Interim Report - Report No 85, 1966

Case No 291 (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) - Complaint date: 07-APR-62 - Closed

1. 325. The Committee, after having considered this case at its meetings in February 1963, May 1963 and June 1964, considered it further at its meeting in February 1965, when it submitted to the Governing Body the interim report respecting the allegations still out standing contained in paragraphs 71 to 105 of its 81st Report, which was approved by the Governing Body at its 161st Session (March 1965).
2. 326. At its meeting in February 1965 the Committee submitted definitive conclusions to the Governing Body with respect to certain allegations relating to the application of the penal provisions of the Industrial Relations (Conciliation and Arbitration) Ordinance, 1960. With regard to the other outstanding allegations, which are dealt with in the present report, the Committee formulated requests to the Government to furnish further information and observations on certain points.
3. 327. These requests were brought to the notice of the Government of the United Kingdom by a letter dated 9 March 1965. The Government furnished a reply by a letter dated 26 May 1965.
4. 328. The United Kingdom has ratified the Right of Association (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 (No. 84), the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and has declared them to be applicable, without modification, to Aden.

A. A. The complainants' allegations

• Allegations relating to the Industrial Relations ("Conciliation and Arbitration) Ordinance, 1960
  329. 329 At its meeting in February 1965 the Committee took note, in paragraphs 75 and 76 of its 81st Report, of a statement by the Government in its communication dated 6 November 1964 that the Aden Joint Advisory Council, in which the Aden Trades Union Congress was participating, had made recommendations to the Government of Aden concerning possible amendments to the Industrial Relations (Conciliation and Arbitration) Ordinance, 1960, that the new Aden Government would give early consideration to this matter and that the recommendations of the Council would be taken fully into account when this was done. The Committee requested the Government to be good enough to inform it, as soon as possible, of further developments in the matter.
  330. 330 In its communication dated 26 May 1965 the Government states that a Bill to repeal the Industrial Relations (Conciliation and Arbitration) Ordinance, 1960, and to provide for industrial relations procedure in essential services will shortly be published for presentation to the Aden Legislative Council.
  331. 331 The Aden T.U.C, in a communication dated 31 August 1965, states that it has decided to withdraw its representatives from the Aden Joint Advisory Council indefinitely.
  332. 332 In these circumstances the Committee takes note of the Government's statement referred to in paragraph 330 above and requests it to be good enough to inform the Committee, as soon as possible, of further developments in the matter.
• Allegations relating to the Application of the Penal Provisions of the Industrial Relations (Conciliation and Arbitration) Ordinance, 1960
  333. 333 At its meeting in February 1965 the Committee submitted definitive conclusions to the Governing Body, in paragraphs 85 to 91 of its 81st Report, in respect of a sedition case involving Mr. Abdulla Al Asnag, General Secretary of the Aden T.U.C, and his colleague, Mr Idris Hambala. This matter is not, therefore, dealt with further in the present report.
  334. 334 In paragraphs 77 to 79 of its 81st Report the Committee referred to the application of the penal provisions of the Industrial Relations (Conciliation and Arbitration) Ordinance, 1960, in several specific cases arising out of strikes which occurred between October 1961 and December 1963. The Committee, having requested the Government to keep it informed of developments in connection with the question of amendment of the ordinance, took the view that it should continue to await the outcome of this more general aspect of the matter before submitting recommendations on the specific cases which had come before it. Again, in view of the fact that the Government has now stated that a Bill to repeal the ordinance and make other provision for industrial relations procedure in essential services will shortly be presented to the Legislative Council, and that the Committee is asking the Government to keep it informed of further developments in this matter, the Committee considers that it should defer its recommendations on these specific cases for the time being.
  335. 335 In paragraphs 80 to 84 of its 81st Report the Committee considered the case of Mr. Murshed, General Secretary of the General and Technical Workers' Union. The Committee observed that he had been found guilty by the court on a charge of sedition, but that this charge appeared to have been based essentially on his exhortations to contravene the ordinance, while other charges against him related to contraventions of the ordinance itself. For the same reasons as in the other cases before it, the Committee therefore deferred making its definitive recommendations on this particular case and, for the reasons now explained in paragraph 333 above, has again adjourned this aspect of the case.
• Allegations relating to the Suppression of a Trade Union Newspaper
  336. 336 In paragraphs 270 to 273 of its 70th Report, paragraphs 170 to 176 of its 76th Report and paragraphs 92 and 93 of its 81st Report the Committee considered allegations relating to the suppression of the Aden T.U.C newspaper, Al Ommal.
