Interim Report - Report No 173, March 1978

Case No 814 (Bolivia (Plurinational State of)) - Complaint date: 25-MAY-12 - Closed

COMPLAINT CONCERNING THE OBSERVANCE BY BOLIVIA OF THE FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO ORGANISE CONVENTION, 1948 (No. 87), MADE BY A NUMBER OF DELEGATES TO THE 60th (1975) SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE UNDER ARTICLE 26 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ILO

• COMPLAINT CONCERNING THE OBSERVANCE BY BOLIVIA OF THE FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO ORGANISE CONVENTION, 1948 (No. 87), MADE BY A NUMBER OF DELEGATES TO THE 60th (1975) SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE UNDER ARTICLE 26 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ILO
  5. 5 After examining case No. 685 on several occasions, the Committee dealt with Cases Nos. 685, 781, 806 and 814 together in its 154th, 162nd, 166th and 169th Reports, which were devoted entirely to outstanding complaints concerning Bolivia.
  6. 6 The complaints relating to these various cases were submitted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the World Confederation of Labour, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the Latin American Central of Workers, the Inter-American Regional Organisation of Workers, the International Federation of Teachers' Unions, the Bolivian Central of Workers (COB) and the Bolivian Miners' Trade Union Federation (FSTMB). Since its last session the Committee has received a further complaint, from the Miners' Trade Unions International (communication dated 7 June 1977). The WFTU, in a telegram dated 4 July 1977, associated itself with this complaint. On the eve of its present session the Committee received a communication from the COB dated 27 October 1977 containing new allegations of infringements of trade union rights. These allegations will be transmitted to the Government for observations.
  7. 7 In addition, at the 60th Session of the International Labour Conference (1975), a number of Workers' delegates filed a complaint under article 26 of the Constitution of the ILO concerning the observance by Bolivia of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87). This complaint dealt with various questions raised in the allegations examined by the Committee and with certain aspects of trade union legislation.
  8. 8 Since the Committee last examined these cases the Government has supplied information in communications dated 3 August and 1 October 1977.
  9. 9 Bolivia 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. 10. The Committee has already examined allegations relating to the years immediately following the change of regime on 21 August 1971 (closing down of the COB, the La Paz Departmental Central of Workers and the FSTMB; takeover of the National Urban Schoolteachers' Federation; arrest and banishment of trade unionists). It has also examined more recent complaints concerning events occurring from November 1974 onwards. These latter allegations related mainly to the legislation on trade unions adopted at that time and to the trade union situation in the mining industry. At its May-June 1977 session, the Governing Body, on the Committee's recommendation, requested the Government to communicate detailed information on the measures which it was urgent to take concerning the mineworkers still under arrest or in exile, the adoption and the application of new trade union legislation, and the miners' radio stations. The Governing Body also decided, pending receipt of this information, and taking into account the fact that two missions of direct contacts had already been carried out in Bolivia, to suspend its decision on the desirability of setting up a commission of inquiry in connection with the complaint submitted under article 26 of the ILO Constitution.
2. 11. More specifically, the allegations relating to the legislation adopted in 1974 were concerned mainly with Legislative Decree No. 11947 (establishing the Basic Statutes of Government), Presidential Decree No. 11952 (concerning labour co-ordinators and the freezing of trade union funds), and Legislative Decree No. 11948 (establishing the compulsory civil service), promulgated in November 1974. Legislative Decree No. 11947 provided, inter alia, that "pending the reorganisation of the executive Committees of employers' associations, trade unions, professional associations, craft unions, students' unions and university staff unions, in accordance with rules to be laid down in due course by the National Government, it is hereby ordered that the term of office of the officials of the aforementioned organisations and their respective federations and Confederations shall be at an end, and that strikes, stoppages, lockouts and all other forms of suspension and paralysis of work and production shall be prohibited". The Government had replaced the trade union executives by labour co-ordinators which it appointed itself (pending the enactment of a labour code) in each centre of production and in each occupational sector. The main function of the labour co-ordinators was to represent the workers in submitting individual and collective claims. Acceptance of this office was compulsory, any person refusing to accept being liable to sanctions under the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 11948, establishing the compulsory civil service. Wages were frozen in January 1975, but in practice the Government tolerated collective bargaining on wages, provided that it took place without publicity. In addition, trade union meetings and finances were subjected to various restrictions.
