Interim Report - Report No 177, June 1978

Case No 889 (Colombia) - Complaint date: 07-SEP-77 - Closed

1. 313. The complaints and additional information presented by the complainants are contained in the following communications: a communication from the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT) dated 7 September 1977, three communications from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 4 and 24 November and 6 December 1977, a communication from the Trade Unions International of Food, Tobacco, Hotel and Allied Industries Workers dated 14 November 1977, and two communications from the Trade Unions International of Public and Allied Employees dated 23 November 1977 and 5 January 1978.
2. 314. These communications were transmitted to the Government as and when they were received. The Government furnished observations by a letter dated 17 October 1977.
3. 315. Colombia 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. Allegations relating to the 14 September 1977 strike.

1. 316. In its communication of 7 September 1977, the CLAT declared that in recent months there had been a series of violations of the trade union rights of workers and their organisations. According to the CLAT, this had been in response to the legitimate demands and action of the workers in the face of Colombia's galloping inflation, which made it impossible for them to survive with wages that were among the lowest in Latin America. The situation had reached such a point, it added, that all the trade union organisations of Colombia had, for the first time, decided to form a common front and to take joint action. In response, the Government had adopted Presidential Decree No. 2004 which provided for prison sentences, fines and other sanctions for union officials and activists who were involved in the organisation of strikes and other legitimate activities.
2. 317. In reply to these initial allegations, the Government transmitted its observations in a letter dated 17 October 1977. It stated that for reasons of internal public order - which was threatened by the strike of 14 September 1977 - it had found itself obliged to take certain steps, specifically in connection with Decree No. 2004 of 26 August 1977, These steps, which were of a strictly preventive nature and had been widely publicised, provided for the justifiable dismissal of persons responsible for instigating, encouraging or promoting in any way the total or partial, continuous or staggered stoppage of occupational activities. The Government emphasised that these preventive measures were designed to counter the national strike of 14 September 1977; as had been clearly established by subsequent investigation the strike was not of an occupational nature but was intended to disrupt public order. As a result, there had been 12 innocent victims, public disturbances and damage to vehicles and business establishments.
3. 318. In more recent communications, the ICFTU stated that the social climate had deteriorated in Colombia, particularly since the middle of 1977 and above all in September 1977 when the Government had adopted extremely repressive tactics against workers and their union representatives. The complainant organisation continued that the action taken by the Government had led to the death, arrest and dismissal of a number of people who, following the instructions of their trade unions, had gone on strike to defend their economic interests. The Government had reacted extremely severely against a strike which should have been looked upon as normal. The ICFTU also enclosed a list of people who had been killed, imprisoned or dismissed as a result of the strike and the names of the trade union organisations whose legal personality had been suspended or withdrawn and which were thus deprived of any further possibility of taking legal action.
4. 319. The Trade Unions International of Food, Tobacco, Hotel and Allied Industries Workers also referred to the 24-hour general strike which had been called for 14 September 1977 by the four trade union federations. The complainant organisation gave the names of several unions whose legal personality had been suspended by resolution of the Ministry of Labour and referred to the dismissal of a large number of workers, including officials of these organisations.
5. 320. The Trade Unions International of Public and Allied Employees referred in its complaint to restrictions on the trade union rights of several trade union organisations. The general strike of 14 September 1977 had, it stated, been called to elicit a response from the Government to the workers' demands and had been organised by the other trade union federations of Colombia, with the participation of autonomous organisations of public servants such as the Inter-Union Committee of Workers in the Service of the State (CITE). The complainants alleged that, after the strike, over 100 workers had been reported as having been killed by government forces and hundreds of public servants and teachers had been dismissed. The sanctions and other steps taken had also involved union officials. The complainants gave the names of several officials who had been dismissed or laid off and of two others who had been condemned to two months' imprisonment for engaging in union activities.
6. 321. The Government has not replied to these allegations.

B. Other allegations

1. 322. In its communication of 7 September 1977, the CLAT also drew attention to a number of connected events:
   • - the suspension of the legal personality of the Manual Workers Trade Union (USO) in August 1977 by administrative decision of the Ministry of Labour; the dismissal and imprisonment of activists and officials of this organisation;
   • - the dismissal of workers at the Argos cement works in Medellin;
   • - the arrest and harassment by the police of school teachers belonging to the Teachers Association of Antioquia (ADIDA);
   • - the refusal of the Government to grant official recognition and legal personality to various unions which fulfilled the normal requirements laid down in the Labour Code; among these, the complainants referred to the Union of Printing and Paper Workers of Cundinamarca and the union that had been set up in the Indupalma company; furthermore, the legal personality of the Union of Public Enterprises of Medellin had been suspended.
2. 323. With respect to the dismissals and prison sentences referred to by the CLAT, the Government stated in its communication of 17 October 1977 that, as in the case of the 14 September 1977 strike, a situation had arisen which posed a threat to public order and which required the adoption of preventive measures and the taking of police action in order to defend the country's institutions. The Government further referred to the non-recognition of the legal personality of the Union of Workers in the Graphic Arts and Paper Industry of Cundinamarca and of the union which had been set up in the Indupalma company. It pointed out that, in the first case, the required minimum number of members had not been attained and that, in the second, the workers who had set up the union were not employed in the enterprise concerned.