  337. 337 At its meeting in June 1964 the Committee had before it a communication from the Government dated 11 November 1963. In that communication, in reply to an earlier request to furnish extracts from Al Ommal on the basis of which its licence was revoked on the ground that it published subversive or seditious material, the Government declared that the revocation of the licence of the newspaper had not been caused by a single article or a single issue but had resulted from long continued misrepresentation of news and had been considered in conjunction with the security situation existing at the time. The Committee noted, in paragraph 175 of its 76th Report, that this reply added no new information to the general statement in an earlier reply that the newspaper had been suppressed for publishing subversive or seditious material, which, apparently, had not led to the prosecution of the editors of the newspaper. The Committee observed also that the Government did not comment on the allegation that the revocation of a newspaper's licence is entirely within the discretion of the public authority, without the right of appeal to a court of law, an allegation which, if it were well founded, the Committee pointed out, would appear to raise a question as to compatibility with the right of an organisation to organise its activities without interference on the part of the public authorities, pursuant to Article 3 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), which had been declared applicable without modification to Aden.
  338. 338 In these circumstances the Committee, in paragraph 176 of its 76th Report, requested the Government to furnish fuller information on the matters referred to in the preceding paragraph. At its meeting in February 1965 the Committee, not having received the information in question, repeated this request in paragraph 93 of its 81st Report.
  339. 339 In its communication dated 26 May 1965 the Government states that it is the present policy of the Government of Aden that all applications for newspaper licences should receive similar treatment. The Government declares that recently licences have been issued by the Government of Aden on a liberal scale and are unlikely to be revoked, but that the revocation of a newspaper's licence is entirely within the discretion of the public authority and that there is no appeal to a court of law.
  340. 340 On a number of occasions in the past the Committee has expressed the view that the right to express opinions through the press or otherwise is clearly one of the essential elements of trade union rights.
  341. 341 In the present case the following facts have now been ascertained. Firstly, AI Ommal was suppressed on the ground that it had been publishing subversive or seditious material. Secondly, the Government cannot furnish extracts from the said material because, it states, the reason for its suppression was based on its " misrepresentation " of news over a long period. Thirdly, the publication of the said material did not lead to the editor of the newspaper being prosecuted. Finally, the revocation of any newspaper's licence is entirely in the discretion of the public authorities with no right of appeal to the courts.
  342. 342 In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
       • (a) to draw the attention of the Government to the view which it has expressed on several occasions that the right to express opinions through the press or otherwise is clearly one of the essential elements of trade union rights;
       • (b) to note that revocation of the licence of the Aden T.U.C newspaper, Al Ommal, was effected by public authorities in Aden in their discretion and without giving rise to any right of appeal to a court of law;
       • (c) to draw the attention of the Government to its view that this discretionary power of the public authorities in Aden is not compatible with the right of a trade union organisation to organise its activities without interference on the part of the public authorities pursuant to Article 3 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), which has been declared applicable without modification to Aden;
       • (d) to request the Government to be good enough to inform the Governing Body of the measures it is intended to take to bring the legislation of Aden in this respect into conformity with Article 3 of the said Convention.
  343. Allegations relating to the Banning of Public Meetings, Gatherings and Demonstrations
  343. 343 In its communication dated 13 June 1963 the Aden T.U.C alleged that all public meetings, gatherings and public demonstrations were banned, that Government Notice No. 21 of 1963 prohibited the exhibition of symbols, placards or pictures on any building, public or private, and that the police had removed flags, pictures and other symbols from trade union buildings.
  344. 344 In its communication dated 6 November 1964 the Government stated that the measures contained in Government Notice No. 21 were of general application and not directed specifically at trade union activities and were not applied against trade unions to their disadvantage compared with other organisations.
  345. 345 At its meeting in February 1965 the Committee observed, in paragraph 95 of its 81st Report, that the Government had not commented on the allegations that all public meetings, gatherings and demonstrations were banned and that the police had removed flags, pictures and other symbols from trade union buildings, and therefore requested the Government to furnish its observations on these points.
  346. 346 In its communication dated 26 May 1965 the Government states that public meetings, processions and demonstrations normally require police permission under the Control of Meetings and Assemblies Regulations. During the existing state of emergency they are also governed by section 26 of the Emergency Decree, under which the Minister's power is delegated to the Commission of Police, but that it is not true to say that all public meetings, etc., are banned. With regard to the allegations concerning the removal of flags, pictures and other symbols from trade union buildings, states the Government, the police have acted solely pursuant to section 542 (1) of the Police Ordinance, which controls the exhibition of articles likely to lead to a disturbance of the public peace or the contempt of authority.
