Interim Report - Report No 147, 1975

Case No 763 (Uruguay) - Complaint date: 03-JUL-73 - Closed

1. 305. This case was last examined by the Committee at its session in February 1974 when the Committee submitted an interim report to the Governing Body (see 142nd Report of the Committee, paras. 191-221).
2. 306. By a communication dated 15 March 1974, the World Federation of Trade Unions transmitted a document from the National Workers' Convention of Uruguay containing additional information relating to the complaints. By two communications dated 1 and 16 April 1974, the World Federation of Trade Unions transmitted additional information concerning the complaints. In addition, fresh allegations were submitted by the Trade Union International of Workers in the Metal Industries in a telegram dated 2 April 1974. Further information in connection with the complaints was supplied by the National Workers' Convention of Uruguay in communications dated 19, 20, 22 and 26 March, 2 April, 17 July, and 19 and 22 August 1974. In further communications dated 19 April 1974, the Medical Association of Uruguay transmitted additional information concerning the case. By a communication dated May 1974, the Workers' Organisation of the Omnibus transmitted fresh allegations relating to the case. In another communication, transmitted to the ILO by the United Nations on 17 June 1974, the Medical Association of Uruguay submitted further information in connection with the complaints. The International Federation of Actors, in communications dated 27 June, 11 and 25 July 1974, submitted allegations and information relating to the case. A communication from the Union of Metalworkers dated 16 February 1974, and transmitted to the ILO by the United Nations on 12 July 1974, contained further information in connection with the complaints. These communications were transmitted to the Government for observations.
3. 307. The Government transmitted certain observations on the complaints in a communication dated 20 June 1974.
4. 308. Uruguay has ratified 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. 309. When it last examined this case (in February 1974), the Committee noted that the allegations which had been made dealt mainly with the arrest of trade union leaders and the dissolution by decree of the National Workers' Convention. In view of the nature of the allegations and information which have now been received, the Committee considers it appropriate to summarise the allegations already examined, as well as the Government's observations thereon, before proceeding to analyse the information and allegations submitted to it since the case was last before it.
   • Allegations relating to the Arrest of Trade Unionists, the Dissolution of the National Workers' Convention and General Intervention in Trade Union Matters
2. 310. The complainants had stated that numerous arrests had taken place and gave the names of some of the persons detained, in particular, those of Antonio Tornayo, a leading figure in the National Workers' Convention and a representative of the Uruguayan workers at the 58th Session of the International Labour Conference, who was stated to have been arrested on his return from the Conference; Felix Diaz, another leading figure in the Convention; Mario Acosta, General Secretary of the Building Workers' Federation and Vice-President of the Trade Unions International of Workers in the Building, Wood and Building Materials Industries; Daniel Baldassari, General Secretary of the Petroleum Workers' Federation and Vice-President of the Trade Unions International of Chemical, Oil and Allied Workers; Dr. Manuel Liberoff, Treasurer of the Medical Association of Uruguay, and five other leading figures in that union: Juan J. Ormaechea, Nestor Figari, Alberto Casamayote, Sergio Assandri and Carlos Buscato; and Victor Brindisi, General Secretary of the Teachers' Federation, a regional delegate of the American Teachers' Federation and a leading figure in the National Workers' Convention.
3. 311. The WFTU alleged that 60 trade union leaders were being sought by the police, including José d'Elia, President, and Vladimir. Turiansky, Vice-President of the National Workers' Convention, and Enrique Pastorino, President of the WFTU in all, some l,500 workers had been arrested and threatened with trial by military, courts, according to the WFTU. The latter also provided a list of 42 arrested trade union leaders, while the WCL sent a list (which it describes as incomplete) of 27 persons arrested.
4. 312. In its communication dated 3 October 1973, the Trade Unions International of Chemical, Oil and Allied Workers stated that on 30 June 1973 the authorities, with support from the armed forces, brutally broke up a strike by the oil workers, members of an affiliated trade union organisation, and placed the ANCAP refinery under military control. The headquarters of the trade union concerned had been closed and its meeting outlawed. Furthermore, the President of that union, Jonás Sténeri, had been arrested and a warrant had been issued for the arrests of Daniel Baldassari, General Secretary, and of the Secretary-Treasurer. Moreover, the other Uruguayan affiliated organisation - the Glass Workers' Federation - had allegedly been prevented from exercising its normal activities.
