Lebanon

Excessive restrictions on the right to collective bargaining. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 3 of Decree No. 17386/64 required trade unions to obtain the support of at least 60 per cent of the Lebanese employees concerned in order for a collective agreement negotiation to be considered valid, and considered this threshold to be excessive. The Committee also noted that section 180 of the draft Labour Code provided for the reduction of the threshold to 50 per cent and reminded the Government that such a solution could nevertheless pose problems of compatibility with the Convention, as it would prevent a representative union without an absolute majority from being able to engage in bargaining. It therefore asked the Government to ensure that if no union represents the required percentage of workers to be declared the exclusive bargaining agent, collective bargaining rights are granted to all the unions in the unit, at least on behalf of their own members.
Right to collective bargaining in the public sector and the public service. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to amend its legislation so that public sector workers not engaged in the administration of the State, governed by Decree No. 5883 of 1994, are able to enjoy the right to collective bargaining. In this regard, the Committee noted that section 131 of the draft Labour Code established that workers in the public administration, municipalities and public enterprises responsible for administering public services on behalf of the State or on their own account would have to right to engage in collective bargaining.
Compulsory arbitration. 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 The Committee notes with regret the Government’s indication that Decree No. 2952 has been replaced by Decree No. 13896 of 3 January 2005, and that now all investment enterprises in the private and public sectors which are responsible for managing public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.