suspension of a trade union. The Committee requests the Government to provide comments on this subject. The Committee notes the observations made by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 1 September 2016, which are of a general nature.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government confines itself in its report to indicating that the Committee’s comments will be taken into account within the context of the current revision of the relevant legislation. It recalls that its previous comments related to the following points:

Article 2 of the Convention.

• -Right of public employees without distinction whatsoever to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. This concerns the absence of regulations respecting the exercise of the right to organize of magistrates, which is behind the difficulties experienced in the registration of the Trade Union of Magistrates of Burundi (SYMABU).
• -Right to organize of minors. Section 271 of the Labour Code provides that minors under the age of 18 may not join a trade union of their own choosing without the explicit authorization of their parents or guardians.

Article 3. Election of trade union officers.

• -Criminal record. Under the terms of section 275(3) of the Labour Code, persons are excluded from trade union office if they have been sentenced to imprisonment without suspension of sentence for more than six months. The Committee recalls that conviction for an act which, by its nature, does not call into question the integrity of the person and implies no real risk for the performance of trade union duties should not constitute grounds for exclusion from trade union office.
• -Belonging to the occupation. Section 275(4) of the Labour Code provides that trade union leaders must have belonged to the occupation or trade for at least one year. The Committee previously requested the Government to make the legislation more flexible by allowing persons who had previously worked in the occupation to stand for office or by lifting this requirement for a reasonable proportion of trade union officers.

Right of organizations to organize their activities and to formulate their programmes in full freedom. Procedures for the exercise of the right to strike.

• -Compulsory procedures prior to calling a strike (sections 191–210 of the Labour Code). This series of procedures appears to empower the Minister of Labour to prevent any strikes.
• -Voting requirements to call a strike. Under the terms of section 213 of the Labour Code, strikes are lawful when they are called with the approval of a simple majority of the employees of the workplace or enterprise. The Committee recalls that the ballot method, the quorum and the majority required should not be such that the exercise of the right to strike becomes unduly difficult in practice. If a country deems it appropriate to require a vote by workers before a strike can be held, it should ensure that account is taken only of the votes cast, and that the required quorum and majority are fixed at a reasonable level (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 147).
• -Legislative Decree prohibiting demonstrations and the exercise of the right to strike during election periods. According to the Government, this Legislative Decree has still not been repealed.

Recalling that the matters raised above have been the subject of its comments for many years, the Committee notes that, according to the Government’s statement, it undertakes to give effect to them and that the revision of the Labour Code is under way. The Committee trusts that the Government will be in a position to provide information in the very near future on the progress made in this work and to provide the text of the revised Labour Code as soon as it has been adopted. The Committee recalls that the Government may avail itself of ILO technical assistance in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.