5. 313. The World Federation of Teachers, in a communication dated 12 November 1973, asserted that the Uruguayan Government was continuing its repression of unionised teachers. The premises of teachers' unions had been broken into, typewriters and mimeograph machines destroyed and documents and records confiscated. It also claimed that Victor Cayota, President of the Secondary School Teachers' Federation, had been imprisoned.
6. 314. In a communication dated 27 November 1973, the World Confederation of Labour provided a list (stated to be incomplete) of trade union leaders in custody for nearly five months. Apart from certain leaders already referred to, the following were being held in the Army Ordnance and Services College: Roberto Olmos, General Secretary, Trade Union of Graphic Arts; Hector Betancourt, a leading figure in the Transport Federation; Honorio Libner, a leader of the National Workers' Convention and Chairman of the National Federation of Municipal Employees; Aparicio Guzmán, a leader of the Trade Union of Graphic Arts; and Rubén Villaverde, a leading figure in the National Workers' Convention and the Federation of State Water Board Workers. The complainants also alleged that many workers were still locked up in barracks, the Montevideo police headquarters and local police stations and in the "Cilindro Municipal" Sports Stadium; some of their names are given. None of these persons had been sentenced or even brought to trial and, state the complainants, their only offence was to have defended the Constitution and freedom of association.
7. 315. In a communication dated 10 December 1973, the Latin American Federation of Workers of the Building, Wood and Building Materials Industries claimed that its affiliate in Uruguay, the National Union of Building and Allied Trades Workers, had had its headquarters forcibly occupied by troops, its funds had been confiscated and its meetings prohibited.
8. 316. The WFTU, the WCL and the Trade Unions International of Workers of the Building, Wood and Building Materials industries further complained that the National Workers' Convention had been dissolved by decree. The decree in question, which was issued on 30 June 1973, gave as the reason for dissolution the attitude of the leaders of the Convention, who were said to have encouraged and defended the use of violence and urged workers to occupy their workplaces; thereby obstructing public services and supplies.
9. 317. In a communication received by the ILO on 13 November 1973, the Government replied by giving a general outline of the circumstances which, it stated, led to the arrest of the trade union leaders in question and the dissolution of the National Workers' Convention. In support of its comments, it transmitted an order approved by the Government on 30 June 1973, dissolving the Convention, ordering its assets to be attached and its leaders to be arrested.
10. 318. In the above-mentioned communication, the Government began by declaring that it had for some considerable time been making every effort to devise a solution for the country's problems which, while offering the advantages of equity, would be in the best interests of the workers themselves. To this end it had held numerous direct talks with the various branches of the labour force, patiently encouraged constructive discussions among all Uruguayan organisations of employers and workers, proposed the creation of joint advisory Committees and suggested improvements in wages and working conditions. Many trade union organisations, and the vast majority of Uruguayan workers, had been very favourably impressed by these activities and the motives behind them.
11. 319. However, the Government continued, the National Workers' Convention, led by totalitarian extremists from minority groups, had opposed the Government's policy. It refused recognition of the right to work, championed violence, promoted the unlawful occupation of workplaces, both public and private, called for sabotage, encouraged continuous and very serious street disturbances, did its best to stop the flow of supplies to the people and tried to paralyse public services - indeed, work of any kind anywhere. What was at stake, in the Government's view, went considerably further than the success or failure of a strike. What was at issue was the success or failure of certain fanatically anti-democratic minority groups which had pushed the National Workers' Convention into the action described as a means of producing social chaos and a change in the political, economic and social life of the nation. Such opposition, the Government stated, could not possibly be justified by the defence of trade union interests of any kind; rather, it was prompted by ulterior motives of a notoriously political type, the prime aim being to destroy current institutions.
12. 320. The Government stated that recourse to violence cannot be admitted in any organised society and must be utterly and vigorously condemned. In this connection it noted that article 80(6) of the Uruguayan Constitution requires suspension of citizenship where a national belongs to political or social organisations which attempt to destroy the foundations of the national community either by violence or by propaganda advocating violence.
