Comoros

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

Undue or excessive privileges granted to certain organisations (such as privileges going beyond that of priority in representation for such purposes as 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
or consultation by governments, or for the purpose of nominating delegates to int

Section 12 of the Labour Code states that each representative union, i.e. one with national representation and at least 150 members, can set up a trade union section in the company or workplace to represent the occupational interests of its members and all employees in the company or workplace.

Restrictions on workers’ right to join the trade union of their choosing imposed by law (i.e. obligation to join a trade union of a certain level e.g. enterprise, industry and/or sector, regional and /or territorial national)

Article 4 of the law of 28 June 2012 states that employees can only form unions within the same occupation.

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration

Restrictions on the right to freely draw up their constitutions and rules

Under the terms of Article 9 of the Law of 28 June 2012, in the event of voluntary dissolution, whether by the Articles of Association or by court order, the assets of the union are vested in accordance with the Articles of Association or, in the absence of provisions in the Articles of Association, in accordance with the rules determined by the General Meeting. Under no circumstances may they be distributed among the adhering members.

Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom

According to Article 6 of the law of 28 June 2012, members in charge of the administration or management of a professional union must be Comorian nationals enjoying their civil rights and must not have incurred convictions involving the loss of civil rights. Foreign workers are eligible provided they can prove at least three years of service in the Comoros and enjoy their civil rights.

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

Others categories

Article 7 of the Labour Code provides that persons who have left the exercise of their office or profession may continue to be members of a trade union for a maximum of two years provided that they have exercised the profession for at least one year.

Other civil servants and public employees

Persons appointed to a permanent executive position in a public administration are excluded from the scope of the Labour Code. Although Article 8 of the General Statute of Civil Servants allows civil servants to freely form trade unions or associations, Article 3 of the General Statute excludes the following categories of workers from its application: staff of the Union and Island Assemblies, military personnel, magistrates, officials of the internal security forces of the islands, public officials subject to the Labour Code, and officials of local authorities and public institutions.

Right to collective bargaining

Right to collective bargaining

Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining

Compulsory 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 / or binding 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 procedure in the event of disputes during 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
, other than in 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

According to Article 239 of the Labour Code, any collective dispute must be immediately notified by the parties to the Labour Inspectorate. If conciliation fails, the dispute is compulsorily referred by the inspector either to the contractual arbitration procedure, if there is one pursuant to a collective agreement binding the parties, or to the arbitration procedure provided for in the Code.

Undermining of the recourse to collective bargaining and his effectiveness

Absence of appropriate mechanisms to encourage and promote machinery for 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

Collective bargaining is neither structured nor regulated at any level in either the public or private sector. In particular, joint bodies in the civil service have not yet been established.

Right to strike

Right to strike

Barriers to lawful strike actions

Excessively long prior notice / cooling-off period

Article 247(2) of the Labour Code requires that a strike can only be called after eight days' notice has been given stating the reasons and duration of the planned strike. According to Article 9(3) of the Civil Servants' Statute, civil servants are subject to the obligation to provide 15 days' notice stating the reasons and duration of the planned 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

According to Article 239 of the Labour Code, any collective dispute must be immediately notified by the parties to the Labour Inspectorate. If conciliation fails, the dispute is compulsorily referred by the inspector either to the contractual arbitration procedure, if there is one pursuant to a collective agreement binding the parties, or to the arbitration procedure provided for in the Code.

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)

Article 247 of the Labour Code provides that workers have the right to strike in defence of their professional interests. Strikes aimed at the government's economic and social policy are therefore not permitted.

Restrictions with respect to type of 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 action (e.g. pickets, wild-cat, working to rule, sit-down, go-slow go-slow A form of industrial action whereby the workers deliberately reduce their pace of work in order to restrict output.

See work-to-rule )

Article 248(3) of the Labour Code states that the right to strike does not authorise workers to perform their work under conditions other than those provided for in their contract or those practised in the profession, nor to arbitrarily dispose of the company's premises. Moreover, Article 9bis, paragraph 5, of the Civil Servants' Statute prohibits the permanent occupation of workplaces or their immediate surroundings when exercising the right to strike.

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

Forcible requisitioning of workers strikers (apart from cases in public 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
)

Article 249 of the Labour Code authorises the competent administrative authority to proceed, at any time, to the requisition of workers of private companies and public services and establishments who occupy jobs that are indispensable for the safety of persons and property, the maintenance of public order, the continuity of public service or the satisfaction of the essential needs of the community.

Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors

Undue restrictions for “public servants”

Article 9 of the General Statute of Civil Servants authorises the exercise of the right to strike when they are not subject to a statute that prohibits them from doing so. No list of categories of civil servants subject to a statute prohibiting the right to strike could be identified.