LABOUR RIGHTS INDEX 2022

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lri 2022 Country Profiles

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Trade Union Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2022 (LRI 2022) is a de-jure index covering 135 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 2022. The Index does not take into account COVID-19 related labour market measures in its scoring.

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)’s overall score is 64 out of 100. The overall score for Bolivia (Plurinational State of) is lower than the regional average observed across Latin America and The Caribbean (71). Within the Latin America and The Caribbean region, the highest score is observed for Paraguay (82.5).

Bolivia (Plurinational State of) ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1965 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1973.

Labour Rights Index 2022

64/100

LRI Country Score

0/100

Trade Union Indicator

12.05 %

Trade union density rate (%)

- %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

2.94

SDG indicator 8.8.2

3

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

Violation

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

No

0

§21 & 51 of Constitution 2009; §99 & 103-104 of General Labour Act 1939

A

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

No

0

§49 Constitution 2009; §1 & 27 General Labour Act, 1939; CEACR C98 Obs. 2019; §17, 18 of Decree enacting the Regulation of the General Labour Act, 1943

B

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0

§53 Constitution 2009; §114-119, General Labour Act, 1939; CEACR C87 Obs. 2019

B

Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?

No

0

§1 & 2 of Legislative Decree No. 2565 of June 1951; CEACR C87 Obs. 2019

A / B

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 2022

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021

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/  

Trade Union Indicator
The trade union 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 2022 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. 

To find an ITUC affiliate in your country, please check the LINK:

Violations

National Labour Legislation
§103 & 104 of General Labour Act 1939

ARTICLE 103º A union may not be formed with less than 20 workers, in the case of
unions or professional unions or with less than 50 percent of the workers of a company,
in the case of industrial unions.
ARTICLE 104º Public officials may not organize unions, regardless of their
category and condition

Violations

ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)
CEACR C98 Obs. 2019

Articles 1, 2 and 4 of the Convention. Legislative issues. The Committee recalls that it has been referring for many years in its comments to the following matters relating to Articles 1, 2 and 4 of the Convention:
-the need to adjust the amount of fines (the amount of which ranges from 1,000–5,000 Bolivian bolivianos) as envisaged in Act No. 38 of 7 February 1944, in order to make them a sufficient deterrent against possible acts of anti-union discrimination or interference; and
-the need to guarantee the right to collective bargaining of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State and agricultural workers (the Constitution already does so, but the General Labour Act has not been amended accordingly).
In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that: (i) the issue of fines had been discussed with the Bolivian Workers’ Federation (COB) at round-table meetings; (ii) with regard to the exclusion of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State, a draft new Civil Service Act had been drawn up; and (iii) with regard to the exclusion of agricultural workers, work was also being carried out on drafting a new Labour Code. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that work is ongoing with regard to the above-mentioned issues. Noting with regret the lack of progress in this regard, the Committee firmly hopes that the new Civil Service Act and the new Labour Code will be adopted in the very near future and that, taking account of the Committee’s comments, they will be in full conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard and once again reminds it that it may request technical assistance from the Office, if it wishes.

Violations

ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)
CEACR C87 Obs. 2019

Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention. Legislative issues.
(…)
The Committee also notes that the Government has not provided information in relation to the other legislative matters that it has been commenting on for many years:
(…)
-the requirement of a three-quarters majority of the workers to call a strike (section 114 of the General Labour Act and section 159 of the Regulatory Decree); the illegality of strikes in the banking sector (section 1(c) of Supreme Decree No. 1958 of 1950); and the possibility of imposing compulsory arbitration by decision of the executive authorities to bring an end to a strike, including in services other than those that are essential in the strict sense of the term (section 113 of the General Labour Act).
(…)
Recalling that the above provisions are incompatible with the right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations, and for those organizations to organize their activities, formulate their programmes and elect their representatives in full freedom, the Committee hopes that the Government will adopt the necessary measures to amend or repeal these provisions with a view to ensuring conformity with the Convention.

Violations

National Labour Legislation / ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)
§1 & 2 of Legislative Decree No. 2565 of June 1951

Article 1.- General strikes and those of sympathy or solidarity are prohibited as well
such as those that are not processed strictly subject to the procedures and terms
established by Title X of the General Labor Law.
“Article 2.- The leaders of the
respective union or those of the federation that groups them, -in case of having supported
the strike-, having to be sanctioned, for the first time, with six months of arrest and
of six months of confinement, which they will fulfill after the first. The
instigators or promoters of the illegal strike will be sanctioned with double the
previous sentences. In case of recidivism, the previous sentences will be doubled.”

CEACR C87 Obs. 2019

Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention. Legislative issues
(…)
-With regard to the prohibition on general strikes and sympathy strikes, and the imposition of penalties on the instigators or promotors of illegal strikes, the Committee notes that, in its previous comments, it noted the repeal of section 234 of the Penal Code, which criminalized the promotion of any lock-out, protest or strike declared to be illegal by the labour authorities, and requested the Government to indicate whether the reform of the Penal Code had led to the repeal of sections 1 and 2 of Legislative Decree No. 2565 (of June 1951), prohibiting and criminalizing illegal strikes. The Committee notes the Government’s reply indicating that this Legislative Decree has not been expressly repealed and once again recalls the need to repeal these provisions.