The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security on Thursday provided information on the publication of communiqués by some trade unions, mainly active in the public service, which are planning to organise “a protest movement”, even though they are not allowed to do so due to “non-compliance” with the law in force, according to a statement from the ministry.
The Ministry indicated that it had noted ‘in recent days, the circulation of communiqués through the press and on social networks, issued by some trade union organisations active mainly in the public service, grouped together under the name of a coordination called “Algerian Trade Unions of Public Service Sector” (SASFP) and an organisation called “Confederation of Algerian Trade Unions” (CSA). According to these press releases, these trade union organisations are planning to organise a protest movement to demand, in particular, an improvement in purchasing power.
It draws the attention of the trade union organisations in question to the fact that “the Confederation of Algerian Trade Unions (CSA)” “has not yet received a receipt for the registration of its declaration of establishment, which would allow it to operate legally, owing to the fact that the file does not comply with the provisions of Act No. 90-14 of 2 June 1990, as amended and supplemented, on the exercise of the right to organise.
Likewise, it should be emphasised that the trade union coordination known as the Algerian Trade Unions in the Public Service Sector (SASFP) ‘is not a recognised trade union organisation within the meaning of the provisions of the above-mentioned Act No. 90-14 and, consequently, any movement initiated by this coordination is a violation of the legal provisions in force concerning the exercise of trade union rights’.
Furthermore, the call for a national “solidarity” strike, which would “inevitably slow down economic activity and could affect the essential needs of our society, cannot be conducive to consolidating and strengthening the preservation of a calm social climate and a truly inclusive social dialogue in which the duties and obligations of the parties to the labour relationship are carried out in compliance with the legislative and regulatory provisions governing it”, the Ministry stressed.
In such situations, the trade union organisations involved “would take the responsibility either of calling workers and civil servants to a national strike in solidarity against the provisions of the law, or of committing protest actions resulting in an infringement of the freedom of work and the continuity of public services. Such actions could lead to measures being taken in accordance with the regulations,” the ministry warns.
“Finally, it should be pointed out that the public authorities are still listening to the social partners in order to examine their socio-professional demands in accordance with the law,” the Ministry of Labour reassures.
In addition to subsidies for consumer goods, the ministry added that “all the measures taken recently by the Government through the upgrading of salaries by increasing the basic indexes of the index scale, the revision of the IRG scale and the upgrading of the national guaranteed minimum wage (SNMG) are aimed at improving the purchasing power of civil servants and workers.