3. 12. The complaint filed under article 26 of the ILO Constitution referred to observations made by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations with respect to the application of Convention No. 87. Mention was made in particular of the comments of 1975 concerning the provisions in the General Labour Act dealing with trade unions.
4. 13. A special national Committee drafted a new labour code and rules of procedure, designed to replace in particular the General Labour Act. At the request of the Government, the Office sent its comments on this text, especially the provisions dealing with trade union rights. In April 1977, the Government stated that the National Drafting Committee had endeavoured to bring the guiding principles of its draft into line with the ILO's opinion in order to make the two documents concord as closely as possible. The Government had also sought the views of certain employers' and workers' representatives, but considered that a more thorough analysis would need to be made by all the employers' and workers' sectors involved. It therefore had plans for consultations to take place before the new legislation was adopted. Nevertheless, not wishing to create a vacuum during this interim period, the Government had taken a series of measures. In particular, it cited the measures taken to facilitate the election of workers' local Committees and the holding of national assemblies in the various sectors of activity to enable them to analyse their specific problems and appoint co-ordinators. This had been done mainly in the following sectors: mines, railways, telecommunications, electric light and power, telephones and airports. In addition, continued the Government, the new Act respecting labour procedure should enable the recognition of workers' rights to be speeded up and facilitate their action before labour jurisdictions.
5. 14. In May 1977 the Committee noted in particular that the Labour Code, and especially its provisions as regards trade unions, had still not been adopted. In consequence the Governing Body, on the Committee's recommendation, urged the Government to do everything possible to expedite the adoption and application of the new trade union legislation.
6. 15. As concerns the trade union situation in the mining industry, the Committee has examined in particular allegations concerning events which took place throughout this industry in June and July 1976. According to the complainants, wage claims presented again following the XVIth National Mineworkers' Congress (May 1976), and a strike that was planned if these demands were not satisfied, had provided the Government with an opportunity to represent the action not as an economic claim by the workers, but as a political manoeuvre. Consequently, before the strike had been declared in support of the workers' demands, the armed forces had occupied most of the mining sectors and a series of repressive measures - including the closing down of the FSTMB and of local trade unions in mining areas, the occupation of the miners' radio stations and the arrest, banishment and dismissal of trade union officials and workers - had been taken against the workers and their leaders. The Government argued that it was really a question of political and even subversive activities by leaders in the mines and other sectors, which had been made to look like action in support of economic claims. The wage demands - which, as was known by the miners' leaders, were totally unacceptable to the Government - had to be met within a fixed period, according to a decision taken at the Congress in question. The Congress had also adopted resolutions and declarations of a political character in which the Government had been strongly attacked. According to the Government, all these facts, together with others, were proof of the existence of a plan whose ultimate aim was to bring about its overthrow.
7. 16. In November 1976 the Committee felt that it did not possess sufficient information to take a decision on the basic questions involved in full knowledge of the facts, but nevertheless noted the exceptional circumstances of a political nature which had arisen in Bolivia and which had accompanied demands for wage increases which were long overdue. The Committee reached various conclusions and, on its recommendation, the Governing Body urged the Government, inter alia, to re-establish normal trade union conditions in the mining sector as soon as possible, to re-examine the question of closing of the miners' broadcasting stations, and to reconsider, in particular, the situation of the workers and leaders in this sector who were still imprisoned or exiled.
8. 17. In February 1977 the Government stated that pending the adoption of the new labour legislation, the miners had democratically elected genuinely representative bodies which, under the name of local Committees, performed all trade union functions and had deserved full recognition by the Government. The Comibol mining enterprise had already implemented one-third of the obligations undertaken in the collective agreement negotiated with the local Committees, and it was hoped that the agreement could be fully implemented within the agreed time limit. The Government mentioned that it had adopted a Presidential Decree, No. 14256 of 31 December 1976, whereby a high-level mining advisory council was set up to prepare and co-ordinate labour and social policy on behalf of the miners.
