Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949

The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (1949) No 98 is an International Labour Organization Convention. It is one of eight ILO fundamental conventions.

Its counterpart on the general principle of freedom of association is the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (1949) No 87.

Content

The Preamble of Convention 98 notes its adoption on 1 July 1949. After this the Convention covers, first, the rights of union members to organise independently, without interference by employers in article 1 to 3. Second, articles 4 to 6 require the positive creation of rights to collective bargaining, and that each member state's law promotes it.

Rights to organise

Article 1 states that workers must be protected against discrimination for joining a union, particularly conditions of employers to not join a union, dismissal or any other prejudice for having union membership or engaging in union activities. Article 2 requires that both workers and employers' organisations (i.e. trade unions and business confederations) should not be interfered in their own establishment, functioning or administration. Article 2(2) prohibits, in particular, unions being dominated by employers through "financial or other means" (such as a union being given funding by an employer, or the employer influencing who the officials are). Article 3 requires each ILO member give effect to articles 1 and 2 through appropriate machinery, such as a government watchdog.

Article 1

1. Workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment.

2. Such protection shall apply more particularly in respect of acts calculated to--

(a) make the employment of a worker subject to the condition that he shall not join a union or shall relinquish trade union membership;

(b) cause the dismissal of or otherwise prejudice a worker by reason of union membership or because of participation in union activities outside working hours or, with the consent of the employer, within working hours.

Article 2

1. Workers' and employers' organisations shall enjoy adequate protection against any acts of interference by each other or each other's agents or members in their establishment, functioning or administration.

2. In particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers' organisations under the domination of employers or employers' organisations, or to support workers' organisations by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organisations under the control of employers or employers' organisations, shall be deemed to constitute acts of interference within the meaning of this Article.

Article 3

Machinery appropriate to national conditions shall be established, where necessary, for the purpose of ensuring respect for the right to organise as defined in the preceding Articles.

Rights to collective bargaining

Article 4 goes on to collective bargaining. It requires that the law promotes "the full development and utilisation of machinery for voluntary negotiation" between worker organisations and employer groups to regulation employment "by means of collective agreements." Article 5 states that national law can provide different laws for the police and armed forces, and the Convention does not affect laws that existed when an ILO member ratifies the Convention. Article 6 further gives an exemption for "the position of public servants engaged in the administration of the State".

Article 4

Measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilisation of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organisations and workers' organisations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements.

Article 5

1. The extent to which the guarantees provided for in this Convention shall apply to the armed forces and the police shall be determined by national laws or regulations.

2. In accordance with the principle set forth in paragraph 8 of Article 19 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation the ratification of this Convention by any Member shall not be deemed to affect any existing law, award, custom or agreement in virtue of which members of the armed forces or the police enjoy any right guaranteed by this Convention.

Article 6

This Convention does not deal with the position of public servants engaged in the administration of the State, nor shall it be construed as prejudicing their rights or status in any way.

Administrative provisions

Article 7 says ratifications should be communicated to the ILO Director General. Article 8 says the Convention is only binding on those who have ratified it, although the 1998 Declaration means that this is no longer entirely true: the Convention is binding as a fact of membership in the ILO. Articles 9 and 10 deal with specific territories where the Convention may be applied or modified. Article 11 concerns denunciation of the Convention, although again, because of the 1998 Declaration, it is no longer possible for an ILO member to profess they are not bound by the Convention: it is an essential principle of international law. Article 12 states the Director General shall keep all members notified of which countries have adhered to the Conventions. Article 13 states this shall be communicated to the United Nations. Article 14 states the ILO Governing Body shall produce reports on the working of the Convention. Article 15 deals with revisions to the Convention (none have taken place yet), and article 16 states that the English and French versions are equally authoritative.

