Interim Report - Report No 165, June 1977

Case No 842 (Argentina) - Complaint date: 25-MAR-76 - Closed

118. The Committee already examined this case at its session in November 1976, when it submitted an interim report.

1. 118. The Committee already examined this case at its session in November 1976, when it submitted an interim report.
2. 119. The allegations mentioned in the complaints and in representation submitted by various Peruvian trade union organisations under article 24 of the ILO Constitution relate to the arrest or disappearance of serving or former trade unionists, the taking over of trade union organisations and restrictions on trade union activities.

A. A. The complainants' allegations

• Arrest or disappearance of serving and former trade unionists
  120. 120 The complainants alleged in their various communications that many serving and former trade unionists had been arrested. They gave the names of some of these, stating that most of them had not been charged and that many were being held incommunicado. Others had been sentenced by special councils of war to long prison sentences for incitement to rebellion, or possession of arms or explosives. The complainant organisations also stated that trade unionists had been kidnapped, tortured or had disappeared. Some of them were said to have been executed on the spot on the occasion of these kidnappings.
  121. 121 In its replies, the Government stated that the armed forces had assumed power with the aim of ensuring full observance of the principles of justice and full respect for human rights and human dignity. The Government also stated that trade union leaders had been controlling their funds and assets as they wished and that acts of a criminal nature had been committed. The trade union leaders in question had accordingly been arrested and their conduct was being investigated. In appropriate cases, sentences would be passed on them in accordance with the Penal Code. The Government pointed out that similar measures had been taken against all persons, whether trade unionists or not, whose actions were considered to be illegal, with a view to ending the moral, political, economic and social chaos in which the country found itself. The persons detained had been arrested by virtue of powers vested in the national Government under the state of emergency declared in application of article 23 of the Constitution. After conducting inquiries, the authorities had transferred the files of some persons to the judicial authorities and had released others.
  122. 122 The Government also provided information on some of the trade unionists who had been mentioned in the allegations, such as Miguel Unamumo, who had been sentenced to preventive detention for fraud and then released on bail, Juan Francisco Esquerra and Aleis Rovella who had been sentenced to preventive detention for falsification of documents and fraudulent administration and Alberto Ignacio Campos, who had been arrested and then released.
  123. 123 At its November 1976 Session, the Committee recommended the Governing Body, in particular:
       • - to note that Alberto Ignacio Campos had been released;
       • - to note that Miguel Unanumo, Francisco Esquerra and Aleis Rovella had been charged with fraudulent acts and to request the Government to transmit the text of the judgements rendered by the courts concerning those persons;
       • - to draw the attention of the Government to the principle concerning the arrest of trade unionists against whom no grounds for conviction are subsequently found;
       • - to request the Government to submit further and as precise information as possible concerning all the trade unionists named by the complainants as having been arrested and to draw the attention of the Government to the principle that all arrested persons should be subjected without delay to normal judicial procedure.
  124. 124 Since the last session of the Committee, the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) has sent other communications, dated 5 November and 31 December 1976 and 6 and 14 January 1977, in which it gives the names of trade union leaders and activists who are said to have been imprisoned or to have disappeared. Apart from certain trade unionists already mentioned in earlier communications, these include the following: Felipe Burgos, peasant leader, who disappeared in February 1975; Tomás del Carmen di Toffino, ex-General Secretary of the Electricians Union of Cordova, kidnapped on 1P November 1976, when leaving his work, by uniformed persons carrying federal police identity cards; Carlos Alberto Choinski, a member of the Martin Amato works Committee (Metallurgical Workers' Union), arrested on 26 November 1975; Jorge Di Pascuale, General Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Workers' Union, said to have been kidnapped on 29 December 1976 by members of the Argentine police; Ruben Hardoy, delegate of the Martin Amato works, Matanza section of the Metallurgical Workers' Union, disappeared on 30 April 1976: Ramon Lujan Intruvini, leader of the Buenos Aires Book Workers' Federation, imprisoned; Hipólito Solari Irigoyen, lawyer of the Book Workers' Union and Federation, kidnapped and then held at Chubut; Victor Medina, leader of the Tucumán Telegraphists' Union, imprisoned; Walter Medina, leader of the Rural workers' Union of the province of Chaco, imprisoned; Alberto Piccinini, General Secretary of the Villa Constitución section of the Metallurgical Workers' Union, arrested on 2 March 1975; Pascual de Ricco, Deputy Secretary of the Villa Constitución section of the Metallurgical Workers' Union, arrested on 20 March 1975; Emilio Jaime Tomasin, member of the Martin Amato Works Committee, Matanza section of the Metallurgical Workers' Union, disappeared on 30 April 1976; Jose Villanueva, activist writer and delegate of the Buenos Aires newspaper "Cronica", imprisoned; Raul Zelarayan, activist of the Tucumán State Employees, disappeared in October 1976. The WCL also points out that over 100 trade union leaders have taken refuge abroad or in embassies.
