Interim Report - Report No 95, 1967

Case No 485 (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) - Complaint date: 15-JUN-66 - Closed

1. 271. The complaint is contained in a communication dated 15 June 1966 sent to the I.L.O by the Sole Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (C.U.T.V.). By a communication dated 14 June 1966 the World Federation of Trade Unions expressed its support for the said complaint. The text of both communications was transmitted to the Government, which replied by letter dated 29 November 1966.
2. 272. Venezuela has not ratified either the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 273. In addition to some general references to social and economic problems which are said by the complainants to afflict the mass of the population (unemployment, high cost of living, etc.), the text of the complaint presented by C.U.T.V and its appendices contain a number of allegations in support of its claim that the " unofficial workers' movement " in Venezuela has been repressed, persecuted and ill-treated. According to the complainants this policy of repression of the " workers' and people's movement " has manifested itself in many ways, not being confined to police coercion but involving also the systematic violation of the Constitution, basic legal procedure in courts and human rights. Some of the allegations concern the arrest, trial and ill-treatment of a large number of persons, whose names are given. According to the complainants some of these persons are politicians, students, " peasants " or ordinary citizens, while others are trade union members or officials. Other allegations accuse the authorities of engaging in acts of repression and discrimination against C.U.T.V and its affiliated unions and restricting the right to strike and to bargain collectively.
2. 274. Those allegations which refer specifically to alleged infringement of freedom of association are examined separately below, together with the Government's comments upon them.
   • Allegations relating to Acts of Repression and Discrimination against Certain Trade Union Organisations
3. 275. C.U.T.V's complaint alleges that there have been constant raids by the police without judicial authority on trade union premises, like that which took place at the central headquarters of C.U.T.V in 1964, when the police seized files and other property of the organisation. The same is said to have happened repeatedly at the offices of regional federations in the states of Lara, Zulia, Monagas and Carabobo, and on the premises of trade unions in various parts of the country. Even at workplaces the workers are constantly supervised and threatened by police officers attached to the staff of undertakings under agreements between the authorities and the employers. In this way discriminatory action is taken against members of the trade unions belonging to C.U.T.V, who, as soon as they are identified as such, are dismissed. For their part, the labour inspectorates and other authorities set up for the purposes of conciliation and arbitration in labour-management disputes and to ensure the enforcement of the law and the safeguarding of workers' rights, far from carrying out these functions, impede the activities of trade union organisations which do not support the Government and join forces with the employers to damage the interests of the workers.
4. 276. In its reply of 29 November 1966 the Government rejects the complainants' allegation that a policy of repression and persecution of the " unofficial workers' movement " has been pursued in Venezuela. To show the falsity of this assertion to the effect that an institutional and democratic government, voted into office under the Constitutional procedure, resorts to force or illegality, it is enough, according to the Government, to observe the simple fact that the very organisation making the complaint was established and legally approved in 1963, being composed of four federations which in their turn covered 32 trade unions. In the procedure for the legal approval of trade unions no kind of discrimination is applied or tolerated. All organisations that have complied with the conditions required by the Labour Act and the regulations issued under it have been legally approved within the period laid down by law. Between 1958 and 1965 legal approval was given to 4,833 trade unions. There is likewise no truth in the assertion that the labour inspectorates and other bodies concerned with labour matters fail to carry out their functions and join forces with the employers. Labour officials of all grades enjoy the confidence and the gratitude of both sides in labour relations. The Government carries out programmes to improve the qualifications of these officials and the efficiency of the services.
5. 277. The Committee observes that in its reply the Government categorically denies that the authorities resort to force or unlawful action against workers' organisations, that any form of discrimination is practised in connection with the legal approval of trade unions or that bias is shown by labour officials. However, the Government makes no comment on the allegations in the complaint concerning the raiding of trade union premises, police intervention at workplaces or the dismissal of workers for the sole reason, according to the complainants, that they belong to unions affiliated to C.U.T.V. Consequently, before proceeding with its examination of this aspect of the case, the Committee considers that the Government should be requested to furnish its observations with respect to the three points mentioned.