Ratifications

File:Ratifications of ILO C098 - Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949.svg

Ratifications of the convention

The following countries have ratified ILO Convention 98:

Country	Date	Notes
Template:Country data Albania	3 June 1957
Template:Country data Algeria	19 November 1962
Template:Country data Angola	4 June 1976
Template:Country data Antigua and Barbuda	2 February 1983
Template:Country data Argentina	24 September 1956
Template:Country data Armenia	12 November 2003
Template:Country data Australia	28 February 1973
Template:Country data Austria	10 November 1951
Template:Country data Azerbaijan	19 May 1992
Template:Country data Bahamas	25 May 1976
Template:Country data Bangladesh	22 June 1972
Template:Country data Barbados	8 May 1967
Template:Country data Belarus	6 November 1956	ratified as the Byelorussian SSR
Template:Country data Belgium	10 December 1953
Template:Country data Belize	15 December 1983
Template:Country data Benin	16 May 1968
Template:Country data Bolivia	15 November 1973
Template:Country data Bosnia and Herzegovina	2 June 1993
Template:Country data Botswana	22 December 1997
Template:Country data Brazil	18 November 1952
Template:Country data Bulgaria	8 June 1959
Template:Country data Burkina Faso	16 April 1962
Template:Country data Burundi	10 October 1997
Template:Country data Cabo Verde	3 April 1979
Template:Country data Cambodia	23 August 1999
Template:Country data Cameroon	3 September 1962
Template:Country data Canada	14 June 2017	In force starting 14 June 2018
Template:Country data Central African Republic	9 June 1964
Template:Country data Chad	8 June 1961
Template:Country data Chile	1 February 1999
Template:Country data Colombia	16 November 1976
Template:Country data Comoros	23 October 1978
Template:Country data Congo	26 November 1999
Template:Country data Democratic Republic of the Congo	16 June 1969
Template:Country data Costa Rica	2 June 1960
Template:Country data Côte d'Ivoire	5 May 1961
Template:Country data Croatia	8 October 1991
Template:Country data Cuba	29 April 1952
Template:Country data Cyprus	24 May 1966
Template:Country data Czech Republic	1 January 1993
Template:Country data Denmark	15 August 1955
Template:Country data Djibouti	3 August 1978
Template:Country data Dominica	28 February 1983
Template:Country data Dominican Republic	22 September 1953
Template:Country data Ecuador	28 May 1959
Template:Country data Egypt	3 July 1954
Template:Country data Equatorial Guinea	13 August 2001
Template:Country data Eritrea	22 February 2000
Template:Country data Estonia	22 March 1994
Template:Country data Ethiopia	4 June 1963
Template:Country data Fiji	19 April 1974
Template:Country data Finland	22 December 1951
Template:Country data France	26 October 1951
Template:Country data Gabon	29 May 1951
Template:Country data Gambia	4 September 2000
Template:Country data Georgia (country)	22 June 1993
Template:Country data Germany	8 June 1956
Template:Country data Ghana	2 July 1959
Template:Country data Greece	30 March 1962
Template:Country data Grenada	9 July 1979
Template:Country data Guatemala	13 February 1952
Template:Country data Guinea-Bissau	21 February 1977
Template:Country data Guinea	26 March 1959
Template:Country data Guyana	8 June 1966
Template:Country data Haiti	12 April 1957
Template:Country data Honduras	27 June 1956
Template:Country data Hungary	6 June 1957
Template:Country data Iceland	15 July 1952
Template:Country data Indonesia	15 July 1957
Template:Country data Iraq	27 November 1962
Template:Country data Ireland	4 June 1955
Template:Country data Israel	28 January 1957
Template:Country data Italy	13 May 1958
Template:Country data Jamaica	26 December 1962
Template:Country data Japan	20 October 1953
Template:Country data Jordan	12 December 1968
Template:Country data Kazakhstan	18 May 2001
Template:Country data Kenya	13 January 1964
Template:Country data Kiribati	3 February 2000
Template:Country data Kuwait	9 August 2007
Template:Country data Kyrgyzstan	31 March 1992
Template:Country data Latvia	27 January 1992
Template:Country data Lebanon	1 June 1977
Template:Country data Lesotho	31 October 1966
Template:Country data Liberia	25 May 1962