  125. 125 The Government has provided information on some of the persons mentioned by the complainants, in communications of 16 November 1976, and 3 and 7 February 1977.
  126. 126 It is indicated in the various communications received from the Government that, of the 40 persons named by the complainants since the beginning of the case, 6 have been released and 1 was never detained. The persons in question are:
       • - Alberto Ignacio Campos (Secretary for internal affairs of the CGT) (information already given in the 160th Report of the Committee);
       • - Carlos Alberto Choinski, released under Decree No. 987 of 22 June 1976;
       • - Esteban Rolando, Secretary-General of the Railwaymen's Union, released under Decree No. 20 of 7 January 1977;
       • - Ramon Lujan Intruvini, released under Decree No. 2589 of 25 October 1976;
       • - Alberto Jorge Triacca, Deputy Secretary of the Union of workers and Employers in Plastics, released under Decree No. 2851 of 15 November 1976;
       • - Adalberto Wimer, Deputy Secretary-General of the CGT, released under Decree No. 3330 of 17 December 1976;
       • - Maximiano Castillo, Financial Secretary of the CGT, who was never detained.
  127. 127 The following eight persons have been placed at the disposal of the national executive authorities:
       • - Abel Omar Cuchetti, Secretary of the Telephone workers' Union, under Decree No. 1119 of April 1976, for an inquiry concerning misappropriation of public funds;
       • - Julio Guillan, Secretary-General of the Telephone Workers' Union, under Decree No. 1250 of 5 July 1976;
       • - Hipólito Solari Irigoyen, under Decree No. 1878 of 31 August 1976, for an inquiry regarding violation of Act No. 20840 and a possible connection with the "montoneros" organisation;
       • - Lorenzo Miguel, Secretary-General of the Metallurgical workers' Union, under Decree No. 1205 of 2 July 1976;
       • - Walter Medina, under Decree No. 2426 of 8 October 1976, for an inquiry regarding the possession of arms and subversive material;
       • - Manuel Isauro Molina, Secretary-General of the "62 organisations", under Decree No. 89 of 12 April 1976, for an inquiry regarding agitation and membership of the "montoneros" organisation;
       • - Alberto Piccinini, under Decree No. 768 of 26 March 1975, for an inquiry regarding subversive activities and possession of arms of war;
       • - Antonio Rodolfo Ponce, Secretary-General of the Union of Cereal Workers, under Decree No. 1205 of 5 July 1976.
  128. 128 Daniel Veiga, one of the persons mentioned by the complainants, can leave the country under the terms of a resolution issued by the Ministry of the Interior.
  129. 129 The Government confirms information already communicated regarding three trade unionists who have been tried and sentenced. It supplied an extract from the decisions taken regarding these persons, who were:
       • - Juan Francisco Esquerra, whose detention was changed to preventive imprisonment by a judgement handed down on 15 October 1976, for fraud, falsification of documents and repeated fraudulent administration. His goods have been confiscated and his request for release rejected;
       • - Anubis Rovella, same sentence as that in respect of the person previously mentioned for the same offences;
       • - Miguel Unamuno, whose detention was changed to preventive imprisonment by a judgement handed down on 20 August 1976, for fraudulent administration. His goods have been confiscated. His request for release has been accepted and this person is therefore free.
  130. 130 Regarding 17 persons, the Government states that no information can be found in the files of the police or the security authorities. The persons concerned are: Ricardo Cándido Alfonzo, Felipe Burgos, Miguel Angel Davico, Jorge di Pascuale, Hector Gaspar, Jerómino Fuentes, Hugo Cesar Gley, Amilcar Gonzalez, Ruben Hardoy, Victor Medina, Alfredo Moreyra, Pascual de Ricco, Alberto Ruggero, Emilio Jaime Tomasin, Juan Vasquez, José Villanueva and Raúl Zelarayan. The Government adds that inquiries concerning these persons are still under way.
