Angola - 2012

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Background

An anti-government demonstration had to be called off in March after a campaign of intimidation by the government. In December the government again stood accused of economic mismanagement when an International Monetary Fund report revealed that US$32 billion of government funds, thought to be from oil revenues, had been spent over the previous four years without being properly accounted for.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 19,080,000
Capital: Luanda

reported violations- 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Trade union rights in law

Although the new Constitution adopted on 21 January 2010, guarantees fundamental trade union rights, they are excessively restricted. The procedures to set up a trade union are long and cumbersome and the law stipulates that grassroots organisations must include at least 30% of the workers in their activity sector. Collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
is limited in the public service as the law stipulates that collective disputes can be resolved through obligatory arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation by the Labour Ministry.

Although the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is recognised, an excessively high quorum must be obtained when holding a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike ballot. The list of categories of workers excluded from the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike also exceeds the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights ’s definition of “essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
 ”. Furthermore the law stipulates that the Council of Ministers is entitled to suspend the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike when a “situation threatens the peace or is a public nuisance”. The requisitioning of workers in the postal services, the fuel industry, public transport and the food industry is also permitted. Anti-trade union discrimination is forbidden but the law does not contain any effective measures to prevent employers from taking retaliatory action against the strikers.

Additional information regarding the legislation
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 19,080,000
Capital: Luanda

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

In practice

Collective bargaining curtailed: Collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
is restricted in its coverage. The government is the country’s biggest employer and, through the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security, sets wages and benefits on an annual basis. This involves consultation, but no negotiations with the unions.
Workers’ rights not respected :

Workers’ organisations are closely monitored by the authorities, particularly in the strategic oil and diamond industries. The authorities and employers have shown little tolerance for protest action. There are frequent and repeated warnings. Any social unrest is met with reminders about the need for the country’s economic recovery, discipline at work and for dialogue as the only possible solution to workers’ demands. Freedom of expression is quashed just as much as freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework , if not more so, hence union demands or grievances are rarely mentioned in the press. A report on industrial disputes in the Kwanza Norte province in April 2011 found that many were due to the failure of employers to apply the law and the fact that many workers did not know what rights they had in law.

Unions have not remained completely docile however. The National Union of Angolan Workers (UNTA-CS) called for more workers and more organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. in the country’s all-important oil industry during the year , and with the support of the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights pressed for laws to protect domestic workers’ rights further to the adoption of the new ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights Convention. UNTA-CS also publicly denounced the failure to respect health and safety standards, criticising the high number of accidents in the construction industry. The General Centre for Independent Trade Unions of Angola (CGSILA) meanwhile called for a minimum wage worth USD300, while the head of the education, culture and sports union pressed for higher salaries in his sector.

ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 19,080,000
Capital: Luanda

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
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