13. 321. The Government recalled further that article 39 of the Uruguayan Constitution entitles any persons to associate for any purpose provided the association be not unlawful. Act No. 9936 (of 18 July 1940) defines an unlawful association as one which advocates violence against the institutions of the Republic or against the civil authorities. Section 2 of that Act provides for such an association to be dissolved and its leaders and members charged under the criminal law.
14. 322. These provisions, the Government added, clearly show that the National Workers' Convention had become an unlawful association in the above sense. Its activities could, under the Criminal Code, constitute rebellion, riotous assembly, public incitement to break the law and commit criminal acts, promotion of class hatred and contempt of the public authorities. It was for the criminal courts to define the offences and the criminal responsibility of the members and officers of the organisation.
15. 323. The Government's conduct in the present case was, it stated, justified in that, under the Constitution, it was responsible for keeping the peace and for taking prompt and vigorous action in the event of grave and unforeseen disturbance (article 168, 1 and 17). Moreover, section 5 of Act No. 14068 (of 10 July 1972) empowers the Government to suspend meetings or activities in all premises, public or private, when such meetings or activities caused, or might cause, a breach of the peace. In view of this overriding duty to keep the peace, it was only natural that the Government should act by dissolving the National Workers' Convention and order the arrest and trial of its leaders by the competent criminal court.
16. 324. The Government, moreover, took the view that the allegations of infringement of ILO Conventions Nos. 87 and 98 could not be sustained. While Convention No. 87 does require the authorities to "refrain from any interference which would restrict" the rights of organisations or hamper the legitimate exercise of those rights, it does, on the other hand, lay down that "in exercising the rights provided for in this Convention workers and employers and their respective organisations ... shall respect the law of the land". The National Workers' Convention, however, had taken the view that its independence and freedom of action were such that it could with impunity overlook the law of the land and even attempt to overturn or destroy it. It ignored that defence of occupational interests for which trade unions exist in order to uphold certain political interests.
17. 325. Certainly, the Government continued, in any democratic society it was inevitable that the trade union movement be influenced by political parties. But it was essential to avoid a state of affairs in which the movement was used as a tool by some ideology or political faction and took decisions which did not unequivocally reflect the will of those who have freely come together in the defence of their interests.
18. 326. The points made in respect of the National Workers' Convention, The Government considered, could also be applied to the complaints from the Medical Association of Uruguay and the Trade Unions International of Chemical, Oil and Allied Industries (concerning ANCAP, the state refinery). Lastly, it affirmed that the Government continued to abide by Conventions Nos. 87 and 98.
19. 327. The Governmental Order dated 30 June 1973, attached to the Government's letter to the ILO, declares the National Workers' Convention to be an unlawful association and decrees its dissolution. Its premises were closed and its assets confiscated; bank deposits in its name or in that of its officers were frozen. These latter were to be placed under arrest and members and officers who had carried out acts presumed to be unlawful would be tried by the competent criminal court.
20. 328. In a further communication, dated 16 January 1974, the Government stated that the imprisonment of Antonio Tamayo and the searches carried out for Enrique Pastorino were in no way related to their holding of union office. The Government stated that the arrest of Antonio Tamayo was ordered by the Executive authorities pursuant to the declaration of a state of emergency (article 168(17) of the Constitution), and it was because he was presumed to have engaged in subversive activities harmful to the security of the State that Enrique Pastorino was being sought. In a more recent communication, dated 31 January 1974, the Government stated that Mr. Tamayo had been set free at the end of December 1973.
21. 329. With regard to the arrest of trade union leaders, the Governing Body, on the recommendation of the Committee, took note of the Government's statement that Antonio Tamayo was set free in December 1973, and drew the attention of the Government, in particular, to the principle that whenever trade unionists are charged with political or criminal offences which the Government considers have no relation to their trade union functions or activities, they should be given a prompt and fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal. The Governing Body also requested the Government to state whether proceedings had been instituted against all of these trade unionists and, if so, to provide details concerning the nature of the court dealing with the case and the stage the proceedings had reached, and to supply copies of the judgments, once they had been rendered, with the grounds adduced therefor.
