Recourse to compulsory arbitration (Right to strike)

515. Compulsory arbitration to end a collective labour dispute and a strike is acceptable if it is at the request of both parties involved in a dispute, or if the strike in question may be restricted, even banned, i.e. in the case of disputes in the public service involving public servants exercising authority in the name of the State or in essential services in the strict sense of the term, namely those services whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population.

(See 256th Report, Case No. 1430, para. 181; and 295th Report, Case No. 1718, para. 297.)

516. The right to strike can only be restricted (such as by the imposition of compulsory arbitration to end a strike) or prohibited in essential services in the strict sense of the term; i.e. those services whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population.

(See 270th, 275th and 284th Reports, Cases Nos. 1434, 1477 and 1631, paras. 256, 199 and 398 respectively; and 292nd Report, Case No. 1625, para. 73.)

517. The Committee has stressed that the imposition of compulsory arbitration is only acceptable in cases of strikes in essential services in the strict sense of the term or in cases of acute national crisis.

(See 275th Report, Cases Nos. 1434 and 1477, para. 197.)

518. Provisions which establish that, failing agreement between the parties, the points at issue must be settled by arbitration by the labour authorities do not conform to the principle of voluntary negotiation contained in Article 4 of Convention No. 98. In as far as compulsory arbitration prevents strike action, it is contrary to the right of trade unions to organize freely their activities and could only be justified in the public service or in essential services in the strict sense of the term.

(See, for example, 236th Report, Case No. 1140, para. 144; and 248th Report, Cases Nos. 1363 and 1367, para. 169.)

519. A provision which permits either party unilaterally to request the intervention of the labour authority to resolve a dispute may effectively undermine the right of workers to call a strike and does not promote voluntary collective bargaining.

(See 265th Report, Cases Nos. 1478 and 1484, para. 547; and 295th Report, Case No. 1718, para. 296.)

520. The right to strike would be affected if a legal provision were to permit employers to submit in every case for compulsory arbitral decision disputes resulting from the failure to reach agreement during collective bargaining, thereby preventing recourse to strike action.

(See the Digest of 1985, para. 419.)

521. The Committee considers that a system of compulsory arbitration through the labour authorities, if a dispute is not settled by other means, can result in a considerable restriction of the right of workers' organizations to organize their activities and may even involve an absolute prohibition of strikes, contrary to the principles of freedom of association.

(See the Digest of 1985, para. 420.)