Interim Report - Report No 211, November 1981

Case No 958 (Brazil) - Complaint date: 18-APR-80 - Closed

1. 437. The Committee examined this case at its February and May 1981 Sessions and presented an interim report to the Governing Body on both occasions. Subsequently, the Committee has received a communication from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 31 August 1981. The Government has supplied certain observations in a communication dated 5 October 1981.
2. 438. Brazil has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), but has ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 439. The allegations referred to the strike by the workers of the metallurgy sector of Sao Paulo from 1 April to 12 May 1980, the primary purpose of which was to obtain wage increases and continuity of employment for a year, and which was declared illegal by the judicial authorities on 14 April 1980, and to the events which occurred during and after the strike: intervention by the authorities in trade unions, removal from office of trade union leaders and their replacement by civil servants, arrests of trade union leaders and the prosecution and sentencing under the National Security Act of the trade union leaders Djalma de Souza Bom, Luiz Inácio da Silva, Emilson Simôes de Moura, Rubens Teodoro de Arruda, José Maria de Almeida, Osmar Santos de Mendoga, Juraci Batista Magalhaes, Manoel Anisio Gomes, Gilson Luiz Correia de Menezes, Nelson Campanholo and Wagner Lima Alves.
2. 440. Concerning the trade union leaders mentioned above, the Committee at its May 1981 Session, after observing that the principal reason for the convictions appeared to have been the incitement to take part in the strike declared illegal on 14 April 1980 and considering that such incitement should not be considered as constituting an offence, drew the Government's attention to the fact that the harmonious development of labour relations could be impaired as a result of the application of excessively severe sanctions to workers who participate in strikes and expressed the hope that the final judgement handed down in the case concerning the convicted trade union leaders would take full account of the generally recognised principles of freedom of association. The Committee requested the Government to inform it of the outcome of the proceedings.
3. 441. As regards the other pending questions, the Committee requested the Government to indicate whether the convicted trade union leaders could again take up their functions normally and regretted that the Government had still not sent the observations requested on certain allegations, requesting it accordingly to send information on the arbitrary dissolution of trade unions, physical assaults on workers in front of trade union premises on 18 April 1980, which were alleged to have resulted in injuries to dozens of persons, the prohibition on the holding of meetings announced by the police on 21 April 1980, the arrest for several hours of the delegation of agricultural workers who were supporting the metalworkers' strike, and many dismissals - 1,507 according to the complainants - which were said to have taken place two days after the strike.

B. Subsequent development of the case

1. 442. In its communication of 31 August 1981, the ICFTU states that the appeal lodged by the metalworkers' trade union leaders tried by the military court would be examined on 2 September 1981.
2. 443. In its communication of 5 October 1981, the Government states that on 9 September 1981 the Higher Military Court accepted the plea for annulment submitted by the lawyers of the trade union leaders who had been convicted and declared the trial null and void. As a result, the proceedings must be referred back for a fresh trial to the court which originally examined the case.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 444. The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the ICFTU and the Government. Considering that the case against the convicted trade union leaders is to be reviewed and that the Government has not yet supplied certain observations and information requested of it, the Committee maintains the principal conclusions it reached in its previous report concerning the trade union leaders tried and the information requested.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 445. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to approve this interim report, in particular the following conclusions:
   • The Committee draws the Government's attention to the fact that the harmonious development of labour relations could be impaired as a result of the application of excessively severe sanctions to workers who participate in strikes.
   • The Committee expresses the hope that the final judgement handed down in the case concerning Luiz Inácio de Silva and the other convicted trade union leaders will take full account of the generally recognised principles of freedom of association and requests the Government to transmit the text of the judgement and to keep it informed of any subsequent developments in this respect.
   • The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the trade union leaders tried are able to take up their functions normally at present and to send information on the allegations to which it has not yet replied (arbitrary dissolution of trade unions, physical assaults on workers in front of trade union premises on 18 April 1980 resulting in injuries to dozens of persons, the prohibition on the holding of meetings announced by the police on 21 April 1980, the arrest for several hours of the delegation of agricultural workers who were supporting the metalworkers' strike, and many dismissals - 1,507 according to the complainants - which took place two days after the strike).