Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 1990, Publication: 77th ILC session (1990)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Peru (Ratification: 1960)

A Government representative, the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, stated that with regard to the comments of the Committee of Experts on the high number of unions required for forming a federation of public servants, that Presidential Decree No. 009-89-PCM of 1 December 1989 had reduced the requirement to two federations and 30 unions. As regards the prohibition of the re-election of officers of the public servants' union at the end of their term of office, he stated that bills had been submitted to the inter-ministerial council for social affairs under which the re-election of trade union officials would be subject to their own internal by-laws. As to the prohibition of public servants' federations and confederations from forming part of organisations representing other categories of workers, he said that there were considerable differences between working conditions in the public and private sectors because they were regulated by different laws, they had different interests and labour demands, and different dispute settlement procedures existed in each sector. Therefore such a prohibition was perfectly valid. Turning to the 50 per cent requirement for setting up a union, he stated that the pluralistic criterion of the Committee of Experts had been accepted in the draft labour legislation but that the workers had seen such a proposal as a serious threat to the solidarity of the Peruvian trade union movement. At present the Government was waiting for a statement on this point by the workers' and employers' organisations for transmission to the Committee of Experts. On the right of workers to choose freely their representatives and the prohibition for unions to engage in political activities, he stated that the provisions which had been subject to comments by the Committee of Experts would be repealed when the draft bill, currently before the country's legislature, had been adopted. The speaker expected that the offer of technical assistance by the Office would receive a positive response.

A Workers' member of the United Kingdom stated that the case should be dealt with in conjunction with previous reports of the Committee on Freedom of Association issued in May and November 1989 (Cases Nos. 1478 and 1484). In November 1989 that Committee had concluded by saying that it "strongly deplores the violent situation which prevails in Peru", it had expressed strong concern at allegations concerning the killing and disappearance of several trade unionists and had asked the Government to carry out an inquiry into these allegations. In the speaker's view, the present Committee could only deplore the steady rise in human rights violations in Peru in recent years. Reports of disappearances and extra-judicial executions had increased markedly in the last two years and a number of cases had been reported for the first time in areas outside the so-called "zones of emergency". Referring to several cases mentioned by the Committee on Freedom of Association he cited that of Oscar Delgado, a leader of the Customs Workers' Trade Union. Detained by the Peruvian police in December 1983, he was still listed missing and the authorities denied any knowledge of his detention. In another case, nine trade unionists from an oil refinery were reported detained by the police in 1989; despite witnesses, the police refused to acknowledge their detention, In Peru, people were disappearing without trace and the police were associated with those disappearances. This had no connection with terrorist organisations, which no one would condone, but with terrorist tactics being used against trade unionists. The speaker also cited the disappearance of Mr. Guzmoan, a founder member of the National Federation of University Lecturers and a leading member of the Peruvian General Confederation of Labour. After leaving home in December 1989 on union business he had disappeared after two weeks and nothing had been heard of him since. The Committee on Freedom of Association had requested the Government to carry out a judicial investigation into all these violations. This request now needed to be reinforced by the present committee which was also concerned with violations of freedom of association, particularly those which involved the disappearance of trade unionists under mysterious circumstances in which the police appeared to have played a major role.

The Employers' members stated that the Committee of Experts' report showed that there were a series of provisions in Peruvian legislation which impeded freedom of association, but it also showed that the draft bill on labour legislation contained several improvements, particularly as regarded the high number of unions required to form a federation. They considered that the Government should not introduce too many constraints on union freedoms that were not in line with the Convention, but as regarded political activities by the unions this was a question which fell within the competence of each member State. They requested the Government to provide a detailed report outlining the content of the new provisions for examination by the Committee of Experts.

A Workers' member of Spain stated that there was a great similarity between trade union conditions existing in Peru and Colombia. He considered that in both countries, the problem was essentially one of "right to life" rather than of labour standards. The speaker asked the Government representative to what extend the Government was prepared to continue expressing good intentions and drafting new legislation, while those with links to the union movement continued to be assassinated. He recalled that the sentencing of the murderers who were found responsible for a massacre of lawyers linked to the workers' committees had marked the beginning of his own country's transition towards democracy.

The Government representative expressed his appreciation of the Workers' members of the United Kingdom and Spain. He made it clear, however, that his Government had the political will to impose severe sanctions on those violating human rights. He considered that there was no comparison between events in Peru and thos in Colombia. Referring to the cases examined by the Committee on Freedom of Association, the speaker said that his Government would send information to the next session of the Governing Body, that in no way could the disappearances or assassinations of unionists be imputed to the Government, and that, while certain cases had yet to be clarified, the judicial investigation was following its course.

The Workers' members stated that opportunities for real progress were still limited and, as had been pointed out by the Experts Committee, there were still certain provisions that should be amended in the draft bill being prepared in order to ensure full conformity with the Convention. They considered that there was a context of widespread violence in the country and that there was no true freedom of association as long as unions were prohibited from expressing their views publicly on questions of general interest as well as on political matters. They requested the Government to provide full information on the current position as regards the adoption of more effective legislation and on measures taken to guarantee the real exercise of freedom of association.

The Committee noted the information provided by the Government representative and the opinions and comments expressed in the course of the discussion. It also noted that the draft version of the General Labour Bill which was published in August 1989 appeared to bring certain aspects of law and practice more closely into conformity with the requirements of the Convention. However, even if the Bill were enacted in its present form, there still would be major divergencies between law and practice on the one hand, and the requirements of the Convention on the other. Accordingly, the Committee again requested the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the legislation into full conformity with the Convention. In doing so, the Committee reminded the Government of the possibility of making use of the services of the ILO in framing appropriate remedial measures. It further expressed its deep concen at the violent situation prevailing in the country and firmly hoped that the Government would be in a position to report substantial progress in the implemention of the Convention in 1991.