Freedom of Association
Database 2024

Freedom of Association
Indicator
Freedom of Association
Countries
LRI 2024
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Honduras

Freedom of Association Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2024 (LRI 2024) is a de-jure index covering 145 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2024.

Honduras’s overall score is 70.5 out of 100. The overall score for Honduras is lower than the regional average observed across Latin America and The Caribbean (73). Within Latin America and The Caribbean, the highest score is observed in Brazil (85.5).

Honduras ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1956 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1956.

Labour Rights Index 2024

70.5/100

LRI Country Score

25/100

Freedom of Association Indicator

2.57 %

Trade union density rate (%)

1.9 %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

3.74

SDG indicator 8.8.2

5

ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

More Info

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

No

0

§128(14), Constitution of Honduras 1982; §470-474, Labour Code 1959; CEACR C87 Obs. 2023

B

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

No

0

§128(15), Constitution 1982; §53-80 & 534-536, Labour Code 1959; Decree 292-2013; CEACR C98 Obs. 2023

B

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0

§ 128(13), Constitution of Honduras 1982; §495 & 550-589, Labour Code 1959; CEACR C87 Obs. 2023; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Honduras)

B,D

Does the law prohibit imposing of excessive sanctions against striking workers?

Yes

1

§552 of the Labour Code 1959

A

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/  

Freedom of Association Indicator
The Freedom of Association indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100. 

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT. 

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT. 

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT. 

ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March.  For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link. 

Information

Source: §128(14), Constitution of Honduras 1982; §470-474, Labour Code 1959; CEACR C87 Obs. 2023

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations

""Articles 2 et seq. of the Convention. Establishment, autonomy and activities of trade unions. The Committee recalls that it has been requesting the Government for many years to amend the following provisions of the Labour Code to bring them into conformity with the Convention: -the exclusion from the rights and guarantees of the Convention of workers in agricultural and stock-raising enterprises which do not permanently employ more than ten workers (section 2(1)); -the prohibition of more than one trade union in a single enterprise (section 472); -the requirement of at least 30 workers to establish a trade union (section 475); -the requirement that the officers of a trade union must be of Honduran nationality (sections 510(a) and 541(a)), be engaged in the corresponding activity (sections 510(c) and 541(c)) and be able to read and write (sections 510(d) and 541(d)); -the prohibition on strikes called by federations and confederations (section 537); -the requirement of a two-thirds majority of the votes of the total membership of the trade union organization in order to call a strike (sections 495 and 563); -the authority of the competent minister to end disputes in oil industry services (section 555(2)); -government authorization or a six-month period of notice for any suspension of work in public services that do not depend directly or indirectly on the State (section 558); and -the referral to compulsory arbitration, without the possibility of calling a strike for as long as the arbitration award is in force (two years), of collective disputes in public services that are not essential in the strict sense of the term (sections 554(2) and (7), 820 and 826).""

Information

Source: §128(15), Constitution 1982; §53-80 & 534-536, Labour Code 1959; Decree 292-2013; CEACR C98 Obs. 2023

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations

"Articles 4 and 6. Promotion of collective bargaining. Right of collective bargaining of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State. In its previous comment, the Committee, having taken note of the Government’s indication that various decentralized and centralized institutions were permitted to submit claims and engage in collective bargaining, requested the Government to specify the texts that recognized the right of workers to collective bargaining in these institutions, and how they were related to sections 534 and 536 of the Labour Code, which provide that unions of public employees may not submit lists of claims or conclude collective agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Constitution of the Republic embraces the principles and practices of international law and establishes equal rights, including the right to collective bargaining. With regard to sections 534 and 536 of the Labour Code, the Government indicates that while it is true that there are limitations on collective bargaining in the public sector, trade unions can submit “respectful statements” containing requests and allowing negotiations aimed at improving administrative organization or working methods. It indicates that there are “respectful statements” in four public institutions"

Information

Source: § 128(13), Constitution of Honduras 1982; §495 & 550-589, Labour Code 1959; CEACR C87 Obs. 2023; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Honduras)

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations

"Articles 2 et seq. of the Convention. Establishment, autonomy and activities of trade unions. The Committee recalls that it has been requesting the Government for many years to amend the following provisions of the Labour Code to bring them into conformity with the Convention: the exclusion from the rights and guarantees of the Convention of workers in agricultural and stock-raising enterprises which do not permanently employ more than ten workers (section 2(1)); the prohibition of more than one trade union in a single enterprise (section 472); the requirement of at least 30 workers to establish a trade union (section 475); the requirement that the officers of a trade union must be of Honduran nationality (sections 510(a) and 541(a)), be engaged in the corresponding activity (sections 510(c) and 541(c)) and be able to read and write (sections 510(d) and 541(d)); the prohibition on strikes called by federations and confederations (section 537); the requirement of a two-thirds majority of the votes of the total membership of the trade union organization in order to call a strike (sections 495 and 563); the authority of the competent minister to end disputes in oil industry services (section 555(2)); government authorization or a six-month period of notice for any suspension of work in public services that do not depend directly or indirectly on the State (section 558); the referral to compulsory arbitration, without the possibility of calling a strike for as long as the arbitration award is in force (two years), of collective disputes in public services that are not essential in the strict sense of the term (sections 554(2) and (7), 820 and 826)."

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

"The law allowed only local unions to call strikes, prohibited labor federations and confederations from calling strikes, and required that a two-thirds majority of both union and nonunion employees at an enterprise approve a strike. The law prohibited workers from legally striking until direct negotiations and government-accompanied mediation and conciliation had failed. The Ministry of Labor had the power to declare a work stoppage illegal and grant employers the ability to discipline employees consistent with their internal regulations, including by firing strikers. In addition, the law limited strikes in sectors the government designated as essential services but did not necessarily meet the criteria for essential services. The law required workers in public health care, social security, staple food production, and public utilities (municipal sanitation, water, electricity, and telecommunications) to provide basic services during a strike."

Information

Source: §552 of the Labour Code 1959

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

"Legal strike Art. 552. A legal strike suspends the employment contracts and conventions in force in the company, place or business in which it is declared, for the entire duration of the strike, without terminating or extinguishing the rights and obligations arising therefrom. The employer may not enter into new employment contracts during the strike movement, except in those facilities whose operation is essential in the opinion of the authority hearing the strike, in order to avoid serious damage to the safety and maintenance of workshops, premises, equipment, machinery or basic elements, and only in the event that the strikers do not authorize the work of the necessary personnel in those facilities."