Djibouti - 2012

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Population: 889,000
Capital: Djibouti
Workers daring 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 were systematically arrested during 2011. Strikers arrested included nurses, railway workers and, in the worst case, dock workers, 62 of whom were imprisoned for two weeks. The authorities confiscated the head office of the UDT. Legitimate trade union activities have in effect been totally stamped out.
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)

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Background

In April, President Ismaël Guelleh was re-elected with over 80% of the vote. Human rights organisations and the opposition, which boycotted the elections, described the poll as a “masquerade”. All voices of dissent continued to be silenced, arbitrary arrests were made in huge numbers and detainees were tortured.
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)
Population: 889,000
Capital: Djibouti

reported violations- 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Trade union rights in law

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 is strictly regulated by a 2006 Labour Code that can at best be described as unfriendly to unions. When registering a trade union, the Minister of Labour takes into account not only the appropriate union documents, but also reports by the Labour inspector, thereby giving virtual discretionary powers to the public authorities. The Law on Associations also requires prior authorisation in order to register a union. Any changes in a union’s statutes or leadership must go through the same procedures as when registering the union.

Furthermore, if one of the ministries demands the dissolution of a union, the Chief Public Prosecutor can approach a civil court to obtain said dissolution. Accession to union office means the almost automatic suspension of the employment contract, and any person convicted “by any court” may not hold a leadership position. The President has vast powers to requisition requisition To issue back-to-work orders. civil servants 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
 .

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) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population: 889,000
Capital: Djibouti

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

In practice

Harassment and repression immobilise unions: As in previous years, 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 expressed its deep concern at the government’s blatant lack of any real will to address several cases of trade unions rights violations. Trade union representatives and members are subjected to constant harassment by the authorities. The government accuses trade union activists of being enemies of the state, and as a such, they are arrested, imprisoned, transferred or dismissed. Strikes are brutally repressed. Organisations are refused registration or are made so weak that in effect they can no longer operate.
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)
Population: 889,000
Capital: Djibouti

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Violations

UDT head office confiscated: In October, the authorities confiscated the head office 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. Union djiboutienne du travail (UDT), which is, in effect, no longer in operation. The premises were allocated to the Youth and Sports Ministry. In recent years, clone unions, backed by the government, have replaced legitimate workers’ organisations. They are under the authorities’ complete control.
Sixty two dock workers brutally assaulted and imprisoned for nearly two weeks:

On 2 January, during a peaceful demonstration in front of the parliament to demand unpaid wage compensation, dock workers were rounded up by police and brutally assaulted. Sixty two workers were arrested and placed in detention, where some were beaten. They were denied medical care and visits by relatives or lawyers. They were released on 15 January.

The dockers’ trade union has found it impossible to function over recent years. According to the human rights group Association pour le respect des droits de l’homme à Djibouti (ARDHD) and 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. Union djiboutienne du travail (UDT), all recent attempts to organise trade union elections have failed because of repression by employers and the authorities. Several dockers used “trade union alibis”. Many workers suspected of being ringleaders or who simply demanded respect for their rights had their dockers’ cards withdrawn and were not allowed to work.

Striking railway workers and nurses detained: On 20 April, 55 railway workers were arrested and briefly detained for having demonstrated in front of the Prime Minister’s Office. They were demanding the payment of eight months’ wage arrears. Three days later, several nurses from the Dar El Hanan maternity hospital were arrested on the same grounds.
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)
Population: 889,000
Capital: Djibouti

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
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