Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Côte d’Ivoire - 2012
Population:
21,100,000
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Trade unionists were targeted during the post-electoral violence based on their presumed support for one side or the other, as was the case with the general secretary of the trade union centre
trade union centre
A central organisation at the national, regional or district level consisting of affiliated trade unions. Often denotes a national federation or confederation.
DIGNITE and countless other union activists.
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
reported violations - 2012
Background
The post electoral violence between December 2010 and May 2011 claimed at least 3,000 lives. Over 150 women and girls were raped. Hundreds and thousands of people were forced to flee their homes. The former head of state, Laurent Gbagbo, who had refused to accept the election results, was arrested in April. His rival, Alassane Ouattara, was sworn in as president on 21 May. In October, he authorised the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to open an inquiry into the crimes committed. In November, Laurent Gbagbo was transferred to The Hague to face trial. He is the first former head of state to be handed over to the ICC. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for impartial justice that also deals with the atrocities carried out by the forces allied to the current president. In December, the ruling coalition won the legislative elections boycotted by the former president’s party.
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
21,100,000
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Capital: Yamoussoukro
reported violations- 2012
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Trade union rights in law
The Constitution of 23 July 2000 guarantees 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
and 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
in both the private and the public sector, but the guarantees are frustrated by a number of restrictions. Foreigners may not hold union office until they have been residents for at least three years, unless there is a reciprocal trade union and worker protection agreement with the foreigners’ home country.
Workers are vulnerable to anti-union discrimination
anti-union discrimination
Any practice that disadvantages a worker or a group of workers on grounds of their past, current or prospective trade union membership, their legitimate trade union activities, or their use of trade union services. Can constitute dismissal, transfer, demotion, harassment and the like.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
, as the Labour Code does not provide for sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. Also, all labour disputes must go through a complicated conciliation
conciliation
An attempt by a neutral third party, a conciliator, to aid the settling of an industrial dispute by improving communications, offering advice and interpreting issues to bring the disputing parties to a point where they can reconcile their differences. The conciliator does not take as active a role as a mediator or an arbitrator.
See arbitration, mediation
and mediation
mediation
A process halfway between conciliation and arbitration, in mediation a neutral third party assists the disputing parties in reaching a settlement to an industrial dispute by suggesting possible, non-binding solutions.
See arbitration, conciliation
procedure. The President of the Republic may submit strikes in 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
to 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
, but the Labour Code does not contain a list of services considered to be essential.
Freedom of association / Right to organize
Principles
Freedom of association :
- >The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
- >The right to freedom of association is regulated by a Labour Code.
- >The right to freedom of association is regulated by law.
The Constitution of 23 July 2000 guarantees the right to form trade unions and the right to strike in both the public and private sectors. The labour laws give workers, the liberal professions and self-employed workers who do not employ staff, the right to form and join trade unions.
Anti-Union discrimination:
- >The law prohibits anti-union discrimination, but does not provide adequate means of protection against it.
The ILO has noted that the Labour Code does not provide sufficient sanctions to deter employers taking measures against trade unionists for trade union activities.
Restrictions
Legal barriers to the establishment of organizations:
- >Absence of recourse to an independent body in the event of administrative refusal to register a trade union
Categories of workers prohibited or limited in law from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office:
- >Armed forces
- >Police
- >Non-national or migrant workers
- Only Côte d'Ivoire nationals, nationals of a country with which reciprocal trade union and worker protection agreements have been concluded, and foreigners who have been legal residents in the country for at least three years, may exercise administrative and leadership functions in a trade union.
Right to collective bargaining
Principles
Right to collective bargaining:
- >The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law.
Restrictions
Legal barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents:
- >Absence of recourse to an independent body responsible for declaring whether an organisation may negotiate or not
Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining:
- >Compulsory conciliation and / or binding arbitration procedure in the event of disputes during collective bargaining, other than in essential services
Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors:
- >Armed forces
- >Police
Right to strike
Principles
Right to strike:
- >The right to strike is enshrined in the Constitution.
The Constitution of 23 July 2000 guarantees the right to form trade unions and the right to strike in both the public and private sectors.
Restrictions
Legal barriers to lawful strike actions:
- >Compulsory recourse to arbitration, or to long and complex conciliation and mediation procedures prior to strike actions
- Strikes are prohibited until a complicated conciliation and mediation procedure has been exhausted.
- >Absence of an independent body responsible for declaring whether a strike is legal or not
Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions:
- >Restrictions with respect to type of strike action (e.g. pickets, wild-cat, working to rule, sit-down, go-slow)
- Staggered work stoppages or rolling strikes are prohibited.
Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike:
- >Authorities' or employers' power to prevent or end a strike by referring the dispute to arbitration
- The President of the Republic may, if s/he considers that the strike could threaten public order or the general interest, submit the dispute to arbitration.
Provisions undermining the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness:
- >Absence of specific protection for workers involved in lawful strike actions (e.g. against dismissal)
Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors:
- >Discretionary determination or excessively long list of "essential services" in which the right to strike is prohibited or severely restricted
- The President of the Republic may, if s/he considers that the strike could threaten public order or the general interest, submit the dispute to arbitration.This may be the case when "the strike affects an essential service whose interruption could endanger the lives, health or security of all or a part of the population ", and in an "acute national crisis". The Labour Code does not list the services considered to be essential.
- >Absence of compensatory guarantees for categories of workers deprived of the right to strike
- >Unreasonable or discretionary (i.e. without negotiation with social partners or absence of an independent authority in the event of disagreement) determination of the extent of the "minimum service" to be guaranteed during strikes in public services
- A minimum service is required, in particular in public hospitals.
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
21,100,000
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Capital: Yamoussoukro
reported violations - 2012
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
In practice
Union divisions encouraged, representativeness undermined : With no objective criteria set down in the labour code, there are no guarantees for the recognition
recognition
The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union.
of representative trade unions. This lack of precision has enabled both public and private employers to refuse to negotiate, while discrediting trade unions or repressing their activities. The socio-political chaos has weakened the trade union movement, and dissent has been encouraged in several public sector unions.
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
21,100,000
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Capital: Yamoussoukro
reported violations - 2012
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Violations
DIGNITE general secretary imprisoned:
On 26 April, at around 17.30, Basile Mahan Gahé, general secretary of the trade union centre trade union centre A central organisation at the national, regional or district level consisting of affiliated trade unions. Often denotes a national federation or confederation. DIGNITE, was taken away by members of the Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire, who forcibly entered his home, searched and ransacked it, supposedly looking for heavy weapons. The DIGNITE offices were also raided and requisitioned by the army. Basile Mahan Gahé’s family were left without any news of his whereabouts for several days. Reports were finally received that he had been recognised at a police station in Williamsville (Abidjan). According to a Red Cross officer who was able to visit him, Basile Mahan Gahé had not been allowed to contact a lawyer, had not been given a decent place to sleep and had not received adequate food and water. He had also been repeatedly maltreated.
On 28 June, the Ivorian trade union centres launched an appeal during an 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
mission to the country, urging the authorities to release the union leader. On 2 July, 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
delegation was allowed a short visit to the prisoner, who had been transferred to the Pergola hotel, which had been turned into a detention centre.
On 9 July, Basile Mahan Gahé was unexpectedly transferred to Boundiali, in the north of the country, where he was held under extremely harsh conditions (one meal a day, heavy physical regime on an empty stomach in the morning), leading to a rapid deterioration in his health. He was transferred to a local hospital after suffering a heart attack. In early July he was officially charged with a series of state security offences, with violating the sovereignty of the state, organising
organising
The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one.
armed groups and crimes against property of the state and public and private financial institutions. At the end of 2011, in spite of ITUC and 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
missions that met with the authorities, and the release of several other people arrested under the same circumstances, Basile Mahan Gahé was still being held in detention.
Trade union representative dismissed on false pretences: On 19 August, Jeannot Meleke was dismissed by the manufacturing company Société nouvelle ivoirienne de manufacture (SNIM) in Abidjan, on the pretext that his job was being cut, which proved not to be the case. Jeannot Meleke, who held the position of deputy general secretary, was trying to breathe new life into a union that had already been decapitated in 2010 by a mass dismissal made “on economic grounds”, which had removed the general secretary and several other members of the union executive.
Numerous abuses against trade unionists: Several trade union organisations reported abuses against their members. In the education sector, the primary teachers’ union Syndicat national des enseignants du primaire public (SNEPPCI) denounced abductions and arbitrary arrests of its members. In August, the secondary teachers’ union Syndicat national des enseignants du second degré (SYNESCI) reported arrests in Yamoussoukro. On 27 October, also in Yamoussoukro, Joseph Saraka, the spokesperson for the polytechnic institutes’ inter-union grouping and around ten teaching union members were arrested and detained for a number of hours after informing the higher education minister of the urgent need to appoint new, experienced directors, following the disappearance of those holding these posts during the unrest. On 16 September, Mousso David, information and mobilisation secretary of the dockworkers’ union Collectif national des dockers et dockers transit (CNDD) was abducted by men in military fatigues in Abidjan. He was found injured the following day in the Banco forest.
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
21,100,000
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Capital: Yamoussoukro
reported violations - 2012
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher