2010 Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights – Madagascar

Population: 19,600,000
Capital: Antananarivo
ILO Core Conventions Ratified: 29 – 87 – 98 – 100 – 105 – 111 – 138 – 182

As the country became mired in a major political crisis, trade union rights were even less of a priority for its rulers. Much of the labour law and trade union rights are determined by decree, and is not favourable to trade unions.

Trade union rights in law

Although the Labour Code provides for basic trade union rights, it also contains excessive restrictions. It is complemented by decrees. Both private and public sector workers have the right to join and form unions, except for seafarers and workers in essential services, the list of which exceeds the ILO definition. The establishment, organisation and operation of trade unions is determined by decree, and unions must provide lists of all their members, which exposes them to the possibility of anti-union abuse.

Industrial disputes must go through conciliation, mediation, and arbitration procedures determined by the authorities. Furthermore, state employees are not allowed to strike due to Article 33 of the 2007 Constitution, which stipulates that “the right to strike is recognised without prejudice to the principle of continuity of public services or to the security and essential needs of the Nation”, a provision that does not explicitly exclude private sector employees either. The authorities also have broad powers to requisition public employees in essential services.

Trade union rights in practice and violations in 2009

Background: Dozens of civilians were killed in the repression of opposition demonstrations at the beginning of the year. In March, Andry Rajoelina assumed power, with military backing. Attempts at international mediation and the formation of a transition government failed. In December, the country’s new leader announced legislative elections for March 2010. The political crisis had serious socio-economic repercussions. Fears about the precariousness of many jobs were justified, first owing to the impact of the world economic crisis and then at the very end of the year the withdrawal of the trade preferences granted by the United States under the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) for failure to respect the democracy criteria.

Export Processing Zones: No serious violations were reported. According to the trade unions, the recent complaint lodged with the ILO further to a new law allowing for excessive overtime and night work by women raised awareness, and employers have become more respectful of the trade unions. In recent years, most cases of discrimination against union members concerned employers in zones where union presence was low. It is estimated that the zones have generated 100,000 direct jobs and 400,000 indirect jobs.

Trade union rights often ignored: The predominance of subsistence agriculture and the informal sector as well as the authorities’ relative indifference to and the employers’ contempt for trade union activities all help ensure that labour legislation only applies to a small minority of workers. Over recent years the trade unions have complained of the opacity of the agreements concluded between the authorities and the mining companies. According to a report published in October 2009 by the Workers’ Conference of Madagascar (CTM) and the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES), most collective agreements have been signed in public enterprises. With privatisation, however, many have become obsolete (rail, telecommunications, energy, etc.).

source: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=country&docid=4c4fec692d&skip=0&coi=MDG&querysi=trade&searchin=title&display=10&sort=date

2009 Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights – Madagascar

Population: 20,200,000
Capital: Antananarivo
ILO Core Conventions Ratified: 29 – 87 – 98 – 100 – 111 – 138 – 182

Restrictions on the right to strike and new legislation on export processing zones. Within the space of just two months, the labour legislation saw the introduction of two new instruments that can only lead to a deterioration in trade union rights.

Trade union rights in law

Freedom of association: The Constitution of April 2007 guarantees both public and private sector workers, with the exception of seafarers and workers providing so-called essential services, the right to join and form trade unions. However, according to the current Labour Code, the establishment, organisation and operation of trade unions is determined by decree. Radio and television broadcasting and banking are included in the so-called essential services classification, largely exceeding the limits set in the ILO definition.

Collective bargaining: The Labour Code provides for the right to collective bargaining.

The Labour Code does not cover seafarers. Under the Maritime Code, they do have the right to conclude collective agreements, but their right to organise is not specifically recognised in law.

New restriction on the right to strike enshrined in the Constitution: Article 33 of the Constitution adopted in April 2007 stipulates that “the right to strike is recognised without prejudice to the principle of continuity of public services or to the security and essential needs of the Nation”. This provision is much too broad, as it covers all state employees and does not explicitly exclude private sector employees.

Interference by the authorities and use of arbitration procedures: Workers first have to exhaust the conciliation, mediation and arbitration procedures determined by the authorities. The government has the power to require public employees to work, in order to end or avert a strike, within the framework of its broad definition of “essential services”.

The Labour Code prohibits anti-union discrimination.

New law passed on EPZs: In January, new legislation on export processing zones (EPZ) was passed without consulting the unions. The law restricts the rights of EPZ workers and authorises employers to require their employees to work longer hours or risk dismissal, opening the gateway to massive exploitation.

Trade union rights in practice and violations in 2008

Background: In March, cyclone Ivan, one of the most devastating the country has ever seen, claimed some one hundred lives and left over 300,000 people homeless. During the same month, the authorities had announced that the country had just extracted its first barrels of oil. The wealth of Madagascar’s subsoil attracts foreign companies in large numbers. However, the lack of transparency in the signing of deals raises fears that the local population will gain very little from it.

Trade union rights widely violated: The prevalence of subsistence farming and work in the informal economy, coupled with the relative indifference of the government and the contempt of employers for trade union activities mean that the labour legislation only applies to a small minority of the workers. Those that are covered by the labour legislation are still very vulnerable to anti-union discrimination.

Trade unions ignored in mining projects: Over recent years, trade unions have repeatedly criticised the lack of transparency in the agreements reached between the government and the mining corporations. The unions have never been consulted about these projects.

Numerous violations in the EPZs: In practice, trade union rights are flouted every day in EPZs due to a lack of political will and resources. Workers have great problems forming trade unions or engaging in collective bargaining. In factories where a union has managed to obtain recognition it is very difficult to hold union meetings, or they are categorically banned, and the unions complain about a lack of goodwill from employers who prevent any real dialogue between the social partners. Just one EPZ company out of the 62 in total is applying a collective agreement. The unions reported the persistence of abuses such as compulsory overtime, forced night work for women and sexual harassment.

Government interference in trade union affairs: A government decree, issued in 2000, requires trade unions to provide a list of their members, a copy of their statutes and the names of their serving officers. The government claimed this was merely to ensure that trade unions were representative. As the ILO pointed out, a record of membership dues should be sufficient for this purpose, as a list of names could make members more vulnerable to anti-union discrimination.

The country’s trade unions also claim that the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Law interferes in the election of worker representatives to various tripartite bodies. It organises missions involving workers’ representatives without the knowledge of their confederations – with a view to appointing them to regional tripartite bodies – and calls for candidates other than those already put forward by the confederations to serve on these bodies.

source: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=country&docid=4c52cada28&skip=0&coi=MDG&querysi=trade&searchin=title&display=10&sort=date