Interim Report - Report No 177, June 1978

Case No 823 (Chile) - Complaint date: 12-AUG-75 - Closed

1. 175. The Committee examined this case in February, May and November 1976 and in February, May and November 1977. It submitted an interim report at each of these sessions.
2. 176. Since it last examined the case the Committee has received a number of communications from complainant organisations: one (dated 25 November 1977) from the World Federation of Trade Unions, three (dated 25 November and 12 December 1977 and 23 January 1978) from the World Confederation of Labour, one (dated 24 November 1977) from the Industrial Federation of Building, Wood and Building Materials Workers (FIEMC), one (dated 30 November 1977) from the National Federation of Metalworkers' Unions (FENSIMET), one (dated 1 December 1977) from the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT), and one (dated 2 December 1977) from the Trade unions international of Workers of the Building, Wood and Building Materials Industries (UIBWM).
3. 177. These allegations were transmitted to the Government as and when they were received. The Government has supplied information in letters dated 27 December 1977, 5 and 17 January and 17 February 1978.
4. 178. Chile has ratified neither the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), nor the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Arrest or disappearance of trade unionists or former trade unionists

1. 179. In reply to the allegations made earlier, the Government had supplied certain information, and had stated on several occasions that nobody was or had been under arrest on account of his status as a trade unionist or his trade union activities, but for breaches of the law or for reasons of public order.
2. 180. In November 1977 the Committee noted with deep regret that the Government had not supplied any new information concerning the alleged arrest or disappearance of the many persons named in the complaints. The Committee had, however, been informed that following the submission of new evidence to substantiate the claim that these persons had been arrested, the Supreme Court had decided to reopen the inquiry into, in particular, the disappearance of 11 serving or former trade union officials named in these complaints.
3. 181. The Committee expressed the hope that the investigations would be carried out diligently and in full independence. More generally, as concerns all the allegations of disappearances, the Committee urged the Government to carry out thorough inquiries into these cases, in respect of most of which the complainants had supplied additional information, including eye-witness accounts, to substantiate their claim that the persons in question had been arrested.
4. 182. The Committee further noted with regret that the recommendations for the continuance of the inquiry into the death of Marta Lidia Ugarte Román did not appear to have been complied with. The Committee considered that the witnesses' testimony compiled by the Ad Hoc Working Group established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the organization of American States sufficed to show the need for reopening the inquiry into this matter and continuing it until the person or persons responsible were found.
5. 183. The Government had likewise failed to reply to the allegations concerning the temporary arrest of certain trade union officials: Samuel Astorga, Eduardo Berríos Morales and Ramón Velasquez.
6. 184. On the Committee's recommendation, the Governing Body, inter alia, requested the Government to supply information on the situation of the persons named in the list annexed to the 176th Report. It requested that the competent authorities continue the inquiry into the death of Marta Lidia Ugarte Román, and asked the Government to forward as speedily as possible its comments on the arrest of the persons named in paragraph 8 above.
7. 185. The FENSIMET subsequently alleged, in its letter of 30 November 1977, that the caretaker of its union headquarters, Juan Montecinos Montecinos, had been kept in custody for six hours. The persons who arrested him had produced no warrant for his arrest, and he had allegedly been severely tortured. The complainant organisation had filed a protest with the Ministry of the Interior; an inquiry had been ordered, but it had not yet been discovered who was responsible for the torturing.
8. 186. As concerns the persons alleged to have disappeared, the Government stated in its letter of 17 January 1978 that the Ministry of Labour and Social welfare had set up, jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a co-ordination Committee for the collation of evidence, since most of the names mentioned also appeared in similar complaints filed with other international organisations. All the available information would be sent with the report requested for 1 April 1978.
9. 187. With regard to the death of Marta Lidia Ugarte Román, the Government repeated that the Valparaiso courts had undertaken an inquiry and had adjourned the case on 14 February 1977, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. No new evidence had come to light and the case had not been reopened.
10. 188. The Government denied that Samuel Astorga, Eduardo Berríos and Ramón Velasquez had ever been arrested; the first named was not and had never been, according to the Government, a trade union official; he had been a Member of Parliament until 1969.
11. 189. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government concerning the three persons named in the preceding paragraph, but observes that it is in complete contradiction with the allegations referring to their arrest.
12. 190. The Committee draws the attention of the complainant organisations to this reply.
13. 191. Furthermore, the Government has not yet replied to the allegations concerning the temporary arrest of the caretaker of the FENSIMET's headquarters and the ill-treatment he is said to have suffered.
14. 192. As concerns the circumstances of the death of Marta Lidia Ugarte Román, the Committee had previously drawn attention to certain discrepancies between the Government's statements and the evidence taken from various witnesses, and had recommended that the inquiry be continued.
15. 193. The Committee is bound to observe that this recommendation has not been acted upon, and it deplores the fact that, as a result, it is impossible for it to form an opinion in full knowledge of the facts on such a serious aspect of this case.
16. 194. The Committee further regrets that the Government's recent communications contain no information with respect to the many persons named by the complainants as having been arrested or disappeared, whereas the Committee had hoped to obtain particulars, inter alia, as to the results of the further investigations undertaken by the Supreme Court into the disappearance of 11 serving or former trade union officials. More generally, the Government had been requested to carry out thorough inquiries into the cases of disappearance. But the Government's reply is that it will supply all the available information by 1 April 1978.
17. 195. The Committee appends to this report a list of the persons in respect of whom information - or further information - has been requested from the Government but not yet supplied, and urges the Government to supply detailed particulars as to the situation of these persons.

