7 April, 2011The ILO's Committee on Freedom of Association commits to take up the issue of Protection Contracts in Mexico and calls on the government to hold constructive dialogue with unions and employers, as it considers IMF's complaints on Union Autonomy, Protection Contracts and Precarious Work.
GENEVA: For the first time since the complaint (no. 2694) was submitted by the International Metalworkers' Federation in February 2009, the International Labour Organization's Committee on Freedom of Association debated the issue of Protection Contracts in Mexico and released strong recommendations committing the ILO to investigate the issue further.
The CFA recommends that the government hold constructive social dialogue with employers and unions, including all the complainant unions, IMF, ITUC, SNTMMSRM, SITUAM and UNT affiliates: STIMAHCS and STRM, to specifically examine:
- How the application of trade union protection clauses, or "exclusion clauses", which have been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, undermine workers' rights to form or join a union of their choice;
- Questions regarding the minimum representativeness of trade unions in order to bargain collectively; and
- Allegations regarding a lack of impartiality on the part of the conciliation and arbitration boards (JCAs) and excessive length of its proceedings.
The committee also discussed the IMF complaint (no. 2478), ongoing since March 2006, regarding Union Autonomy and persecution of the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union (SNTMMSRM). The ILO is calling on the Mexican government to investigate reports of murder, abduction, illegal arrests and violence submitted by the IMF and informs the Committee of its findings.
Also raised by the ILO was the Korean government's failure to implement necessary measures to protect the rights of precarious workers. The ongoing complaint (no. 2602) submitted by the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the IMF, highlights the plight of "illegal dispatch" workers in Korea who are subcontracted to work at major multinational auto and electronics companies but are denied legal protections under federal labour law due to their contract status. The complaint also argues against the criminalization of industrial action through penal code 314, or "obstruction of business".
The government reported to the ILO that it would be carrying out an investigation to access the state of in-company subcontracting at 29 workplaces. The ILO has urged the government to report back on this investigation, as well as provide additional information regarding existing cases in the complaint, and work towards strengthening the protection of subcontracted, or "dispatch" workers' rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
See the report by the Committee on Freedom of Association here (English, Spanish, French): http://www.ilo.org/gb/GBSessions/lang--en/docName--WCMS_153533/index.htm