The government has refused to register trade unions without previous authorization. While national legislation provides that unions applying for registration must be provided with a receipt acknowledging the creation of a union and that such receipt is to be issued within 30 days, several trade unions both in the private and public sector have not received a receipt.
In June 2013, SNAPAP and other unions declared the creation of the Confédération Autonome des Travailleurs Algériens/CATA (Autonomous Confederation of Algerian Workers), which has still not been registered. The union deposited legal documents required for registration as a legal trade union organisation on 9 June 2013 and according to Algerian law should have received legal recognition within 30 days. However, the union is still waiting for official recognition. The Union of Higher Education Teachers in Solidarity (Syndicat des Enseignants du Supérieur Solidaires), for example, filed its application for registration on 19 January 2012. But it received no receipt at the time. The National Autonomous Union of Postal Workers (Syndicat National Autonome des Postiers – SNAP) notified the authorities three times – on 2 July 2012, on 13 September 2012, and on 3 March 2013 – but the authorities never issued a receipt. The union still lacks legal status.
In certain cases, authorities argue that the union bylaws or not in conformity with the law. For example, the Higher Education Teachers’ Union (SESS) received a reply on its request for registration in January 2012. Public authorities argued that the union bylaws were inconsistent with the provisions of Act No. 90-14 of 2 June 1990. Therefore the union changed its bylaws in line with the response from the Labour Ministry. Nevertheless, it has still not been registered. The National Autonomous Union of Workers of the SONELGAZ (Société Nationale de l’Electricité et du Gaz/National Society for Electricity and Gas) requested registration on 14 June 2012. Public authorities again argued that the union bylaws were inconsistent with the law but did not indicate the relevant sections.