9. 18. The case of the mine radio transmitters, added the Government, had been brought before the competent judicial authorities, who were to take the final decision as to whether or not mines might retain their broadcasting licences in the light of their abuses of freedom of expression and other offences under the General Telecommunications and Broadcasting Act. Nevertheless, stated the Government, in order to create a favourable climate, it had returned the radio transmitters to the administrative Committees formed by the local Committees and works delegates after replacing the parts which had been carried off by the trade union leaders who had fled, and all these transmitters were operating. Radio Llallagua, which according to the Government was a special case, had been returned to the municipality, its rightful owner. In April 1977, the Government added that the intervention of the authorities was due to the fact that these radio stations did not have the necessary authorisation to operate under the general regulations governing radio-electrical services, but that the stations in question were now fulfilling all the necessary requirements for the purpose of legalising their situation, which would enable them to resume normal operations. At its May-June 1977 session, the Governing Body stressed that the miners' broadcasting stations should be rapidly returned to the workers and their organisations.
10. 19. The Committee and the Governing Body also noted the new measures as a result of which some trade unionists - arrested or exiled as a result of the events in the mining industry - had been released or had been able to return to the country. They requested the Government to continue its re-examination of the situation of the other workers and trade union leaders still under arrest or exiled.
11. 20. In a more recent complaint dated 7 June 1977 (with which the WFTU associated itself), the Miners' Trade Unions International referred to the detention of Mario Cortez, Permanent Secretary of the FSTMB, who was said to be undergoing torture, as a result of which his health had seriously deteriorated. He was allegedly incarcerated in the prison belonging to the Department of Public Order (DOP) in La Paz. The complainants demanded that he be released, along with the many other mining trade unionists who were in prison, and that a stop be put to the repression directed against the miners who had been calling for better living and working conditions.
    • The latest observations from the Government
12. 21. The Government stated in its letter of 3 August 1977 that Mario Cortez had been released in May 1977; it added that while he was in custody he was in good health, and that the Government had no knowledge of any subsequent illness. His detention had nothing to do with trade union matters, but was due to the political work of subversive agitation in which Mario Cortez had been engaged in the mines.
13. 22. In its telegram of 1 October 1977, the Government supplied a further list of mineworkers who had been arrested on political grounds, according to the Government, and had now been released:
    • Roberto Acho Huarita; Juan Alfaro Moreira; Jaime Bernal Alvarado; Alberto Camacho Pardo; Gregorio Colque Capacalle; Mario Cortez Cabrere (see preceding paragraph); Simón Chumacero Facio; Freddy Ferrufino Guzmán; Isaac González Cabezas; Manuel Hernández Veizaga; Armando Iporre Zegarra; Hugo Marne Terrazas; Severo Mendoza Chino; Adolfo Morales Gómez; Victor Orellana Hinojosa; Paulino Palma López (since rearrested, however); Serafín Ramos Quiroz; Gonzaló Rivas Mercado; Fabian Romero Gómez; Delfín Saldano Hidaldo; Teodoro Sarmiento Choque; Hugo Serrano Sanjinez; Efraín Velasco Gutiérrez; Milan Velasquez Jauregui; Germán Zambrana Serrudo; Wilfredo Zambrana Serrudo.
    • The Government also mentioned the names of five trade union leaders or workers in the mining sector who had been able to return from exile. The Committee notes that this latter information has already been transmitted in earlier communications.
14. 23. In more general terms, the Government referred, in its communication of 1 October 1977, to a speech made on 16 July 1977 by the President of the Republic before the Supreme Court. He stated that the Government was preparing for Bolivia's return to a Constitutional regime, which would enable the country to accede, through the free expression of the will of the people, to a qualitatively more advanced level. Before returning to a Constitutional regime in the strict sense of the term, during 1978 and 1979 the country would have to go through what might be termed the institutionalisation phase: the people would be consulted with a view to introducing into the national Constitution amendments reflecting the new realities in the country and the prospects opening up as a result. Once these reforms had been approved by the people, continued the Head of State, Constitutional government would be restored in 1980; nothing could alter that decision. The Government added that the adoption and implementation of new trade union legislation were comprised in the measures to be adopted very shortly as part of the process leading up to the country's return to a Constitutional regime.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

• The Committee's conclusions
  24. 24 It should be borne in mind that complaints have been coming before the Committee in connection with this series of cases since October 1971. In the years immediately following the change of regime in August 1971, the Committee was called upon to examine matters as serious as the closing down by order of the Government of the COB, the FSTMB and the La Paz Central of workers, the takeover of the Bolivian National Urban Schoolteachers' Federation, and the arrest or banishment of trade unionists. In more recent years, the allegations have been concerned more particularly with the decrees adopted in November 1974 imposing major restrictions on trade union rights in all branches of the economy, and with the trade union situation in the mining industry. Two direct contacts missions have been carried out - from 25 March to 8 April 1976 and from 17 to 24 July 1976 - in Bolivia by a representative of the Director-General.
