Definitive Report - Report No 121, 1971

Case No 625 (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) - Complaint date: 13-APR-70 - Closed

1. 16. This complaint, presented by the Federation of Electrical Workers of Venezuela, appears in a communication sent direct to the ILO and dated 13 April 1970. The complaint was duly referred to the Government of Venezuela for its comments, which were received in a communication dated 27 August 1970.
2. 17. Venezuela has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), but it has ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 18. The complainants allege (in rather general terms, incidentally) that persons employed by the C.A. de Administración y de Fomento Eléctrico (CADAFE)- a state Organisation have been the object of various harassments, attributable very largely to the differences of political ideology which exist between workers and management. In particular, so the complainants allege, there has been some encroachment on the workers' right democratically to elect their representatives, and some workers have, it is claimed, been dismissed.
2. 19. The Government's answer consists of copies of two communications; one from the complainant organisation and the other from CADAFE, addressed to the Minister of Labour.
3. 20. The communication from CADAFE states that an agreement has been reached between the complainant organisation and the company that " any problems which might at one time have existed have now been settled ", and that " the situation has now returned to normal ".
4. 21. The communication from the complainant organisation to the Minister of Labour reads as follows: " The complaint which we presented to the International Labour Organisation had its origins in the serious disputes which occurred within the administration of the Hydro-electric Works Department of the Rio Santo Domingo Hydroelectric System. We now have the pleasure to inform you that, as a result of the inestimable assistance rendered by the labour authorities, a solution to the problem has been found which satisfied both parties."

The Committee's recommendations

1. 22. In these circumstances, the Committee feels that there is no point in pursuing this matter further, and hence recommends the Governing Body to decide that the case calls for no further consideration.