The General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers issued a statement on the signing of an agreement in Geneva by some trade unions of the International Trade Union Confederation with the legal adviser of the Ministry of Public Service and Labour and an official of the International Trade Union Confederation on the issue of forced labour, combating slavery and its consequences in Mauritania and the abolition of child labour and trade union representation.
In its communiqué, the Confederation considered that the point on combating slavery and its consequences in the agreement was substandard compared to what the Mauritanian government had accepted during the numerous discussions held by the ILO Standards Committee with its partners.
On the issue of child labour, the agreement did not come with something new, since Mauritania had accepted and had already formulated a plan and program to combat child labour, but the problem was that the Government had not budgeted for the program and was waiting for the funding from the international community. Moreover, the agreement was unable to convince the Mauritanian government agree to contribute at least to the cost of launching the project.
As for the issue of trade union representation, which was not discussed with the government at the beginning, in this context, it was merged at the request of the Mauritanian government and postponement, until the end of March 2019.
The Confederation affirmed that the signatory organizations have submitted to the government concessions that allow it to continue to violate the freedom of trade unions and workers' rights and that they have representatives to participate in the social negotiations in this country, noting that the negotiator provided through this agreement a reward for a government that has not adhered to its commitments under the roadmap, which was signed by the trade union organizations affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation, under the International Labour Organization in March 2017, which was expected to be closed in November 2017.
The Confederation confirmed that it was avoiding this agreement, in which its name had been included, without its knowledge and declared that it was not bounded by it. It also regrets such a position on the part of the trade unionists and this gift given to a government that does not respect its commitments and to continue to violate the provisions of the international conventions, the Labour Code and the fundamental rights of workers to obtain representatives, to representing them with the employers.
The Confederation decided to re-file the complaint it had filed in March 2016 to the Committee on Freedom of Association the under the ILO, whereby an ILO mission was dispatched to Mauritania in early January 2017 and the road map signed in March 2017. That was the complaint, which was suspended at the request of the General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers as a sign of good faith to allow for the implementation of the roadmap, calling upon all workers to mobilize to defend their rights and interests.
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