  131. 131 The Government has not yet provided information regarding the following persons: Tomás del Carmen di Toffino, Carlos Arturo Mendoza, Amadeo Nolasco and Raul Scolamieri.
  132. 132 Regarding the allegations to the effect that trade union leaders had taken refuge in other countries and embassies, the Government states that it has no knowledge of persons having sought asylum abroad and it categorically denies the existence of persons in asylum in embassies.
  133. 133 The Committee notes that the Government has supplied information on most of the persons mentioned by the complainants, and particularly that some of them have been released. However, the Committee wishes to express its concern regarding the Government's statement that it has no information on many of the persons. The Committee has been informed that Jerómino Fuentes, Deputy Secretary of the Bakers Trade Onion of Comodoro Rivadavia, mentioned in paragraph 130 above, was arrested and is said to have been sentenced by a special council of war of army command No. 5. This information is based on a communiqué from command headquarters of Zone No. 53. This same information also contains a reference to Ricardo Cándido Alonso (former General Secretary of the same union) and Hector Gaspar Aburto (of the Textile Workers' Onion), who seemed to be the same persons as mentioned in paragraph 130 above under the names of Ricardo Cándido Alonso and Héctor Gaspar. The Committee considers that the Government should intensify its investigations regarding all the persons mentioned in paragraph 130, with a view to obtaining information as to their fate.
  134. 134 It will also be seen from the information supplied by the Government that some persons would appear to be held at the disposal of the executive authorities without having been brought before courts. The Committee has already pointed out in this connection that it is one of the fundamental rights of the individual that a detained person should be brought without delay before the appropriate judge, this right being recognised in such instruments as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. In the case of persons engaged in trade union activities, this is one of the civil liberties which should be ensured by the authorities in order to safeguard the exercise of trade union rights.
• Taking over of trade union organisations and restrictions on trade union activities
  135. 135 The complainant organisations alleged that the military authorities had taken over various trade union organisations, and particularly the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). In addition, the main trade union activities such as meetings, elections, collective bargaining and the right to strike had been suspended.
  136. 136 In its reply, the Government stated that it was a matter of ridding the trade unions of corruption, subversion and disorder. According to the Government, there has not been a total abnegation of trade union activity, but circumstances made it necessary to take over 28 out of a total of 1,368 trade unions throughout the country. The Government also pointed out that the officials nominated to take over the unions were carrying out the work with a group of assessors, including trade unionists. Those measures had been taken to give direction to and restore normal conditions in the unions concerned by means of procedures in which the true wishes of the workers affected were taken into account.
  137. 137 The Government confirmed that trade union activities - with the exception of internal administration and social activities - had been suspended. It pointed out in this connection that there had never before been such a serious situation in Argentina, which had necessitated in particular the temporary suspension of the right to- fix wages by collective bargaining. However, collective agreements remained in force for other matters, such as conditions of work.
  138. 138 The Government stated also that all measures taken were of an emergency and temporary nature and that it was endeavouring to create conditions of law and of fact which would permit a return to normal trade union activity.
  139. 139 At its November 1976 Session, the Committee recommended the Governing Body, in particular:
       • - to take note of the Government's explanations and statements, especially as regards the temporary and emergency nature of these measures and its intention to re-establish a normal trade union situation;
       • - to draw the attention of the Government to certain principles and considerations and, in particular, to the right of these organisations to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes, in conformity with Article 3 of Convention No. 87, ratified by Argentina;
       • - to request the Government to indicate the measures which it intends to take or has taken in this connection and to keep the Governing Body informed of any developments in the matter; and to draw the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations to this aspect of the case.
  140. 140 Some complainant organisations have referred again to these questions in communications received since the last session of the Committee. In its letter of 5 November 1976, the WCL stated that some trade union organisations, as well as their property and premises, had been completely taken over by senior army officers. The WCL concluded its communication by requesting in particular the setting up of a Committee of inquiry.
  141. 141 The National Confederation of Workers of Peru stated in a telegram of 23 November 1976 that the actions already affecting the more powerful and more representative trade unions had been extended to many others, including the Teachers' Union, the Public Employees Union, the Taxi Drivers' Union, the Electricity and Power workers' Union, the State Water Service Workers' Union, the Diesel Motor Workers' Union, all in the province of Cordova, and the Argentine Association of Health Workers and the Electricity and Power Workers' Union of the province of Mendoza.
