Freedom of Association
Database 2024

Freedom of Association
Indicator
Freedom of Association
Countries
LRI 2024
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Lebanon

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.

Lebanon’s overall score is 47 out of 100. The overall score for Lebanon is lower than the regional average observed across Middle East and North Africa (64). Within the Middle East and North Africa region, the highest score is observed for Morocco (77).

Lebanon ratified Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining in 1977 but has not ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948).

Labour Rights Index 2024

47/100

LRI Country Score

0/100

Freedom of Association Indicator

. %

Trade union density rate (%)

. %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

4.17

SDG indicator 8.8.2

4

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

§13 of the Constitution of Lebanon, 1926; §7 & 83-91 of the Labour Code, 1946; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 Lebanon Profile; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Lebanon)

C,D

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

No

0

CEACR C98 Obs. 2022; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (Lebanon Profile); USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Lebanon)

C,D

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0

§13 of the Constitution of Lebanon, 1926; §83-91 of the Labour Code, 1946; CEACR C98 Obs. 2022; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Lebanon)

B,D

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

No

0

§340 & 341 Penal Code 1943; §50 (D) of Labour Code 2010; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (Lebanon Profile)

A,C

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: §13 of the Constitution of Lebanon, 1926; §7 & 83-91 of the Labour Code, 1946; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 Lebanon Profile; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Lebanon)

C : ITUC

ITUC Global Rights Index (country legal profile)

"Government employees are not allowed to establish or belong to unions and federations. "

D : USDOS

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

"The law permitted foreign workers to join existing unions (regardless of nationality and reciprocity agreements) but denied them the right to form their own unions. Foreign workers were not granted full membership by most unions and could neither vote in trade union elections nor run for union office."

Information

Source: CEACR C98 Obs. 2022; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (Lebanon Profile); USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Lebanon)

C : ITUC

ITUC Global Rights Index (country legal profile)

"A minimum of 60% of workers must agree before a union can bargain collectively. Collective agreements must be ratified by two-thirds of the union members at a general meeting. "

D : USDOS

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

"The law prohibited civil servants and a broad range of public-sector workers from engaging in collective bargaining or striking. Some private-sector worker groups were not allowed to organize and bargain collectively, including agricultural, domestic, and migrant workers in the informal economy. "

Information

Source: §13 of the Constitution of Lebanon, 1926; §83-91 of the Labour Code, 1946; CEACR C98 Obs. 2022; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (Lebanon)

B : CEACR

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

"Labour Code review. For many years, the Committee has been asking the Government to take measures so that recourse to arbitration in the three public sector enterprises governed by Decree No. 2952 of 20 October 1965 is only at the request of both parties. The Committee also requested the amendment of section 224 of the draft Labour Code, which provides that, should mediation fail, any dispute in the case of the three public sector enterprises governed by Decree No. 2952 will be settled by an arbitration board. The Committee notes with regret the Government’s indication that Decree No. 2952 has been replaced by Decree No. 13896 of 3 January 2005, and that now all investment enterprises in the private and public sectors which are responsible for managing public services on behalf of the State or on their own account must resort to compulsory arbitration should negotiations fail. The Committee recalls that compulsory arbitration is generally not compatible with the promotion of free and voluntary collective bargaining required by Article 4 of the Convention and therefore that compulsory arbitration in the context of collective bargaining is only acceptable in relation to public servants engaged in the administration of the State (Article 6 of the Convention), essential services in the strict sense of the term (services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population) and in the event of an acute national crisis.Noting with regret that the Government has been merely indicating, for over a decade, that the draft Labour Code is under examination and that due account will be taken of the Committee’s comments, and that the Labour Code in force continues to contain provisions that are not compatible with the Convention, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary legislative measures to amend the Labour Code in force so as to guarantee the collective bargaining rights of workers, including domestic workers. The Committee reminds the Government that it may avail itself of technical assistance from the Office in this regard."

D : USDOS

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

"The law prohibited civil servants and a broad range of public-sector workers from engaging in collective bargaining or striking. Some private-sector worker groups were not allowed to organize and bargain collectively, including agricultural, domestic, and migrant workers in the informal economy. The International Labor Organization (ILO) noted prohibitions on the right to strike in banking, private schools, retail businesses, daily and occasional workers, and the civil service constituted situations in which freedom of association protections did not meet the standards of the ILO convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize. The law required public sector workers to settle disputes through compulsory arbitration."

Information

Source: §340 & 341 Penal Code 1943; §50 (D) of Labour Code 2010; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (Lebanon Profile)

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

"Article 341 - If one of the employers, project heads, employees, or currency employees stops working, either With the intent of putting pressure on the public authorities, either in protest or as a measure issued by them, whoever is arrested shall be punished The offenders shall be imprisoned or under house arrest for a period of at least three months. "Art. 50 D Dismissal shall be considered as being the fact of misuse or abuse of right if it should occur in the following cases: 1- For a non valid reason or for reason in no way pertaining to the worker's fitness or behaviour within the establishment or to the sound management and smooth running of the establishment. 2. For having adhered or not to a given trade union, or for having engaged in a legal trade union activity, within the laws and regulations in force or within the framework of a group or individual labour agreement. 3- For having stood for elections, or for having been elected as member of a trade union office or having represented the establishment's labour force, throughout the period of such representation. 4- For having lodged, in good faith, with the competent Services, a complaint regarding the implementation of the provisions of the present law and of texts referring thereto, or having brought a case against the employer on the same basis. 5- For having exercised his individual or public liberties within the framework of the laws in force. ""

C : ITUC

ITUC Global Rights Index (country legal profile)

"Under Article 340 of the Penal Code, public officials may be demoted for participating in a strike. "