22. 330. With regard to the dissolution of the National Workers' Convention, the Governing Body drew the attention of the Government to the importance it attaches to the principle that workers' organisations should not be subject to dissolution by administrative authority, and that likewise dissolution by the executive branch of the Government does not ensure the right of defence which normal judicial procedure alone can guarantee. The Governing Body also requested the Government for its observations on the alleged ban on activities by the Glass Workers' Federation and National Union of Workers of the Building and Allied Trades and on the measures taken against several teachers' organisations. In addition, the Governing Body requested the Government to send precise information on the nature of the acts of which Enrique Pastorino was accused.
    • Further Allegations relating to the Arrest of Trade Unionists and General Intervention in Trade Union Matters
23. 331. In the communication from the National Workers' Convention, transmitted by the WFTU on 15 March 1974, it is alleged that Sonia Guarnieri, leader of the Federation of Public Health Officials, was arrested in Brazil in September 1973 and later handed over to the police of the Rivera area. She was then taken to Montevideo where she was tortured at police headquarters. The complainants state that this person had been sought by the police when the capture of the CNT leaders was ordered. She was arrested and kept in custody for over a month. According to the complainants, this person was imprisoned at the Eleventh Commissariat of Montevideo along with a number of other women trade unionists (including three from the Central Council for Family Allowances, leaders of the AFAF Union).
24. 332. Since 1 January 1974, continue the complainants, Leon Duarte, Secretary of the Uruguayan Tyre Factory Union (FUNSA) has been held at the Military School, Rogelio Zorrón, a leader of the CNT and of the AUTE (Electricity and Telephone Workers) is being held in the premises of the Marine. The complainants supply a list of approximately forty trade unionists and their respective unions, who have been held at the stadium known as "Cilindro Municipal" since January or February 1974. According to the complainants, the AUTE members, Luis Micheline Olivera and Heber Alonso, were tortured by the police and the latter had been taken from the "Cilindro" to a military prison.
25. 333. The complainants add that, on 22 February 1974, the régime published a document in which the names and photographs of the wanted trade union leaders were given. These included the entire Executive of the CNT. This document, state the complainants, was added to the normal editions of various newspapers.
26. 334. The WFTU, in its communication of 1 April 1974, states that, according to the newspaper "El Dial (19 March 1974), the Secretariat of the Chief of Police of Montevideo, Colonel Alberto Ballestrino, issued an official communication suspending all authorisations for the holding of trade union meetings. The complainants continue that, on 20 March 1974, the same newspaper published official Communication No. 35 of the Chief of the Montevideo Police, stating that "applications for permission to hold trade union meetings must continue to be substantiated as in the past. After the applications have been considered, it will be decided in each specific case whether or not to grant permission to hold a meeting in accordance with the regulations in force". The complainants allege that these two communications point clearly to the flagrant violation of the right of assembly of trade unions. Unions must, before holding a meeting, apply to the Chief of Police and to the Ministry of the Interior for permission to do so, and indicate the date, place and object of the meeting.
27. 335. In its communication of 16 April 1974, the WFTU adds that, on 6 March 1974, the offices of the National Union of Metallurgical and Allied Industries (UNTMRA), Montevideo, were occupied by the police and nine workers, who happened to be there, were arrested. On 8 March, the complainants continue, the offices of the Wool Workers' Federation were occupied and thirty-eight workers arrested. The Director of this Federation, state the complainants, comrade Freire Pizzano, was badly beaten up. On 19 March, the offices of the Consolidated Sea Transport Workers' Union were searched and nine workers arrested. Furthermore, state the complainants, Professor J. Bouton, leader of the medical Association, has been imprisoned after being under house arrest. No explanation has been given, add the complainants, for this action, nor is the present situation of Professor Bouton known.
28. 336. In a further communication dated 2 April 1974, the Trade Union International of Workers in the Metal Industries states that several leaders of its affiliate, the National Union of Metallurgical and Allied Workers (UNTMRA), have been arrested on account of their trade union activities.