   • Allegations relating to the Right to Strike and to Bargain Collectively
6. 278. It is stated in the complaint that although the right to strike is confirmed in the Constitution and in the Labour Act it has in practice been suppressed, since the Government does not allow strikes by the organisations affiliated to C.U.T.V, or even by the unions belonging to the pro-government labour Confederation. In another part of the complaint it is asserted that the collective bargaining system is applied more and more infrequently, due to the undisguised opposition of employers and Government, who are supported by those trade union organisations which have gone over to the side of the Government.
7. 279. The Government replies to these allegations, which are couched in extremely general terms and unsubstantiated by specific examples, by explaining that the small number of strikes recorded is due to the efficiency of the conciliation procedure. The Government points out that one of the most important strikes to occur in the country was organised by C.U.T.V itself in 1964, at which time the Ministry of Labour was only too anxious to lend its good offices for conciliation purposes, and the Government took no action which would interfere with the rights of the workers. As for collective bargaining, the Government states that during the past eight years 6,542 collective agreements have been signed, including 842 in 1964 and 969 in 1965, all of which is claimed to prove the falsity of the allegations that there has been a reduction in the number of collective agreements signed in the country.
8. 280. Considering that the complainants have not supplied specific information in substantiation of their claims with respect to alleged restriction of the right to strike and to bargain collectively, which are couched in extremely general terms and which are denied by the Government, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that this aspect of the case does not call for further examination.
   • Allegations relating to the Infringement of Trade Union Privilege
9. 281. The complainants claim that there has been infringement of the privileges conferred on members of the committees of federations, trade unions and works committees by the labour legislation and by collective agreements to protect them from arbitrary and unjust dismissal. They add that in countless cases not only have employers dismissed trade union leaders who should be protected by these privileges but the labour authorities themselves have condoned this practice in their subsequent rulings, which are nearly always in favour of the employers.
10. 282. In its observations the Government does not refer specifically to this aspect of the case. Consequently, before proceeding with its examination thereof, the Committee considers that the Government should be requested to be good enough to forward its observations with respect to this point.
    • Allegations relating to the Detention of Trade Union Leaders
11. 283. The complainants allege that the unlawful detention of trade union leaders, militant workers and peasants is a common daily occurrence, which clearly shows the nature of the Government's policy of repression against the country's democratic and independent trade union movement. The aims of this policy are to sow terror among the workers, undermine their capacity for resistance and weaken the organisations they have formed for their economic defence. At present there are more than 1,000 political prisoners in various prisons throughout the country, the great majority being manual workers, salaried employees, students and peasants. Among the numerous national and regional leaders of C.U.T.V alleged by the complainants to be held in prison mention is made of Eloy Torres, Luis Felipe Ojeda, Julio Cabello, Eleazar Diaz Rangel, Efrain Blanco, Samuel Guidón, Aura Gamboa, Gustavo Villaparedes, Leoncio Granda, Humberto Arrieti and Justo Rafael Galindez. Eloy Torres is said by the complainants to be a former official of the Venezuelan Confederation of Workers and one of the founders of C.U.T.V, as well as being a member of the General Council of the World Federation of Trade Unions. He is alleged to have been summarily tried before a military court and sentenced to more than eight years' penal servitude in May 1962. He is now serving a sentence of rigorous imprisonment on the island of Tacarigua.
12. 284. Repressive measures are said to have also been taken against other national and regional leaders of C.U.T.V, such as Horacio Scott Power, President of C.U.T.V, detained without trial for two months in 1965; Carlos Arturo Pardo, a member of the executive of C.U.T.V, arrested upon his return from the VIth Congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions in Warsaw and taken to the concentration camp of Cachipo, where he was subjected to physical ill-treatment; and José Marcano, a member of the national secretariat of C.U.T.V and President of the National Federation of Salaried Employees of Venezuela, detained without trial on ten separate occasions. Others detained include Messrs. Máximo Gutiérrez, Johnny Bidú, Carlos Fariñas, Marco Aurelio Alegria, Manuel Luckert, Jesús Márquez, Fidias Marcano, Héctor Landáez, Julio Casique, Eli Saúl Puchi, Nicolás Colorado, Vladimir Acosta and Luis Marcano.