B. Forced residence of trade unionists

1. 196. Several trade union organisations (WFTU, WCL, FIEMC, FENSIMET, CLAT and UIBWM) have referred to the arrest and subsequent assignment to forced residence of the following seven trade union officials: Carlos Frez Rojo, President of the National Port Workers' Federation and the Unitarian Workers' Front; Arturo Latuz Favi, Director of the Copper Manual Workers' Union ("El Teniente" Mine); Milton Puga, Director of the Copper Salaried Employees' Union ("El Teniente" Mine); Juan Fincheira, President of the Copper Salaried Employees' Union and Deputy General Secretary of the Latin American Committee for Miners and Metallurgy Workers; Juan Manuel Sepulveda, Vice-President of the FENSIMET; Carlos Arellano, Director of the Copper Manual Workers' Union, and Héctor Hugo Cuevas Salvador, PRESIDENT of the FIEMC. According to the Government, they have been assigned to forced residence "for having engaged in political agitation in the trade union field and organised acts of indiscipline at work completely incompatible with national security". According to the complainants, these persons have been victimised for exercising trade union rights, although their activities formed part of their trade union duties as representatives of their organisations and of the workers, and their demands related to conditions of work.
2. 197. The complainants have drawn attention to the plunge in the purchasing power of wages and the blatant inadequacy of the adjustments granted on the ground of inflation. They have also referred to arbitrary dismissals, unfair treatment by employers, lack of freedom to organise, hold meetings, elect representatives in full freedom, submit pay claims, negotiate improved conditions and go on strike, and the problem of unemployment in town and country. Petitions addressed to the Government by trade union organisations, they continued, had gone unanswered, and requests to see officials had been refused; on the contrary, the unions were accused of engaging in politics and behaving unpatriotically.
3. 198. According to these organisations, the banished union officials were merely doing their duty and endeavouring to carry out faithfully the mandate given to them by the workers; they did not organise any work stoppages nor engage in subversive activities; while there may have been a few instances of indiscipline at work, they arose out of problems still unsolved. The complainants added that it was not by banishing, nor imprisoning, nor threatening people that these problems could be solved.
4. 199. The complainants went on to state that the workers at the "El Teniente" Mine, those at the port of Valparaiso, building workers, metalworkers and others had been seeking wage increases. Immediately following the El Teniente miners' strike 60 workers had been dismissed. The complainants pointed out that the trade unionists assigned to forced residence had been separated from their families and deprived of means of subsistence and medical supplies in an inhospitable region subject to extremes in temperature in the north of the country. In conclusion, one of the complainant organisations requested that a representative of the Director-General be sent to Chile as a matter of urgency.
5. 200. In several communications the Government stated that the trade union officials mentioned in paragraph 196 had been assigned on 23 November 1977 to forced residence in towns in the north of the country for breaches of the legal provisions in force. They had been freed on 23 December 1977 by Decree No. 2407 of 20 December 1977 (of which the Government supplies a copy), issued by the Ministry of the Interior, and returned to their homes.
6. 201. The Committee notes with interest the release of these persons. It observes, however, that the penalty of assignment to forced residence was imposed on them without any judicial proceedings having been initiated against them, and that the Government has not specified the offences of which they were accused.