29. 337. The National Workers' Convention of Uruguay (CNT), in a communication dated 19 March 1974, refers to a number of arbitrary acts carried out by the military régime, including the dissolution by decree of the Convention, forcible entry into the premises of many trade unions, the issue of warrants for the arrest of all the leaders of the Convention, the prohibition of the check-off of trade union dues, dismissal of workers on account of trade union activities and imprisonment of anyone collecting union dues. In a communication dated 20 March 1974, the CNT alleges generally that freedom of association and human rights are being completely ignored in Uruguay. In a further communication dated 22 March, the CNT refers to the forcible entry into the premises of the National Union of Metallurgical and Allied Workers, the Union of Woolworkers and the Sea Transport Workers' Federation in March 1974 and the arrests which accompanied these actions. The complainants add that these three unions were involved in strictly trade union matters. Intervention by the police and armed forces in trade union affairs, state the complainants, has been a frequent occurrence since the coup d'état of June 1973. In many cases, trade union property has been damaged, stolen or confiscated. The CNT further alleges, in a communication dated 26 March 1974, that on 22 March the premises of the Textile Workers' Union were broken into. In addition, state the complainants, all trade union programmes on the country's radio stations have been banned.
30. 338. In a communication dated may 1974, the Workers' Organisation of the Omnibus allege that Antonio Tamayo, after his release from prison in December 1973, resumed his trade union activities with the Transport Workers' Organisation and as workers' delegate-general to the Productivity, Prices and Incomes Commission, a tripartite organisation. The complainants state that, after a brief period of activity, Tamayo, along with forty-eight trade union and social militants, was dismissed by the "Compañia Uruguaya de Transporte Colectivo SA (CUTCSA)".
31. 339. The Medical Association of Uruguay, in a communication dated 29 May 1974, alleges that Doctor Barret Diaz, General Secretary of the Association, has been detained since 24 May for no reason and without being brought to trial.
32. 340. In communications dated 27 June and 11 July 1974, the International Federation of Actors allege that their Vice-President, and Secretary of the Uruguayan Actors' Union, Eduardo Prous, has been arrested. In a later communication, of 25 July 1974, the complainants state that Mr. Prous has been released, although it is not yet known whether he would be able to pursue his activities in Uruguay.
33. 341. In communications dated 17 July and 19 August 1974, the National Workers' Convention stresses that trade union activity has been totally suppressed and refers to the plight of detained trade unionists who are subjected to torture. In particular, the complainants state that, in a recent written communication, the Chief of Police notified the Union of Bank Employees (AEBU) that if it continued to pursue its activities and make claims, its headquarters would be closed. In another communication, dated 22 August 1974, the CNT points out that, in August, four trade union leaders of the dockers' union disappeared, viz. Juan Gómez, Rubén Bello, Agustin Tapia and Humberto de los Santos, and no information as to their situation is available.
34. 342. The Government, in a communication dated 20 June 1974, transmits copies of communications between the Commissariat of Police, the National Director of Information and Intelligence and the Director-General for Executive Co-ordination, in which the following nine persons are stated as having been detained in the "Cilindro Municipal" and subsequently released: Victor Brindisi, Héctor Goñi, Miguel Bouzas, Victor Cayota, Carlos Espinosa, Alberto Fernández, Sonia Guarnieri, José Luis Cola Horne and Romula Oraison. One of the above persons, Sonia Guarnieri, is said to have been detained on 20 October 1973, released on 20 November 1973 and detained again on 14 February 1974. She is stated to be still in custody. In addition, three other persons (viz. Ricardo Vilaro, A. Rubio and Héctor Rodriguez) are stated to have been taken to the Central Prison by order of the Military Judge. The persons named above are said to have been detained under the emergency security measures in their capacity as members of the National Workers' Convention, which was dissolved for having engaged in activities contrary to the national interest. The names are given of seven other trade union leaders (viz. Antonio Tamayo, Felix Diaz, Roberto Olmos, Héctor Betancourt, Honorio Lindner, Aparicio Guzman and Rubén Villaverde), who were temporarily detained for the same reasons, but who have all been released. The trade union leader, Héctor P. Rodriguez, along with two professors, is said to have been tried by the military authorities on charges of seditious activities, as a result of the investigations carried out in connection with the explosion of a bomb in the Faculty of Engineering.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 343. Having examined all the information transmitted to it, the Committee expresses its concern at the numerous and grave accusations of infringements of trade union rights made against the Government, and its regret that the Government has supplied no reply to many of the allegations made. The Committee has in the past emphasised that the purpose of the whole procedure is to promote respect for trade union rights in law and in fact, and if it protects governments against unreasonable accusations, governments, for their part, should realise the importance, for the protection of their own good name, of formulating for objective examination detailed factual replies to such detailed factual charges as may be put forward.