  25. 25 The Committee takes note of the Government's latest communication. It wishes to express its deep concern at the slowness of the progress towards the restoration of a normal trade union situation in the country; despite the time which has elapsed, the legislation announced has still not been adopted, and the restrictions on the exercise of trade union activities are still in force. In its communication the Government merely mentions a speech by the President of the Republic announcing the return of Bolivia to Constitutional government in 1980; the new trade union legislation is due to be adopted during the interim period, described as the "institutionalisation phase", in the course of which amendments are to be made to the national Constitution. The Committee wishes to point out in this connection that it is important to make a distinction between the evolution of a country's political institutions, on the one hand, and matters relating to the exercise of freedom of association, on the other while respect for freedom of association is, as was emphasised by the International Labour Conference in 1970,1 closely bound up with respect for civil liberties in general, workers' and employers' organisations nevertheless have their own specific functions to perform, irrespective of the country's political system. Consequently, the Committee considers that it is urgent for the Government to re-establish without delay, both in law and in practice, the conditions indispensable to the carrying on of normal trade union activity in Bolivia, in accordance with the Conventions on freedom of association, ratified by Bolivia.
  26. 26 As concerns the persons under arrest or in exile, the Committee notes the release of a certain number of mineworkers, including Mario Cortez, Permanent Secretary of the FSTMB. However, in May 1977, referring to lists communicated by the Government, the Committee enumerated the names of workers or trade union leaders in the mining sector still under arrest or in exile only two of these persons (apart from those whose return from exile had already been announced by the Government in April 1977) are listed among the persons whose release is announced by the Government in its communication of 1 October 1977 (Adolfo Morales Gómez and Efrain Velasco Gutiérrez). The Government also mentions the name of a mineworker released and then rearrested (Paulino Palma López). It therefore appears that
      • - the following are still under arrest: Sabino Arnes Salazar, Alberto Carvajal Cuentas, Paulino Palma López, Pablo Rocha Mercado and Alejandro Rojas Arnes;
      • - the following are still in exile: Alejandro Alvarez Rojas, Angel Sócrates Andrade a Sinforoso Cabrera Romero (a former official of the FSTMB), Octavio Carvajal Dalence (an official of the FSTMB), Dionicio Coca Montaño (an official of the FSTMB), Raúl René Choque Linares, René Eduardo Dalence Salinas, Mario Fernández Condori (an official of the FSTMB), Victor López Cadima, Felix Feliciano Muruchi Poma, José Maria Palacios López (a former official of the COB, now in Mexico), Edgar Ramirez Santistieban, Oscar Salas Moya (an official of the FSTMB), Severo Torres Bravo and Jorge Velarde Torres.
  27. 27 Lastly, as concerns the miners' radio stations, the Committee notes that the Government's latest communications contain no information on this point.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 28. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to express its regret that, notwithstanding the time which has elapsed, the principles and standards of freedom of association freely subscribed by Bolivia are still not observed in Bolivia, and to appeal to the Government to re-establish as a matter of urgency, both in law and in practice, the conditions indispensable to the carrying on of normal trade union activity in Bolivia;
   • (b) to note with interest the release of a certain number of mineworkers, including Mario Cortez, Permanent Secretary of the FSTMB, but to urge the Government to continue its review of the situation as concerns the other workers and trade union leaders mentioned in paragraph 26 as being still under arrest or in exile;
   • (c) in broader terms, to suggest that the Government envisage the possibility of granting an amnesty to the other trade union leaders in exile;
   • (d) to request the Government once again to ensure the rapid return of the miners' radio stations to the workers;
   • (e) to request the Government to communicate, by 1 February 1978 at the latest, information on any developments in connection with the matters raised in the preceding clauses, and to take note in the meantime of this interim report.
     • Geneva, 10 November 1977. (Signed) Roberto AGO, chairman.