7. 202. As the Committee has already had occasion to point out in earlier cases, although the fact of exercising trade union activity or holding trade union office does not give immunity from the application of normal penal law, the absence of guarantees of due process of law may lead to abuses and allow trade union officials to be penalised pursuant to decisions based on groundless accusations. It may also create a climate of insecurity and fear which may be prejudicial to the exercise of trade union rights.
8. 203. In a more recent communication (dated 23 January 1978), the WCL referred to the assignment to forced residence of the following trade unionists: Georgina Aceituno, Juan Sepulveda, Hernán Mery and Samuel Astorga.
9. 204. In its communication of 17 February the Government states that these measures of assignment were taken by virtue of the special powers conferred on the President of the Republic by Decree No. 572 of 1974, in conformity with the Constitution of 1925. They do not amount to penal sanctions. The powers thus conferred on the President of the Republic are subject to the control of the courts. The Court of Appeal of Santiago has been seized of appeals lodged by persons affected. The court confirmed the powers of the President and the measures taken. The court, however, decided that the Government should not have fixed the place of residence of those persons in the province to which they were assigned. They themselves had the right to choose their place of residence within that province. All the persons concerned had chosen to settle in Arica.
10. 205. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government concerning this matter. It notes, however, that the Government does not state the precise reason for which the measures in question were taken. The Committee would like to request the Government to provide information in this connection.

C. Pressure brought to bear on trade union leaders and refusal to authorise the celebration of May Day by certain trade union organisations

1. 206. The WFTU had alleged that a number of trade union officials had been harassed in connection with their activities on the occasion of May Day 1977. These officials, who had signed a document entitled "Analysis and Aspirations of Chilean Workers after 44 Months of Military Government" (submitted to the Government on May Day), stated that after that date "overt, illegal and abusive pressure" had been brought to bear on the leaders who had associated themselves with this document. Submissions under the amparo procedure had been filed by some officials whose organisations were signatories to the document; they had been followed by vehicles and by persons in civilian clothes; the premises of their organisations or their homes were being kept under surveillance; some of them had received a series of anonymous telephone calls. The WFTU mentioned the names of the following officials: Héctor Hugo Cuevas Salvador, Fernando Bobadilla Pisani, Ricardo Celedonio Lecaros González and Sergio de Jests Villalobos.
2. 207. The WFTU also referred to the Government's refusal to allow the celebration of May Day 1977 to be organised by 122 trade union organisations.
3. 208. In the absence of any reply from the Government concerning these various allegations, the Governing Body requested it in November 1977 to forward its comments on these matters as speedily as possible.
4. 209. In its letter of 17 January 1978, the Government stated that the trade union organisations had celebrated May Day in 1977 with a combined mass demonstration in which the most important Chilean Confederations, federations, associations and unions had taken part.
5. 210. The Committee regrets that the Government has not supplied fuller information on these aspects of the case. It wishes to emphasise that the holding of public meetings and the voicing of demands of a social and economic nature are traditional forms of trade union action on the occasion of May Day. Trade unions should have the right to organise freely whatever meetings they wish to celebrate May Day, provided that they respect the arrangements made by the authorities to ensure the keeping of the peace.