2. 344. With regard to the arrest and detention of trade unionists, the Committee would again draw the attention of the Government to the principles to which it referred when it examined this case in February 1974, viz. that of a prompt and fair trial by an independent and impartial judiciary in all cases, including cases in which trade unionists are charged with political or criminal offences which the Government considers have no relation to their trade union functions or activities. Whenever the Committee has come to the conclusion, in the light of the information available, that the accused have been fairly tried by a proper court, have had the benefit of a regular judicial procedure and have been condemned for acts having nothing to do with ordinary trade union activities, it has ruled that the case did not call for further consideration. It has, however, emphasised that the question as to whether such a matter is one relating to a criminal offence or to the exercise of trade union rights is not one which can be determined unilaterally by the government concerned, but that it is for the Committee itself to decide on the point after an examination of all available evidence, especially the text of the judicial proceedings.
3. 345. The Committee would also point out, as it has done on previous occasions in the past, that the detention by the authorities of trade unionists concerning whom no grounds for conviction are subsequently found is liable to involve restrictions of trade union rights. Governments should take steps to ensure that the authorities concerned have instructions appropriate to eliminate the danger of detention for trade union activities.
4. 346. In addition to pointing out the above principles, which are applicable to the new allegations made against the Government since the Committee last examined the case, as well as to the allegations originally made by the complainants, the Committee is of the opinion that the allegations at its disposal bring into question the Government's observance of the main principles of the freedom of association Conventions which have been ratified by Uruguay. In particular, the new information made available to the Committee by the complainants, besides containing numerous and specific instances of arrest and detention of trade unionists, contains allegations of infringement of the right to hold trade union meetings, occupation of trade union premises (the Wool Workers' Federation, the National Union of Metal and Allied Workers, the Textile Workers' Union and the Sea Transport Workers' Federation), and dismissal of trade unionists on account of their trade union activities.
5. 347. The Committee, in view of the extent and gravity of the allegations made, recommends the Governing Body to request the Government to transmit, at an early date, full information on all the outstanding matters specified in the allegations formulated by the complainants, in particular concerning the arrest and detention of the named trade union leaders, indicating the precise reasons for their arrest and whether or not they have been brought to trial, as well as on the allegations of interference in trade union matters (right to hold trade union meetings, the forcible occupation of trade union premises, the alleged ban on the activities of the Glass Workers' Federation and the National Union of Workers of the Building and Allied Trades and on the measures taken against several teachers' organisations).

The Committee's recommendations

1. 348. In all these circumstances and with regard to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to express its concern at the extent and gravity of the allegations made and its regret that the Government has failed to supply sufficient information on many of the allegations made to enable the Committee to reach conclusions on the matters at issue in full knowledge of the facts;
   • (b) to emphasise that the purpose of the whole procedure is to promote respect for trade union rights in law and in fact, and that, if it protects governments against unreasonable accusations, governments for their part should realise the importance, for the protection of their own good name, of formulating for objective examination detailed factual replies to such detailed factual charges as may be put forward;
   • (c) in connection with the arrest and detention of trade unionists, to draw the attention of the Government to the principles contained in paragraphs 344 and 345 above, and to request it to supply full information concerning the trade unionists mentioned by the complainants, stating in particular the precise reasons for their arrest, whether proceedings have been instituted against these trade unionists and, if so, to indicate the results thereof;
   • (d) to request the Government to transmit, at an early date, as full and precise information as possible concerning all the matters specified in the allegations formulated by the complainants (including the allegations of interference in trade union matters, right of assembly, forcible occupation of trade union premises, the ban on the activities of the Glass Workers' Federation and the National Union of Workers in the Building and Allied Trades and the measures taken against several teachers' organisations);
   • (e) to take note of this interim report, it being understood that the Committee will submit a further report to the Governing Body when it has received the information requested from the Government.