  142. 142 In its communication of 3 February 1977, the Government states that the WCL and other trade unions concerned have not been wound up but that they have been temporarily taken over on account of the exceptional events in the country. The Government reiterates its firm intention to bring about the conditions necessary for free elections. However, under present conditions, it would be premature to fix dates for the various stages in the return to a normal situation.
  143. 143 Regarding the restrictions on trade union activities, particularly as regards the right to meet and hold elections, the Government stated that it had regular discussions with workers' and employers' representatives concerning the problems affecting their representatives. The restrictions in question should under no circumstances be interpreted as anti-trade union activity or practices but merely as part of the exceptional measures taken on account of the state of emergency brought about by criminal terrorist activities. These restrictions would gradually be lifted until normal conditions were completely restored as the threats to national security disappear.
  144. 144 Regarding suspension of the right to strike and to bargain collectively, the Government referred to the temporary nature of that measure and the collapse of the country's economic and social structure before 24 March 1976, when the inflation rate reached staggering proportions. There had been some progress in that connection, but the annual inflation rate still exceeded 100 per cent. The existing incomes policy therefore had to be maintained. However, the suspension of collective bargaining did not constitute a freezing of wages and salaries. Pay increases, particularly as regards the minimum living wage, had been granted by decree and a further adjustment was foreseen on 1 March 1977.
  145. 145 The Government also stated that it was studying the adoption of a new law on workers' associations. Many experts had been consulted, in legal and university circles and amongst the lawyers of employers' or workers' organisations. Innumerable data had been studied with a view to devising solutions coming as close as possible to the standards established in Convention No. 87. The Government would endeavour to draw up as rapidly as possible standards which could also serve as the starting point for a return to full normal trade union activity.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 146. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government but must note with regret, first of all, that despite the time which has elapsed trade union organisations are still under the control of the authorities. In this connection, the Committee wishes to point out that the placing of trade union organisations under control constitutes a serious danger of restricting the rights of workers' organisations to elect their representatives in full freedom and to organise their administration and activities. The Committee considers that the Government should give priority to the lifting of this measure.
2. 147. Regarding the restrictions placed on trade union activities, the Committee notes the new statements by the Government concerning the temporary nature of these measures and its intention to return gradually to normal conditions. It considers in this connection that maintenance of the restrictions placed on the right to meet and to carry out elections in workers' organisations would constitute a serious infringement of trade union freedoms. The Committee hopes that restrictions of this type will soon cease.
3. 148. With particular reference to the suspension of collective bargaining and the right to strike, the Committee notes that these measures are temporary and have been necessitated by the economic situation in the country. Whilst fully aware of the seriousness of the economic situation in Argentina, the Committee considers that these restrictions should not be maintained longer than is reasonable. It considers in particular that one of the objectives of the Government should be to permit the restoration of collective bargaining as soon as possible.
4. 149. The Committee also notes that a new law on workers' associations is being prepared. It hopes that the adoption of this law will soon make it possible to restore full, normal trade union activities.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 150. In these circumstances and with regard to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) regarding the arrest or disappearance of serving and former trade unionists:
   • (i) to note with interest that several trade unionists have been released;
   • (ii) to express its concern with the fact that the Government states that it possesses no information on many of the persons mentioned by the complainants, to request the Government to intensify its investigations regarding these persons and to inform it of the results;
   • (iii) to invite the complainant organisations to submit all additional information which they may possess regarding these persons;
   • (iv) to note that some persons are at the disposal of the executive authorities without having been brought before the courts and recall that the rapid appearance of a detained trade unionist before the appropriate court is a civil liberty which is essential in order to safeguard fully the exercise of trade union rights;
   • (v) to request the Government to supply information on the persons concerning whom it has not yet submitted observations;
   • (b) regarding the taking over of trade union organisations and restrictions on trade union activities:
   • (i) to note with regret that, despite the time which has elapsed, trade union organisations are still under the control of the authorities and point out to the Government that it should give priority to the lifting of this measure;
   • (ii) to draw the attention of the Government to the considerations set out in paragraphs 147 and 148 above concerning the restrictions on trade union activities with regard to meetings, elections, collective bargaining and strikes;
   • (iii) to note that a new law on trade unions is being prepared and to express the hope that the adoption of this law will shortly make it possible to restore fully normal trade union activities throughout the country;
   • (iv) to request the Government to supply all possible information on the evolution of the trade union situation;
   • (c) to take note of the present interim report.