Template:Country data Libya	20 June 1962
Template:Country data Lithuania	26 September 1994
Template:Country data Luxembourg	3 March 1958
Template:Country data Republic of Macedonia	17 November 1991
Template:Country data Madagascar	3 June 1998
Template:Country data Malawi	22 March 1965
Template:Country data Malaysia	5 June 1961
Template:Country data Maldives	4 January 2013
Template:Country data Mali	2 March 1964
Template:Country data Malta	4 January 1965
Template:Country data Mauritania	3 December 2001
Template:Country data Mauritius	2 December 1969
Template:Country data Republic of Moldova	12 August 1996
Template:Country data Mongolia	3 June 1969
Template:Country data Montenegro	3 June 2006
Template:Country data Morocco	20 May 1957
Template:Country data Mozambique	23 December 1996
Template:Country data Namibia	3 January 1995
Template:Country data Nepal	11 November 1996
Template:Country data Netherlands	22 December 1993	Ratification excludes Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands.
Template:Country data New Zealand	9 June 2003
Template:Country data Nicaragua	31 October 1967
Template:Country data Niger	23 March 1962
Template:Country data Nigeria	17 October 1960
Template:Country data Norway	17 February 1955
Template:Country data Pakistan	26 May 1952
Template:Country data Panama	16 May 1966
Template:Country data Papua New Guinea	1 May 1976
Template:Country data Paraguay	21 March 1966
Template:Country data Peru	13 March 1964
Template:Country data Philippines	12 December 1953
Template:Country data Poland	25 February 1957
Template:Country data Portugal	1 July 1964
Template:Country data Romania	26 November 1958
Template:Country data Russian Federation	10 August 1956	ratified as the Soviet Union
Template:Country data Rwanda	11 August 1988
Template:Country data Saint Kitts and Nevis	4 September 2000
Template:Country data Saint Lucia	14 May 1980
Template:Country data Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	21 October 1998
Template:Country data Samoa	30 June 2008
Template:Country data San Marino	19 December 1986
Template:Country data São Tomé and Príncipe	17 June 1992
Template:Country data Senegal	28 July 1961
Template:Country data Serbia	24 November 2000	ratified as Serbia and Montenegro
Template:Country data Seychelles	4 October 1999
Template:Country data Sierra Leone	13 June 1961
Template:Country data Singapore	25 October 1965
Template:Country data Slovakia	1 January 1993
Template:Country data Slovenia	29 May 1992
Template:Country data Solomon Islands	13 April 2012
Template:Country data Somalia	22 March 2014
Template:Country data South Africa	19 February 1996
Template:Country data South Sudan	29 April 2012
Template:Country data Spain	20 April 1977
Template:Country data Sri Lanka	13 December 1972
Template:Country data Sudan	18 June 1957
Template:Country data Suriname	5 June 1996
Template:Country data Swaziland	26 April 1978
Template:Country data Sweden	18 July 1950
Template:Country data Switzerland	17 August 1999
Template:Country data Syria	7 June 1957
Template:Country data Tajikistan	26 November 1993
Template:Country data Tanzania	30 January 1962	ratified as Tanganyika
Template:Country data Timor Leste	16 June 2009
Template:Country data Togo	8 November 1983
Template:Country data Trinidad and Tobago	24 May 1963
Template:Country data Tunisia	15 May 1957
Template:Country data Turkey	23 January 1952
Template:Country data Turkmenistan	15 May 1997
Template:Country data Uganda	4 June 1963
Template:Country data Ukraine	14 September 1956	ratified as the Ukrainian SSR
Template:Country data United Kingdom	30 June 1950
Template:Country data Uruguay	18 March 1954
Template:Country data Uzbekistan	13 July 1992
Template:Country data Vanuatu	28 August 2006
Template:Country data Venezuela	19 December 1968
Template:Country data Vietnam	5 July 2019
Template:Country data Yemen	14 April 1969	ratified as South Yemen
Template:Country data Zambia	2 September 1996
Template:Country data Zimbabwe	27 August 1998

See also

• Freedom of assembly
• Freedom of association
• Right to Strike under ILO Convention No. 87

External links

• Text of the Convention
• ratifications