Syria

"Article 2 of the Convention. Scope of application. Trade union monopoly. For several years, the Committee has been referring to the need for the Government to amend or repeal the legislative provisions which establish a trade union monopoly (sections 3, 4, 5 and 7 of Legislative Decree No. 84; sections 4, 6, 8, 13, 14 and 15 of Legislative Decree No. 3, amending Legislative Decree No. 84; section 2 of Legislative Decree No. 250 of 1969; and sections 26–31 of Act No. 21 of 1974). The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that workers have the right to establish independent trade unions if the union is affiliated to the General Federation of Trade Unions in Syria (GFTU). According to the Government, the application of trade union pluralism in several countries weakened trade unions and diminished workers’ rights. Observing that all workers’ organizations must belong to the GFTU and that any attempt to form a trade union must be subject to the consent of this Federation, the Committee considers that although it is generally to the advantage of workers and employers to avoid a proliferation of competing organizations, the right of workers to be able to establish organizations of their own choosing, as set out in Article 2of the Convention, implies that trade union diversity must remain possible in all cases. The Committee considers that it is important for workers to be able to change trade unions or to establish a new union for reasons of independence, effectiveness or ideological choice. Consequently, trade union unity imposed directly or indirectly by law is contrary to the Convention (General Survey 2012, op. cit., paragraph 92). The Committee reiterates its previous request and expects that all necessary measures will be taken by the Government, in full consultations with the social partners, so as to bring the national legislation into conformity with Article 2 of the Convention. It requests the Government to inform it of any progress made in this regard."

"Article 4. Promotion of collective bargaining. Noting that section 5(b) of the Labour Act excludes several categories of workers from its scope of application and exclusively refers to the content of their individual contracts of employment, the Committee requests the Government to specify the legislative provision recognizing the right to collective bargaining. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate legislative provisions regulating the right of collective bargaining for civil servants not engaged in the administration of the State. It further requests the Government to indicate whether independent workers enjoy the rights afforded by the Convention and to specify the relevant legislative provisions."

"Right of organizations to formulate their programmes and organize their activities. The Committee had further observed that no reference was made to the possibility for workers to exercise their right to strike in the chapter on collective labour disputes of the Labour Act. "

"Right of organizations to formulate their programmes and organize their activities. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested that the Government take the necessary measures to amend legislative provisions that restrict the right to strike by imposing heavy sanctions including imprisonment (sections 330, 332, 333 and 334 of Legislative Decree No. 148 of 1949, issuing the Penal Code). ..... The Committee notes the Government’s indication that section 67 of the Labour Act provides protection against dismissals of unionized workers for taking part in trade-union activities"