C. Conclusions of the Committee

1. 324. The case relates essentially to the alleged death, imprisonment, laying off or dismissal of a large number of union officials and activists and to the suspension, withdrawal or non-recognition of the legal personality of several union organisations. According to the complainants, these events occurred mainly, but not only, as a result of the 24-hour general strike that was organised on 14 September 1977.
2. 325. According to available information, the Colombian Government adopted Decree No. 2004 on strikes on 25 August 1977. Under this decree and for the duration of the state of emergency, persons responsible for organising, leading, instigating, encouraging or promoting in any way the total or partial, continuous or staggered stoppage of normal occupational or other activities are liable to 30 to 180 days' imprisonment. The sentence can be passed by the governors, administrators and commissioners and by the mayor of the special district of Bogotá by means of a resolution specifying the grounds therefor. These sanctions, or participation in the aforementioned work stoppages, are moreover considered to be reasonable grounds for dismissal. The Government confirmed that this Decree was adopted as a preventive measure in order to counter the national strike of 14 September.
3. 326. As already pointed out by the Committee, and specifically in a recent case, Convention No. 87 recognises the right of trade union organisations to formulate their programme of action and organise their activities; this entails not only the right to negotiate with employers but also the right to express their point of view on economic and social questions affecting their members' interests. In view of this right which trade unions are thus recognised as having, the Committee has always considered that the right to strike is an essential means whereby workers may promote and defend their occupational interests, while emphasising that strikes of a purely political nature do not fall within the scope of the principles of freedom of association. As concerns claims of an economic nature, the right to strike should not be restricted solely to industrial disputes likely to be resolved through the signing of a collective agreement. The Committee considers that workers and their organisations should be allowed to express in a broader context, if they so wish, their feelings with regard to economic and social matters affecting their interests, so long as such action consists merely in the expression of a protest, and does not lead to acts of violence.
4. 327. In this particular case, the complainants describe the 14 September 1977 strike as an expression of protest by the workers and their organisations in the face of a serious deterioration in the social and economic situation of wage earners. The Government, on the other hand, claims that the action taken was not of an occupational nature but was intended to disrupt public order. The Committee observes that these two versions of the events, which were described in extremely brief terms, are totally contradictory.
5. 328. Whatever the case, the Committee can but note the severity of the methods employed in response to a 24-hour strike which seems to have been largely an expression of discontent by a great many workers, since it was organised by all the major tendencies of the Colombian trade union movement. The Committee feels that, if no steps are taken, the repercussions of this strike are liable to cause a lasting deterioration in industrial relations in the country.
6. 329. The Committee therefore wishes to point out, as it has done on previous occasions, that it would be particularly appropriate, in the case of the persons who lost their lives during the disturbances, that the Government should institute an impartial and independent inquiry in order to elucidate the facts and determine responsibility.
7. 330. With regard to the persons who had been arrested, Decree No. 2004 of 25 August 1977, which was adopted shortly before the national strike, provides inter alia for prison sentences in the case of collective stoppages of work and for those responsible to be judged by senior officials. According to the Committee, there is a danger that such a summary procedure might result in the taking of unfound decisions. Any trade unionist who has been arrested should be fully ensured the right of defence guaranteed by normal judicial procedure, as provided for by the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Furthermore, the Government has not supplied any information on the many people who, the complainants allege, have been arrested.
8. 331. Moreover, the Government has not supplied any detailed information regarding the union officials and activists who have been dismissed or laid off. In this connection, the Committee wishes to emphasise, as it has done in a previous case relating to Colombia, that general labour relations could be greatly improved if the employers concerned gave serious consideration to the possibility of reinstating the persons affected.
9. 332. Finally, the Committee has frequently been called upon to examine allegations in respect of Colombia concerning the non-recognition or suspension of the legal personality of trade union organisations (which is essential for them to function as such). In particular, it has drawn attention to the fact that the suspension or dissolution of a trade union by administrative authority is not in conformity with the principles of freedom of association, and on its recommendation the Governing Body has, in a previous case, urged the Government to take the necessary steps without delay to amend the provisions of the Labour code in that respect. Similarly, as regards the difficulties encountered by trade union organisations in their attempts to acquire legal personality through the authorities, it had recalled that, whilst it is true that the founders of a trade union must comply with the formalities prescribed by legislation, these formalities should not be of such a nature as to hamper freedom to form trade unions. Moreover, they should not be applied in such a way as to delay or prevent the setting up of occupational organisations. In the opinion of the Committee, these considerations and principles should once again be drawn to the attention of the Government in the present case.
10. 333. In general terms, basing its views on the considerations outlined in the foregoing paragraph, the Committee considers it desirable for the competent authorities to re-examine the situation of the trade unionists who have been sanctioned under the provisions of the aforementioned Decree No. 2004 and the decision to suspend or withdraw the legal personality of various trade unions referred to by the complainants. The Committee also considers that it would be desirable if the authorities approached the employers concerned with a view to the reinstatement of the trade union members who have been dismissed.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 334. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to draw the Government's attention to the principles and considerations relating to the right to strike referred to in paragraph 326 and, specifically, to the fact that workers and their organisations should be allowed to express their feelings with regard to economic and social matters affecting their interests, on condition that such action consists merely in the expression of a protest and does not lead to acts of violence;
   • (b) to suggest to the Government that it take the steps indicated by the Committee in paragraphs 329 and 333 (with respect to the death, arrest, dismissal or laying off of trade unionists and the non-recognition, suspension and withdrawal of the legal personality of trade union organisations) in order to restore a social climate that is more conducive to the development of good labour relations;
   • (c) to request the Government to supply detailed information on all the points mentioned above;
   • (d) to draw the Government's attention to the fact, noted in paragraph 332, that the legislative provisions regarding inter alia the suspension or withdrawal of the legal personality of trade union organisations are not entirely in conformity with the principles of freedom of association;
   • (e) to take note of this interim report.