  347. 347 In the present case there is a general allegation that all public meetings, gatherings and demonstrations and the exhibition of symbols, placards and pictures on any building are banned, to which the Government replies that there is no general prohibition of public meetings, etc., but that they are subject in all cases to police permission, and that the law is applied to trade unions in the same way as other entities. Any removal of flags, etc., has been in accordance with powers of general application pursuant to provisions controlling the public exhibition of articles likely to lead to a disturbance of public peace or contempt of authority.
  348. 348 The allegations are of a somewhat general nature. No reference is made to the banning of any specific trade union meeting or demonstration, nor is any indication given of the nature of the symbols, etc., removed from trade union buildings. In these circumstances it is natural that the Government's reply should also be of a general nature, but this reply does assert that in no cases have trade unions been treated disadvantageously compared with other entities.
  349. 349 The Committee considers that the complainants have not furnished sufficient proof to show that the application of the measures referred to have resulted in any specific infringement of trade union rights and therefore recommends the Governing Body to decide that these allegations do not call for further examination.
• Allegations relating to Non-Recognition of Trade Union Rights in the States of the Federation of South Arabia
  350. 350 In its communication dated 6 April 1963 the Aden T.U.C alleged that in the states of the Federation other than Aden trade unions were illegal and that the Aden Teachers' Union, recognised for the last seven years, was no longer recognised by the Federal Minister of Education because education concerned the whole Federation and not just the state of Aden. Since the formation of the Federation, said the complainants, other existing unions, as well as proposed new ones, were no longer recognised. Finally, it was alleged, employees in Abyan state who had asked for a revision of wages had been arrested.
  351. 351 In its communication dated 11 November 1963 the Government said that under the Constitution of the Federation labour matters were the responsibility of the individual states. In the states other than Aden life depended upon agriculture and there had been no demand for the formation of trade unions. " In fact ", said the Government, " there is no trade union organisation in these states but it would be a misinterpretation to claim that trade unions are illegal in these states."
  352. 352 The Government stated that the Aden Teachers' Union was a recognised union; in the past it had not sought recognition as a body with which the Aden Government, as an employer, should negotiate, although it had held informal discussions with the Education Department. On 6 February 1962 it applied for formal recognition and was requested to supply details of its Constitution and membership. It had not replied to this request, but if it did reply, stated the Government, further consideration would be given to the question of recognition.
  353. 353 When it considered these allegations at its meeting in June 1964 the Committee noted, so far as the allegation that trade unions were illegal in the states of the Federation other than Aden was concerned, the Government's statement that " it would be a misinterpretation to claim that trade unions are illegal in these states ". The Committee, therefore, in paragraph 182 of its 76th Report, requested the Government to state " whether it would be correct to assume from the statement that workers in the states in question are legally entitled to form and join trade unions and carry on trade union activities if they wish to do so " and also asked the Government to furnish its observations on the allegation that employees in Abyan state who asked for a revision of wages were arrested.
  354. 354 At its meeting in February 1965 the Committee, not having received the further information and observations in question, repeated this request to the Government in paragraph 100 of its 81st Report.
  355. 355 In its communication dated 26 May 1965 the Government states that under the Constitution of the Federation of South Arabia labour matters are a state responsibility. In the states other than Aden there is no law against trade unions. The Government explains, however, " that the concept of trade unionism is not at present reconcilable with the tribal organisation and social structure of the states of the Protectorate and that the creation of a climate in which trade unionism can function appropriately will necessarily be a slow and gradual process and is likely always to be extremely limited owing to the scattered distribution of the population and their dependence on agriculture ".
  356. 356 The Government declares that the agitation by state employees in Fadhli state for a revision of wages coincided with an investigation which was being undertaken into the causes of the general unrest existing in the state at the time, with the result that evidence of a subversive organisation directed and sustained from outside the state came to the notice of the authorities. Further investigation, says the Government, led to the discovery of seditious literature in the houses of two men-who were subsequently arrested-of a nature calculated to undermine law and order and to destroy the authority of the state, while other evidence was found of organised cells for subversive activity in the main centres of the state. In consequence the two men concerned, who were state employees, were arrested and prosecuted " on grounds on which any government would be bound to take action to maintain its authority ". The Government emphasises that neither these two men nor any other employees were arrested for agitating over wages revision.
  357. 357 With regard to the allegation that persons were arrested in Abyan state for asking for a wages increase, which is made in very general terms, the Government furnishes details to show that the state concerned was Fadhli state and that the arrests and prosecution of two public employees which took place in that state were not related to agitation by state employees in general for a wages revision but to a general wave of subversive activity in the state concerned. If the allegations had been more specific and substantiated in detail, the Committee might have considered it necessary to request the Government to furnish more detailed information on this aspect of the case. In the circumstances, however, the Committee considers that the complainants have not furnished sufficient proof in this particular connection of any infringement of trade union rights having taken place and recommends the Governing Body to decide that this aspect of the allegations does not call for further examination.