13. 285. Another national C.U.T.V leader, Mr. Juan Pablo Crespo, is alleged to have been arrested by the police as he was about to leave for abroad to undergo medical treatment. Some time later he was released, and he subsequently died in Moscow. The complaint also mentions the case of Mr. Luis Emiro Arrieta, another C.U.T.V leader who died in prison in Caracas after two years' detention. In addition, a press cutting is appended to the complaint referring to the disappearance since 9 September 1965 of Donato Carmona Natera, " trade union leader in the building sector and militant revolutionary ": the General Directorate of Police announced first of all that he was in solitary confinement, later that he had been released and finally that " the files would be carefully gone over ".
14. 286. Mention is also made in the complaint of numerous other persons alleged to have been detained, but on the complainants' own admission these are political leaders, students or ordinary citizens whose connection with the trade union movement is not established in the complaint.
15. 287. According to the Government, this part of the complaint deals with questions unconnected with labour. The Government adds that none of the persons named by the complainants has been detained for carrying on lawful activities, whether connected with trade unionism or not. Most of the persons referred to have never been trade union officials. They have, however, been charged, tried and sentenced for proved offences under civil and military law in proceedings before judges on whom the Government has exerted no influence. The Government carries out to the letter the duties imposed on it by the Constitution and by the law of the land. It has dealt vigorously, but without overstepping the bounds of the law, with persons outside the trade unions who, acting not as trade unionists but as active agents of subversion, have endeavoured to undermine the Constitution and the law.
16. 288. The Committee recalls that on many occasions in the past, where allegations that trade union leaders or workers had been arrested or detained for trade union activities have been met by governments with statements that the arrests or detentions were made for subversive activities, for reasons of internal security or for common-law crimes, it has followed the rule that the governments concerned should be requested to submit further and as precise information as possible concerning the arrests or detentions and the exact reasons therefor. The Committee also recalls that if, in certain cases, it has concluded that allegations relating to the arrest or detention of trade union militants did not call for further examination, this has been after it has received information showing sufficiently precisely and with sufficient detail that the arrests or detentions were in no way occasioned by trade union activities but solely by activities outside the trade union sphere, which were either prejudicial to public order or of a political nature. Finally, the Committee recalls that in matters which were the subject of judicial proceedings, where the Committee considered that such proceedings might make available information of assistance to the Committee in appreciating whether or not allegations were well founded, it has always followed the practice of requesting the governments concerned to supply the texts of the judgments given and the grounds adduced therein.
17. 289. In consequence, before proceeding further with its examination of this aspect of the case, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to be good enough to furnish as quickly as possible detailed observations with respect to the alleged detention of the persons whose names are given in paragraphs 283, 284 and 285 above, together with the exact reasons therefor; to state whether each of these persons has been brought to trial on the charges which have been laid against him, and to communicate the results of any legal proceedings which have been initiated in this connection.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 290. In these circumstances, with regard to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) with regard to the allegations relating to the right to strike and to bargain collectively, to decide, for the reasons set forth in paragraph 280 above, that this aspect of the case does not call for further examination;
   • (b) with regard to the allegations relating to acts of repression and discrimination against certain trade union organisations and the allegations relating to the infringement of trade union privilege, to note that the Committee considers it necessary to request the Government to be good enough to furnish its observations on each of the matters referred to in paragraphs 277 and 282 above;
   • (c) with regard to the allegations relating to the detention of trade union leaders, to request the Government, for the reasons set forth in paragraph 288 above, to be good enough to furnish as quickly as possible detailed observations with respect to the alleged detention of the persons whose names are given in paragraphs 283, 284 and 285, together with the exact reasons therefor; to state whether each of these persons has been brought to trial on the charges which have been laid against him, and to communicate the results of any legal proceedings which have been initiated in this connection;
   • (d) to take note of the present interim report with respect to the allegations referred to in subparagraphs (b) and (c) of this paragraph, on the understanding that the Committee will report further once it has received from the Government the observations and additional information specified in the said subparagraphs.