D. Withdrawal of Chilean nationality from trade union officials in exile

1. 211. The ICFTU and the WFTU alleged in communications of May 1977 that the Government had deprived of their nationality Messrs. Luis Meneses, General Secretary of the Single Central Organisation of Chilean Workers (CUT), and Humberto Elgueta and Ernesto Araneda, members of the External Committee of the CUT. As the Government had not yet furnished its observations on this matter, the Governing Body requested it in November 1977 to forward its comments on this grave act.
2. 212. The Government stated in its communication of 17 January 1978 that the persons concerned - who were living abroad - had behaved in an unpatriotic manner. They had launched a campaign among the international community designed to isolate Chile and bring down its Government. The Government added that they had levelled slanderous charges at the highest governmental and military authorities; this attitude had been manifested in communications, signed by them and containing unfounded accusations, insults and calumnies, addressed to various international bodies to encourage them to suspend loans, cancel agreements, etc. Such an attitude, continued the Government, was severely damaging to the essential interests of the State and was punishable under article 6(4) of the Chilean Constitution by loss of nationality. The Government could not do other than enforce this provision, having regard to national security, development and the country's safety, and had issued Decree No. 191 (published in the official Gazette on 7 May 1977), which was perfectly legal and received the assent of all the Ministers of State.
3. 213. The Government went on to state that Legislative Decree No. 335 of 1974 allowed a person affected by such a measure to lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court within 30 days of its publication. Mr. Elgueta had adopted this procedure, and the Court, by 10 votes to 2, had declared the above-mentioned decree to be null and void as far as the appellant was concerned. The Government, bowing to this decision, had issued Presidential Decree No, 1258 of 16 December 1977 (published in the Official Gazette on 27 December 1977), rescinding the measure taken against Mr. Elgueta. This proved, continued the Government, that the judicial power was entirely independent from the executive power. As for Messrs. Meneses and Araneda, the reasons which compelled the authorities to impose this severe penalty under the Constitution still subsisted.
4. 214. The Committee notes with interest that the measure taken against Mr. Elgueta has been revoked following an appeal to the Supreme Court. Bearing in mind the decision taken by this judicial body, the Government may wish to reconsider the extremely serious deprivation of rights to which Messrs. Meneses and Araneda have also been subjected.

E. Other allegations

1. 215. The WFTU and the WCL had alleged in January 1977 that an armed group had raided the premises of the National Association of Public Employees (ANEF), and that the Vice-President of this organisation had been brutally assaulted on this occasion. The Government had stated that criminal proceedings had been initiated in this case and that the Minister of the Interior had requested the Director-General of the Investigation Service to ensure that the inquiries reached a satisfactory conclusion as speedily as possible. No further information having been received from the Government by November 1977, the Committee expressed its regret that this was so and emphasised that a climate of violence - symptomised by acts such as this - might constitute serious interference with the exercise of trade union rights, and that such occurrences called for severe measures on the part of the authorities.
2. 216. In its communication of 17 January 1978 the Government repeated the information summarised above. It added that the ANEF had been carrying on its activities normally at its headquarters and in the rest of the country, its leaders travelling continually within the country as well as going abroad to participate in events of all kinds.
3. 217. The Committee notes this last information.

