Mozambique
The ITUC affiliate in Mozambique is the Organizaçâo dos Trabalhadores de Moçambique (OTM).
Mozambique ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1996 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1996.
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.
Barriers to the establishment of organisations
- Prior authorisation or approval by authorities required for the establishment of a union
- The Labour Act allows the central body of the labour administration 45 days within which to register a workers' organisation nsection 150 of the Labour Act.
- Excessive representativity or minimum number of members required for the establishment of a union
- As noted by the ILO Committee of Experts, the thresholds of representativity for the establishment of provincial federations, national federations and confederations are particularly high in the public sector.
Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration
- Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom
- Section 18(2) of the Act on the right to organize in the public service provides that only members who, in accordance with the law, have the status of public servants may be designated trade union representatives. As underlined by the ILO Committee of Experts, this article appears to limit access to the function of trade union representation to a specific professional status and exclude retired public servants.
- Administrative authorities’ power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations
- Section 17(c) of the Act on the right to organize in the public service provides that a trade union may be dissolved by judicial decision further to an action by the Attorney General, not only when it is found that the true objectives of the organization are unlawful, but also when they are contrary to public morals or very different from the aims set out in its statutes.
Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office
- Other civil servants and public employees
- Section 4 of the Act on the right to organize in the public service (Act No. 18/2014) provides that the exercise of freedom of association by 16 categories of public servants (including officers of the police, the armed forces, prison services, migration services, public relief services, magistrates and various categories of public servants exercising managerial functions or in positions of trust) will be regulated by specific legislation. Section 57 of the Act provides that all public servants and employees may, if they so wish, establish and join trade union organizations, with the exception of the public servants referred to in subsections (d) and (e) of section 4, which relate to public servants in positions of trust, diplomatic posts and officers of paramilitary forces, including forest guards and inspectors.
Right to collective bargaining
Right to collective bargaining
The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law.
Right to strike
Right to strike
The right to strike is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Barriers to lawful strike actions
- Other excessively complex or time-consuming formalities to call a strike
- Section 207 of the Labour Act provides that the strike notice shall indicate the duration of the strike.
- Compulsory recourse to arbitration, or to long and complex conciliation and mediation procedures prior to strike actions
- Section 212 of the Labour Act provides that a strike may be ended by a decision of the mediation and arbitration body.
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
- Section 189 of the Labour Act provides for compulsory arbitration for the following services which are deemed essential: the postal services, the loading and unloading of animals and perishable food stuffs, fuel supply, private security services and export processing zones.
Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness
- Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike actions
- The Labour Act makes any violation of the articles on the right to work of non-strikers and on minimum services a disciplinary offence, making the striking workers liable to civil and penal sanctions. Also, the preliminary draft of the general law for public officials provides prison terms and fines for cases where a strike picket disrupts the normal operation of services (section 268(3) of the Labour Act).
Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors
- Undue restrictions for “public servants”
- Section 7(3) of the Act on the right to organize in the public service provides that the exercise of the right to strike by public servants and employees shall be regulated by specific legislation.
- Discretionary determination or excessively long list of “essential services” in which the right to strike is prohibited or severely restricted
- The essential services listed in section 206 of the Labour Act include the postal service, the loading and unloading of animals and perishable foodstuffs, weather monitoring and fuel supply, as well as activities in export processing zones.
In practice
Health workers went on strike for ten days in May 2013 and halted operations in health institutions demanding wage increases, standardisation and the readjustment of emergency room prices. On 26 May 2013, President of the Associação Médica de Moçambique, Dr. Jorge Arroz, was arrested by police and accused of sedition for having instigated strike action. He was released a few hours later.
On 24 April 2012, the Organizaçâo dos Trabalhadores de Moçambique (OTM) stated that at least 30 trade union members had been sacked from their companies during the previous year because they had defended their legitimate workers’ rights. They were all members and leaders of the Maputo branches of the Food and Hotel Workers’ Union, or the Commercial Workers’ Union.
The number of contract and agency workers in Mozambique has increased since changes to the labour law in 2007, making it easier to hire workers on short term contracts. When the Mozambique Chemical and Allied Workers Union visited a factory in Maputo in September 2010, it found that nearly half the 1,700 staff were contract workers, while at another factory all employment came through labour agencies.
Although all workers have the same rights in law, companies like to keep contract and agency labour (CAL) workers ignorant about their rights, and union representatives are sent away. Because the workers do not know their rights they are more open to exploitation. As a result CAL workers do not recieve salary increases, employers neglect to make social security payments and health and safety protection is ignored.
In one case an agency worker in a chemical factory had an accident when the sack he was carrying broke and chemicals burnt his skin. Both the company and the agency refused to pay for his treatment, each denying responsibility. The worker eventually died from his injuries. The unions are working on supporting and organising CAL workers with the support of an ICEM project.
The Mozambique Workers’ Organisation (OTM-CS) has complained about discrimination against trade unionists in the export processing zones (EPZ), where dismissals of activists and members or violations of collective agreements – where they exist – occur. Furthermore, the right to strike is very difficult to exercise in practice, as the zones are covered by the law on essential services.
Although the Mozambican Workers’ Organisation (OTM-CS) considers relations with the social partners are good at the national level, it has asked to be involved more closely in Civil Service pay reforms, recalling the lack of transparency that has prevailed. At the enterprise level, performance is not so good as trade unions have not been able to develop. Employers have continued to show their hostility towards workers’ representatives and anti-union discrimination remains a problem as the 2007 Labour Code does not contain sufficiently dissuasive sanctions, while the legal constraints on private gatherings and workers’ meetings at the workplace are very strict. Collective agreements are rare and constantly violated, which has led to several industrial disputes. The government has consistently failed to respond to ILO requests to report on any measures taken to promote free and voluntary collective bargaining.