Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Antigua and Barbuda (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee takes note of the report submitted by the Government.

As regards the legislative protection afforded to workers against acts of anti-union discrimination by employers, the Committee notes the provisions of the Labour Code, Division K, Part I and particularly section K10(2), which institutes civil and penal sanctions for the protection of organisational rights.

The Committee recalls, however, that the facts of Case No. 1296 of the Committee on Freedom of Association show that the labour legislation can be applied in practice so as to authorise dismissals for legitimate trade union activities, which is incompatible with Article 1 of the Convention.

The Committee refers to the requirements concerning the application of Article 1 of the Convention which it recalled in its previous direct request. It further notes that the workers concerned in the above-mentioned case challenged the legality of their dismissal and that, according to the Government, the Industrial Court is presently considering the issue. The Committee strongly hopes that this Court will issue its judgement very shortly since the workers were dismissed more than four years ago, and that they will be reinstated in their employment with compensation, particularly in view of the fact that the High Court ruled they had not abandoned their jobs. The Committee urges the Government to provide a copy of the Industrial Court's decision as soon as it is handed down, to indicate in its next report the actual remedies granted to these workers, and to take legislative or other measures to avoid the repetition of such a situation in the future.

Furthermore, the Committee requests a copy of the Civil Service Act, 1984, which, according to the Government, gives civil servants the right to organise and collective bargaining.