F. F. The Committee's conclusions

1. 218. Within a more general context, the Committee has been informed that consultations are taking place between the Director-General and the Government of Chile with a view to having recourse to the direct contacts procedure in the near future.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 219. In these circumstances, with regard to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) with regard to the allegations concerning the arrest or disappearance of trade unionists or former trade unionists:
   • (i) to express its regret that the Government has supplied no further information with respect to the many persons named by the complainants as having been arrested or disappeared, and to urge the Government to supply particulars of the inquiries made into the situation of the persons named in the list annexed to the present case;
   • (ii) to note that the inquiry into the death of Marta Lidia Ugarte Román has not been continued despite the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body, which were formulated on the basis of new facts which had arisen, and to deplore the fact that it is therefore impossible for the Committee to form an opinion in full knowledge of the facts on a matter of such seriousness;
   • (iii) to note that, according to the Government, Messrs. Samuel Astorga, Eduardo Berrios and Ramón Velasquez were not arrested, to bring this reply to the attention of the complainants, and to request the Government to forward its observations concerning the arrest of Juan Montecinos;
   • (b) with regard to the allegations concerning the assignment of trade unionists to forced residence:
   • (i) to note with interest the release of seven trade union officials assigned to forced residence in November 1977;
   • (ii) to note, however, that the Government has not specified the offences of which they were accused, and to draw its attention to the considerations and principles set forth in paragraph 202 with respect to guarantees of due process of law;
   • (iii) to request the Government to indicate the precise reasons for which measures of assignment were taken against the persons mentioned in paragraph 203 above;
   • (c) with regard to the allegations concerning the bringing of pressure to bear on trade union leaders and the refusal to allow certain trade union organisations to celebrate May Day, to draw the Government's attention to the principles set forth in paragraph 210, and to emphasise in particular that the holding of peaceful meetings and the voicing of demands of a social and economic nature are traditional forms of trade union action on the occasion of May Day;
   • (d) with regard to the allegations concerning the withdrawal of Chilean nationality from trade union officials in exile, to note with interest the rescinding of the measure taken against one of these officials following an appeal to the Supreme Court, and to suggest to the Government, bearing in mind the decision taken by this judicial body, the possibility of reconsidering with respect to the other two persons named by the complainants the extremely serious deprivation of rights to which they have been subjected;
   • (e) to note that consultations are taking place with a view to having recourse to the direct contacts procedure in the near future;
   • (f) to take note of this interim report.

