Yemen

Freedom of association / Right to organise

Freedom of association

Anti-Union discrimination

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)

All unions must belong to the General Federation of Worker's Trade Unions of Yemen, the country's only umbrella union organisation.

Categories of workers prohibited or limited from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office

Others categories

Minors aged between 16 and 18 can only join a trade union if their legal guardian agrees.

Other civil servants and public employees

Non-national or migrant workers

The draft Labour Code would allow foreign workers to join trade unions, but they would still not have the right to be elected to trade union office.

Domestic workers

Right to collective bargaining

Right to collective bargaining

Restrictions on the scope of application and legal effectiveness of concluded collective agreements

Authorities’ approval of freely concluded collective agreements

The Ministry of Labour has the power of veto over any collective bargaining agreement. Agreements that are "likely to cause a breach of security or to damage the economic interests of the country" can be annulled.

Right to strike

Right to strike

Barriers to lawful strike actions

Previous authorisation or approval by authorities required to hold a lawful 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

Permission to strike must be obtained from the General Federation of Worker's Trade Unions of Yemen.

Excessive representativity or minimum number of members required to hold a lawful 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

A strike call must concern more than two thirds of the workforce of the employer.

Obligation to observe an excessive quorum or to obtain an excessive majority in a ballot 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

The proposal to strike must be put to at least 60% of all workers concerned, of whom 25% must vote in favour.

Excessively long prior notice / cooling-off period

Three weeks’ notice must be given.

Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions

Restrictions with respect to the objective of 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 (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons)

Strikes may not be carried out for "political purposes".

Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike

Authorities’ or employers’ power to prevent or end 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 by referring the dispute 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

Disputes may be referred to compulsory arbitration at the request of only one of the parties, in which case a strike can be suspended for 85 days.

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

Strikes are banned in some sectors, such as ports, airlines and hospitals.