Interim Report - Report No 123, 1971

Case No 633 (Argentina) - Complaint date: 17-JUN-70 - Closed

1. 38. The complaint of the Trade Unions International of Chemical, Oil and Allied Workers is contained in a communication dated 17 June 1970. It was brought to the attention of the Government, which forwarded its observations by a communication dated 30 October 1970.
2. 39. Argentina has ratified both 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).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 40. The complainants begin by referring to an earlier complaint examined by the Committee, which related to the taking over by the Government, ordered in January 1968, of the Argentine Federation of Chemical and Allied Workers. The Committee recommended the Governing Body in connection with that case " to take note of the Government's statement that it intends to restore the trade union organisation in question to normal as soon as possible ".
2. 41. The complainants go on to say that no action has been taken to this effect, and that the authorities have forcibly handed over the management of the Federation to pro-government collaborators. The General Secretary of the Federation, who had been arrested in July 1969, was released only after mass demonstrations and a strike. According to the complaint, the leaders imposed upon the Federation by the authorities organised rigged elections at the end of November 1969. The electoral committee, composed of people who had no connection with the Federation, displayed no list of candidates and even refused to allow the ballot boxes to be kept on the Federation's premises as was customary. In view of these facts, allege the complainants, the Federation's members abstained from voting in large numbers.
3. 42. The complaint concludes with the statement that the last collective agreement was signed on behalf of the Federation by government officials.
4. 43. In its reply the Government, referring to the General Secretary of the Federation, mentioned above, declares that he was arrested on account of activities presumed to be of subversive nature, and subsequently released.
5. 44. As regards the elections held within the Federation, the Government states that there was no electoral committee and that no allegations were made of electoral fraud. The controller in charge of the taking over of the organisation, an official of the Secretariat of State for Labour, called for elections on 19 February 1970, and at the Congress held a month later the Federation's new leaders were elected. They took office on 30 March 1970. A single list of candidates was submitted to the Congress, and obtained 38 votes from the 41 delegates present.
6. 45. As concerns the collective agreement to which the complainants refer, the Government explains that under Decree No. 4686/69 a timetable was laid down for the renewal of collective agreements, that for the chemical industries being due for renewal in December 1969. Since at that time the Federation was under government control, the Secretary of State for Labour designated the controller and two other persons to negotiate on its behalf, since otherwise the agreement in force would have been renewed without any possibility of securing better working conditions.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 46. The Committee observes that the procedure whereby the leaders of the Federation were elected did not reach its culmination until two years after the taking over of this organisation by the public authorities, with the result that when the time came for the renewal of the collective agreement (towards the end of this period), the workers' representatives had to be designated by the Secretariat of State for Labour, and included the controller himself-an official of the Secretariat. The Committee considers it necessary to emphasise in this respect the importance it attaches to the principle contained in Article 3 of Convention No. 87, which lays down that workers' and employers' organisations shall have the right to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes, and that the public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof.
2. 47. As regards the elections held within the Federation, the Committee takes note of the Government's observation to the effect that no allegations of electoral fraud were made at the time. The Committee has pointed out on many occasions that, while in view of the nature of its responsibilities it cannot consider itself bound by any rule that national procedures of redress must be exhausted, such as applies, for instance, to international claims tribunals, it must have regard in examining the merits of a case, to the fact that a national remedy before an independent tribunal whose procedure offers appropriate guarantees has not been pursued.
3. 48. The Committee observes that in their account of the events in question the complainants refer to what appear to have been primary elections held in November 1969 for the purpose of electing delegates to the Congress which was to have the actual task of electing the leaders of the Federation. The Government supplies certain details about this Congress, but apart from stating that there was no electoral committee, it makes no comment upon the remaining assertions of the complainants with regard to these primary elections, which concern alleged irregularities in regard to the displaying of a list of candidates and the custody of the ballot boxes.
4. 49. It would appear from certain leaflets of which copies have been supplied to the Committee by the complainants that the group of trade unionists ousted as a result of the takeover hold the takeover responsible, in particular, for the following facts: the fact that the rolls listing the names and other particulars of the electors were not made available to those on the officially authorised lists of candidates, the fact that the ballot boxes were not allowed to be kept on the Federation's premises, the fact that the persons on the officially authorised lists of candidates were not permitted to be on the electoral committee (or board), and the fact that no announcement was made stating when and where the voting was to take place. Accordingly, the group of trade unionists in question announced the withdrawal of their list of candidates and urged the workers to boycott the election.
5. 50. The Committee recalls Decree No. 969 of 1966, which was apparently in force at the time of the elections, and which contains certain provisions relevant to some of the points raised by the complainants. Section 6 of the Decree lays down certain rules with regard to elections, which must be embodied in the by-laws of trade unions. As concerns electoral rolls, section 6 (d) stipulates that they must be made available to members and to the candidates for office not less than 30 days prior to the date of the election. As for the places where votes may be cast, section 6 (b) states that they must be specified in the notice of election and may not be changed.
6. 51. In order to be in possession of sufficient evidence on which to base its conclusions in regard to this case, the Committee would like to have the Government's observations and comments on the points mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 52. In these circumstances, with regard to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to draw attention to the importance it attaches to the principle contained in Article 3 of Convention No. 87, which lays down that workers' and employers' organisations shall have the right to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes, and that the public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof;
   • (b) to request the Government to be good enough to supply information concerning the administrative and judicial avenues which were open to the trade unionists involved in the present case enabling them to appeal against the decisions of the controller concerning the elections in question;
   • (c) to request the Government to be good enough to forward its observations and comments on the points mentioned in paragraphs 49 and 50 above;
   • (d) to take note of the present interim report, on the understanding that the Committee will report again as soon as it is in possession of the information, observations and comments to which reference is made in this paragraph.
     • Geneva, 25 February 1971 (Signed) Roberto AGO, Chairman.