  358. 358 With regard to the allegations relating to the non-recognition of the Teachers' Union the position is not clear. It would appear that the Aden Teachers' Union is a registered union and that, when it sought formal recognition on 6 February 1962, it was asked to supply details of its Constitution and membership-although it had in the past been recognised for the purpose of informal discussion-by the Education Department of the state of Aden, but had not supplied them. It is alleged, however, that recognition was refused to this union by the Federal Minister of Education because, since the formation of the Federation, education concerned the Federation and not just the state of Aden. It is further to be noted that in its reports pursuant to article 22 of the I.L.O. Constitution with respect to the application of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Government has referred to the Aden Teachers' Union as one of the " representative organisations " to which copies of its reports have been circulated.
  359. 359 In these circumstances, having regard to the obligation which the Government has assumed, under Article 3 of the Right of Association (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 (No. 84), to ensure that all practical measures shall be taken to assure to trade unions which are representative of the workers concerned the right to conclude collective agreements with employers, the Committee requests the Government to be good enough to state whether the Aden Teachers' Union or any other union is now competent to negotiate on behalf of teachers in Aden and to comment on the allegation that recognition had been refused because education had become a federal matter.
  360. 360 There remains the allegation relating to the non-recognition of trade unions in states of the Federation other than Aden. To the specific question put by the Committee in paragraph 182 of its 76th Report (see paragraph 353 above) the Government replies that there is no law against trade unions in these states.
• Allegations relating to the Employment (Registration and Control of Employment) Bill
  361. 361 These allegations were dealt with in detail by the Committee in paragraphs 183 to its 76th Report and paragraphs 101 to 104 of its 81st Report, when the Committee drew the attention of the Government, having regard to certain of the provisions of the Bill, to the guarantees and principles embodied in Articles 1 and 4 of the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and Article 3 of the Right of Association (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947 (No. 84), both declared applicable without modification to Aden. The Committee also noted that it appeared from the text of the proposed Bill that, if it were to be enacted in that form, access to employment in general and to particular employments would depend on a worker being registered and that a wide discretion would be accorded to the registering authority when deciding to grant or refuse negotiation. The Committee pointed out, in paragraph 194 of its 76th Report, that it had drawn attention in the past to the fact that such provisions may tend to prevent the negotiation by collective agreement of better terms and conditions, including terms and conditions governing access to particular employments, and thereby to infringe the rights of the workers concerned to bargain collectively and to promote and improve their working conditions, which are generally regarded as essential elements of freedom of association.
  362. 362 In these circumstances, at its meetings in June 1964 and February 1965, the Committee adjourned its examination of this aspect of the case and requested the Government to keep the Committee informed of further developments.
  363. 363 In its communication dated 26 May 1965 the Government states that the Bill remains in abeyance.
  364. 364 The Committee therefore requests the Government to be good enough to inform it in due course of any further developments in connection with the Employment (Registration and Control of Employment) Bill.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 365. With regard to the case as a whole the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to decide, for the reasons indicated in paragraphs 348 and 349 above, that the allegations relating to the banning of public meetings, gatherings and demonstrations, and to the removal of flags, pictures and other symbols from trade union buildings do not call for further examination;
   • (b) to decide, for the reasons indicated in paragraph 357 above, that the allegations relating to the arrest of workers in Abyan state do not call for further examination;
   • (c) to decide, with regard to the allegations relating to the suppression of a trade union newspaper:
   • (i) to draw the attention of the Government to the view which it has expressed on several occasions that the right to express opinions through the press or otherwise is clearly one of the essential elements of trade union rights;
   • (ii) to note that revocation of the licence of the Aden T.U.C newspaper, Al Ommal, was effected by the public authorities in Aden in their discretion and without giving rise to any right of appeal to a court of law;
   • (iii) to draw the attention of the Government to its view that this discretionary power of the public authorities in Aden is not compatible with the right of a trade union organisation to organise its activities without interference on the part of the public authorities pursuant to Article 3 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), which has been declared applicable without modification to Aden;
   • (iv) to request the Government to be good enough to inform the Governing Body of the measures it is intended to take to bring the legislation of Aden in this respect into conformity with Article 3 of the said Convention;
   • (d) to take note of the present interim report of the Committee with regard to the remaining allegations, it being understood that the Committee will report further thereon to the Governing Body when it has received additional information which it has decided to request the Government to be good enough to furnish.