Guinea Bissau
The ITUC affiliate in Guinea-Bissau is the Union Nationale des Travailleurs de Guinée Bissau (UNTGB).
Guinea Bissau ratified Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and 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
in 1977 but has not ratified Convention No. 87 on the Right to Organise and 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
Legal
Freedom of association / Right to organise
Freedom of association
The right to freedom of association is regulated by law.
Anti-Union discrimination
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination, but does not provide adequate means of protection against it.
Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration
- Restrictions on the right to freely draw up their constitutions and rules
- The law imposes very strict conditions on the internal functioning of trade unions, in particular on the mandate and composition of the management bodies and the conditions for voting in the deliberative bodies (Art. 25 to 35 of the Law No. 8/91 on the freedom of association).
- Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom
- The law imposes very strict conditions on the election of the governing bodies of a trade union (Art. 32 and 33 of the Law 8/91 on Freedom of Association).
- Other external interference allowed by law
- The law imposes how the assets of a liquidated trade union will be distributed (art. 38, Law No. 8/91 on Freedom of Association)
Right to collective bargaining
Right to collective bargaining
The right to collective bargaining is not protected in law.
Limitations or ban on collective bargaining in certain sectors
- Other categories
- The General Labour Act (Title XI), which contains provisions on collective bargaining, does not apply to agricultural workers and dockworkers.
Right to strike
Right to strike
The right to strike is recognised in the Labour Law.
Barriers to lawful strike actions
- Excessively long prior notice / cooling-off period
- Prior notice must be given of any strike to be held.
- Other excessively complex or time-consuming formalities to call 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 - "Law No. 9/91 on strike action Article 12 (Competence to strike). (1) Pending the election of the personnel delegates and works councils, the right to strike shall be granted under the following conditions (a) To trade unions which, alone or in groups, represent a majority of the workers in the undertaking or establishment; (b) Where the majority of the workers are not represented, to trade unions which, alone or in groups, represent the workers in the undertaking or establishment, after the workers have been duly consulted; (c) In an undertaking or establishment where the trade unions do not represent the workers, a strike may be declared at a general meeting of the workers, expressly convened for the purpose, under the conditions laid down in the following Article; (d) Where the strike affects several undertakings, whatever their number or size, or a single undertaking providing goods or services in an entire sector of activity, the power to declare a strike shall be vested exclusively in the trade unions representing the majority of the workers affected by the declaration of strike action. 2. 2. After the election of shop stewards or works councils, the power to declare strike action shall be vested in (a) the personnel delegate or the works council if the declaration relates to a single undertaking or establishment, preceded in this case by a general meeting of the employees which shall take the decision by direct ballot by secret ballot by an absolute majority of the employees (b) trade unions which, individually or collectively, represent an absolute majority of the shop stewards and members of works councils, if the strike is intended to affect more than one undertaking. "Law no. 9/91 on strike action Article 13 (Democracy of the general assembly of workers) 1. The assembly of workers provided for in paragraph 1(c) of the preceding Article may only validly decide to resort to strike action if it has been called by at least one third of the workers of the undertaking or establishment and a majority of the workers are present. 2. The decision shall be taken by direct and secret ballot by an absolute majority of the employees present. 3. When the general assembly of workers is held on the premises of the undertaking, the employer shall be informed in advance and the assembly shall be held outside working hours. Article 25 (Strike in public administration services) 1. The power to declare strike action in central, regional or local public administration or in public institutions and services not organised by the employer shall be vested in the trade unions representing the majority of the workers affected by the declaration of strike action. 2. The provisions of this Act, as far as the undertaking or establishment affected by the strike is concerned, shall apply to all workers affected by the strike.
- Compulsory recourse 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 , or to long and complex 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 procedures prior 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 actions - Articles 4, 18 and 19 of the Law 9/91 on strikes impose a compulsory conciliation procedure in case of a strike.
- Other undue, unreasonable or unjustified prerequisites
- Article 7 of the Freedom of Association Act No. 9/91 provides that a strike is illegal if it is carried out in violation of the procedure established in this Act, as well as (a) in pursuit of interests or for reasons unrelated to the employment relationship; (b) When it is initiated by workers to whom it is prohibited (c) When its purpose is to amend or revise a collective agreement before its expiry, during conciliation and arbitration; (d) With an indefinite duration; (e) with occupation of workplaces, use of physical or moral violence, obstruction of free access to facilities, destruction or misappropriation of property.
Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness
- Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised 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 actions - "Law No. 9/91 on Strike Article 27 (Sanctions applicable to workers and their representatives) 1. Without prejudice to civil or criminal liability, workers who violate the obligations established by this Act shall be subject to disciplinary proceedings with the application of the sanctions provided for in the following article. 2. (2) A strike declared by workers to whom it is prohibited shall entail disciplinary, civil and criminal liability for them, to be determined in accordance with the terms of the statutes and the special law applicable to them. 3. The bodies declaring the strike and the representatives of striking workers may be held jointly responsible for illegal acts committed by striking workers, and their responsibility shall be determined individually. 4. Workers' representatives who are summoned for not attending the conciliation meetings provided for in No. 2 of Article 18 shall be fined 6,000,000FCFA, discounted under the conditions provided for in No. 3 of the preceding article. Law n° 9/91 on strike Article 28 (disciplinary sanctions) 1. The following limits shall apply to the penalties to be imposed on workers (a) A fine of up to 12,000,000 CFA francs, for violation of Article 4, corrected annually in accordance with the terms of Article 26(3); (b) Up to 30 days' suspension from work with loss of wages in the event of participation in an illegal strike in the cases provided for in Article 7(a), (c) and (d); c) Up to dismissal in the event of participation in an illegal strike in the cases provided for in paragraph b) of Article 7, violation of the procedure established in this Act, practice of illegal acts in the cases provided for in Article 8, violation of the prohibition established in paragraph 2 of Article 9 and paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 16. 2. 2. Dismissal in the event of violation of the obligations set out in Article 20, paragraph 1, and Article 21, paragraph 1. 3. 3. In applying sanctions, the employer shall take into account the seriousness of the infringement, the degree of responsibility of the worker and the conditions under which the infringement was committed.
Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors
- Discretionary determination or excessively long list 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
” in which 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 prohibited or severely restricted - Article 21 of the Law on Strikes No. 9/91 provides for the prohibition of strikes in the so-called "essential" sectors, i.e. (a) Hospital emergency services ; (d) Loading, transport and unloading of rapidly deteriorating goods; (e) Fire-fighting services; (f) Loading and unloading of essential goods at ports and airports; (g) Post and telecommunications; (h) Airspace control. Not all sectors included in this list are considered essential by the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association.
- Discretionary determination or excessively long list of “services of public utility” in which a minimum operational service is can be imposed in the event of strikes
- Article 20 of Law No. 9/91 on Strike action imposes minimum service requirements for strikes that are not in line with the requirements of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association.
In practice
Unionists have condemned the continued attacks against Dr Júlio António Mendonça, the secretary general of the National Union of Workers of Guinea (UNTG). The threats come in the wake of the UNTG using industrial action
industrial action
Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer.
against an unjustified tax increase announced by the government in November 2020. The new rules will increase taxes by more than 100%, with a devastating effect on workers and the fragile post COVID-19 economy.
Furthermore, workers have raised concern about a lack of employment opportunities and social protections during the pandemic alongside issues such as nepotism and unjustified pay increases for favoured members of the public service.
Unionists have noted that the threats against Dr Mendonça are serious in nature, warning him to stop the strikes or be killed by “unknown” assailants; these would-be attackers are believed to be Guinea-Bissau state agents. The UNTG, along with global unions, has requested that the government guarantee the safety of Dr Mendonça in accordance with articles 6, 9, and 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
At the beginning of 2017, the multinationals MTN and Orange tried to intimidate workers who wanted to take part in a general 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
called to demand the respect of a court order for the reinstatement of workers who had been unfairly dismissed. At the time of writing the workers had not been reinstated.
The National Workers Union of Guinea-Bissau (l’Union nationale des travailleurs de Guinée-Bissau - UNTG) has also complained of the persistent difficulties faced by workers when trying to form a trade union and in the daily exercise of trade union activities (employer interference in trade union activities and the financial administration of trade unions, a refusal to negotiation, the intimidation of workers to undermine strikes.)
There is little proof of 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
in the country. The government has consistently failed to respond to 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
requests to show it is taking measures to improve 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
in the public and private sectors and has not yet adopted legislation regulating the 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
rights of public servants.
The country has a history of violently suppressing trade union activity, which as 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
has pointed out constitutes a serious obstacle to the free exercise of trade union rights.