Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144) - Peru (Ratification: 2004)

The Committee takes note of the observations of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP), the Single Confederation of Workers of Peru (CUT-Peru), the Autonomous Workers’ Confederation of Peru (CATP), and the Confederation of Workers of Peru (CTP), as well as those of the National Confederation of Private Enterprise Institutions (CONFIEP), received on 1 September 2022. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Article 2 of the Convention. Appropriate procedures. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the National Labour and Employment Promotion Council (CNTPE) was no longer meeting because the trade union confederations had suspended their participation in the Council in May 2017 due to their disagreement with the approval of standards on collective stoppages and labour inspection and with the submission to the executive of a series of bills on voluntary arbitration, on the grounds that the bills failed to take account of the confederations’ inputs. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that tripartite consultations on minimum wages and their periodic adjustment were held within the CNTPE between 2018 and 2019. In a complementary manner, a wide-ranging process of social dialogue went ahead on various subjects, such as the National Plan on Competitivity and Productivity. Moreover, in 2019 roundtables were held on a range of social questions with each of trade unions that are CNTPE members. The Committee notes however that the confederations maintain that despite the agreement reached within the CNTPE to submit the National Plan on Competitivity and Productivity to tripartite dialogue, the Government approved the Plan on 28 July 2019 without prior consultations with the social partners. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that between 2020 and 2021, while the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the holding of CNTPE sessions, various bilateral meetings and working groups on social and labour issues took place in the context of the crisis. In that regard, the confederations assert that the social partners were not consulted regarding the abovementioned measures, which also transferred the effects of the health crisis to the workers. They add that they were only convened to meetings at which a restricted range of the measures were presented and were given a very tight deadline to formulate their contributions. Finally, the Committee notes that the Government reports that the relaunching session of the CNTPE for 2021–26 took place on 13 November 2021, in the presence, among other government representatives, of the President of the Republic, as well as representatives of the confederations and of employers’ organizations. ILO officials also attended. The Government reports that the CNTPE held two sessions between January and May 2022.

The Committee notes that the confederations, in their observations, claim that social dialogue and its supporting institution in the country, the CNTPE, are seriously debilitated. They argue that CNTPE activities have lacked continuity, and that between 2016 and 2021 only eight of the 72 ordinary sessions that should have been held took place, the CNTPE internal regulations stipulating one ordinary meeting per month. Moreover, the confederations stress that in Act No. 29.381 of 2009, establishing the organization and functions of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion (MTPE), all references to the CNTPE as the consultative body of the MTPE were removed. They maintain that although the Regulation on the organization and functions of the CNTPE (Supreme Decree No. 01-2005-TR) remains in force, the CNTPE currently has no organic support guaranteed by a regulation having force of law. The confederations conclude that measures must be urgently adopted to ensure free enjoyment of trade union rights with a view to ensuring a genuine relaunching of the CNTPE.

The Committee notes that the CONFIEP also argues that the Government is not complying with the mechanisms and procedures for prior tripartite consultation established by the Convention. In the first instance, the CONFIEP indicates that the CNTPE is mandated to give opinions on draft legislation drawn up by the Government. In that connection, the CONFIEP accuses the Government of approving, without prior consultation with the social partners, a series of rules altering the regulations governing the outsourcing of services, and the Regulations of the Act on Collective Labour Relations, making structural changes to the regulation of freedom of association, collective bargaining and arbitration. The CONFIEP also indicates that Ministerial Decision No. 232-2021-TR established the Sectoral Commission for the formulation of the first draft of the Labour Code as a temporary body composed solely of representatives of the MTPE. The Sectoral Commission expressly ruled that the first draft would subsequently be submitted to the CNTPE. However, the CONFIEP states that the first draft was not submitted to the CNTPE but was published on the MTPE website, setting a deadline of only 20 days for the submission of general comments in relation to almost 500 proposed provisions. The CONFIEP reports that as a result of these facts, on 25 April and 28 July 2022, with the International Organisation of Employers’ (IOE) endorsement, it sent to requests for urgent intervention to the ILO, alleging serious non-compliance with the Convention and calling for the restoration of tripartite social dialogue in the country without delay. The CONFIEP states that on 26 July 2022, it suspended its participation in the CNTPE because of the serious damage inflicted by the Government on social dialogue and on the CNTPE itself as an institution. In light of the concerns expressed by both the trade union confederations and the CONFIEP, the Committee urges the Government to adopt the necessary measures to guarantee that effective tripartite consultations are held and that the CNTPE can begin functioning again without delay. It also requests the Government to send detailed and updated information on these measures. The Committee firmly hopes that the circumstances obstructing the functioning of the CNTPE can be rapidly resolved.

Article 5. Effective tripartite consultations. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the observations of the CATP, in which the confederation maintained that the Government sent its reports to the workers’ organizations with very little time for the latter to formulate their observations. In that connection, the Committee expressed the hope that the Government would take steps to establish an adequate timeframe to give employers’ and workers’ sufficient notice to form their opinions and make any comments they consider appropriate on the drafts communicated by the Government. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that during the period covered by the report tripartite consultations were held regarding the submission of the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), which was ratified on 8 June 2022. The Government reports that on 23 June 2022 a tripartite workshop on the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, had been planned, with the participation of ILO and MTPE specialists and of the actors concerned. Regarding consultations on the draft reports on ratified Conventions, the Government indicates that these reports were communicated to the most representative organizations of employers and workers to allow them to formulate their comments thereon. For their part, the trade union confederations maintain that they received the drafts on 2 August 2022, which made the presentation of coherent, documented comments before the closing date for submission of reports (31 August) difficult. The confederations also refer to the MTPE “Guidelines for international affairs relative to the International Labour Organization”, which allow a deadline of 20 working days to employers’ and workers’ organizations for the formulation of their opinions on the draft reports. Given the complexity of some of the issues covered by international standards, the confederations stress that the deadlines should be more generous to allow for the collection and processing of information, and should include a stage of face-to-face dialogue between the parties, prior to the sending of the reports. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed and updated information on the frequency, content and results of the tripartite consultations held on all questions related to international labour standards covered by the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which account is taken of the representative organizations of workers’ opinions on the functioning of the procedures for effective prior consultation required by the Convention, and also on the possibility of establishing modified procedures that answer to the concerns expressed by the trade union confederations in their observations.