Laos
The ITUC does not have an affiliate in Laos.
Legal
Freedom of association / Right to organise
Freedom of association
The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
The right to freedom of association is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Anti-Union discrimination
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination, but does not provide adequate means of protection against it.
Barriers to the establishment of organisations
- Prior authorisation or approval by authorities required for the establishment of a union
- Prior government authorization is necessary to operate trade unions and conclude collective agreements.
- Sanctions imposed for organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. or joining an organisation not officially recognised
- The penal code provides for between one and five years’ imprisonment for those who join an organisation that encourages protests, demonstrations and other actions that might cause "turmoil or social instability."
Restrictions on workers’ right to form and join organisations of their own choosing
- Single trade union system imposed by law and/or a system banning or limiting organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. at a certain level (enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and/or territorial, national)
- Trade unions must be affiliated with the government sanctioned Lao Federation of Trade Unions, which operates as a mass organisation directly controlled by the Lao People’s Revolution Party.
Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration
- Restrictions on the right to freely draw up their constitutions and rules
- The Law on Lao Trade Unions defines the status, rights and obligations, as well as the system, structure and financial management of trade unions at all levels, thus failing to accord workers the right to determine the structure, rules, administration or activities of their organisations.
- Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom
- The Law on Lao Trade Unions defines the status, rights and obligations, as well as the system, structure and financial management of trade unions at all levels, thus failing to accord workers the right to determine the structure, rules, administration or activities of their organisations. Article 13 of the same law requires that the union leaders be elected by the members in a union’s general meetings. However, Article 32 prohibits any organisation or individual from seeking to dismiss members of the trade union executive committee at any level without the prior consent of the leaders at the higher level of the union.
- Restrictions on the right to freely organise activities and formulate programmes
- The Law on Lao Trade Unions defines the status, rights and obligations, as well as the system, structure and financial management of trade unions at all levels, thus failing to accord workers the right to determine the structure, rules, administration or activities of their organisations. Article 30 of the same law prohibits union members from organising an "illegal group, gathering, or protest and acts" that are found to damage not only the union but also the interests of the State or the collective interest.
Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office
- Others categories
- Children as young as 14 years old are legally permitted to work, but the Law on Lao Trade Unions sets an age requirement w+E112hereby workers must be over 18 years old to join a union.
- Other civil servants and public employees
- Civil servants in "state administrative and technical services, national defence, public order, and mass organisations" are excluded from the remit of the Labour Law.
- Non-national or migrant workers
- Article 20 of the Law on Lao Trade Unions restricts trade union membership to those with Lao nationality.
Right to collective bargaining
Right to collective bargaining
The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents
- Previous authorisation or approval by authorities required to bargain collectively
- Prior government authorization is necessary to operate trade unions and conclude collective agreements.
Right to strike
Right to strike
The right to strike is prohibited.
In practice
Given that the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) and the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) are so closely knit, the LFTU effectively enables the party to control the workers. In its official declarations, the LFTU frequently speaks of its collaborative role with the government to ensure enforcement of the labour law so that the rights of both workers’ and employers’ are protected and as a formulator of future labour laws and regulations. This quasi-official function of the LFTU means it has a dual role as both a controller as well as a potential protector of labour.
Factory level LFTU representatives are usually LPRP members and/or part of the management. There is little evidence that the union is able to effectively protect workers’ rights in particular in private sector companies.
The government unilaterally sets wages for government employees, and its decision is not subject to 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
. For private sector employees, the Labour Law gives unions the right to negotiate pay levels with the employer. However, there is no provision in the labour law that compels an employer to bargain or penalises the failure of an employer to bargain.