ANNEX

1. Persons in respect of whom the Government has been requested for information (or further information) but has not yet replied
2. A. Persons mentioned by the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission
3. Barria A. Pedro, Abel. A CUT Youth Leader, Valdivia.
4. López, Patricio Supervisor of the Textile Workers' Federation at Tomé and Santiago.
5. Rodríguez Moya, Edmundo Former National President of the Leather and Footwear Workers' Union.
6. Vásquez, Rolando. A CUT national leader.
7. B. Persons mentioned in the present case
8. Araya Zuleta, Bernardo. A former CUT official
9. Atencio Cortes, Vicente. A workers' leader.
10. Baeza Cruces, José. A former member of the CUT National Executive Council for Youth.
11. Berrios Cataldo, Lincoyán. An official of the National Association of Municipal Employees.
12. Cáceres González, Jorge. A trade union official.
13. Castillo Tapia, Gabriel. A former official of the Nitrate Workers' Union.
14. Cepeda Marinkovic, Horacio. A trade union official.
15. Cerda Cuevas, Cesar. A former peasants' leader.
16. Contreras Maluje, Carlos. A member of the Single National Union of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Laboratory Workers.
17. Contreras Rojas, Héctor Former President of the Radio Portales Supervisors' Union.
18. Corvalán Valencia, José. A former union president, municipality of Santiago.
19. Cortez Alruiz, Juan. A trade union official, National Health Service, San Juan de Dios Hospital.
20. Cruz Diaz, Lisandrol. A trade union official.
21. Diaz López, Victor. A former CUT official.
22. Díaz Silva, Lenin. A trade union official at the "La Exótica" Mines.
23. Donaire Cortes, Uldarico. A former official of the Horizonte Printing Works Union.
24. Donato Avendaño, Jaime. A national electricity workers' leader.
25. Fuentes Rodriguez, Humberto. An official of the Building Workers' Federation.
26. Fuica, Vega, Mario. A former leader of the municipal workers of Renca.
27. Galvez Rivadeneíra, Guillermo Secretary of the Book Trade Workers' Union, Quimantu.
28. Gianelli Company, Juan. A SUTE national leader.
29. Gutiérrez Ramirez, Maria. An official of the Metalworkers' Federation.
30. Huainiquir Benavides, Joel President of the "El Salvador" Copper Mine Workers' Union.
31. Lara Rojas, Fernando. A national textile workers' leader.
32. Lazo Santander, Luis. A former official of the Electricity Company Employees' Federation.
33. León Muñoz, Gabriel. An official of the Talcahuano Newsvendors' Union.
34. López Suárez, Nicolás. A former CUT national official; the Government had stated that he was at liberty, but the WFTU subsequently claimed that he had disappeared.
35. Lorca Tobar, Carlos. A workers' leader.
36. Macaya Molina, Victor Secretary of the Oveja Tomé Textile Workers' Union.
37. Martinez Quijón, Guillermo. An official of the Book Trade Workers' Union.
38. Miranda Godoy, Darío. A member of the Metalworkers' Federation.
39. Montoya Vilches, Raúl. An official of the Building Workers' Federation; the Government had stated that he was at liberty and had applied for a passport to go to Peru.
40. Moraga Garcés, Juan. A member of the Building Workers' Federation.
41. Morales Ramirez, Miguel President of the Itinerant Traders' Union.
42. Navarro Allende, Fernando. A railwaymen's leader.
43. Nazar Quiroz, Miguel. A CUT official.
44. Núñez Benavides, Rodolfo Organisational Secretary of the CEPCH.
45. Orellana Catalán, Juan. A former official of the Ranquil Confederation.
46. Ortiz Letelier, Fernando. An official of the APEUCH.
47. Palma Muñoz, José Former President of the ENDESA Employees' Union.
48. Pereira Plaza, Reinalda. A trade union official.
49. Pinto Arroyo, Edras. A trade union official.
50. Pizarro Molino, Waldo. A textile workers' leader.
51. Ponce Vicencio, Exequiel Former General Secretary of the Chilean Port Workers' Federation; the Government had stated that he had gone underground and was being sought.
52. Portilla Portilla, Armando. A textile workers' leader.
53. Recabarrén González, Luis. A former trade union official at the State Technical University.
54. Recabbarén Rojas, Manuel. An official of the Printing Workers' Union.
55. Riquelme Pino, Aníbal Former President of the Gas, Heating and Sanitation Workers' Union of Santiago.
56. Sagredo Pacheco, José. An official of the Building Workers' Federation.
57. Salgado Salinas, Jorge. A peasants' union leader.
58. Santander Miranda, José. A former trade union official.
59. Santos Guerra, José Secretary of the Book Trade Workers' Union.
60. Silva Bustos, Pedro Former Vice-President of the National Association of municipal Employees.
61. Solovera Gallardo, Jorge. A member of the Metalworkers' Federation.
62. Tolosa Vásquez, José. An official of the Book Trade Workers' Union.
63. Vega Ramirez, Luis Vice-President of the Ranquil Confederation.
64. Vega Vega, Julio. An official of the Municipal Workers' Union; the Government had furnished information concerning a person named Julio Vega País.
65. Veliz Ramírez, Hector municipal Workers' Delegate to the CUT.
66. Villagran Rojas, José Secretary to the Building Workers' Federation.
67. Vizcarra Cofré, Carlos . An official of the FIAT Industrial Union of Santiago.
68. Weibel Navarrete, José. A former leader of the employees of San José Hospital, Santiago.
69. Weibel, Ricardo
70. Zamorano Donoso, Marion. A former official of the Leather and Footwear Workers' Federation.