Definitive Report - Report No 204, November 1980

Case No 986 (Dominican Republic) - Complaint date: 30-JUL-80 - Closed

1. 101. The complaint is contained in a communication from the General Central of Workers dated 30 July 1980. The Government has replied in a communication dated 19 September 1980.
2. 102. The Dominican Republic 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. The complainant's allegations

1. 103. The General Central of workers alleges that mass dismissals of state-employed teachers have taken place and that those affected include more than 100 officials and active members of the Dominican Teachers' Association.

B. The Government's reply

1. 104. The Government states that the Secretariat of State for Education has not ordered mass dismissals, but that as a result of a ration-wide reorganisation of the public education system it has suspended from their duties a total of 107 members of the teaching staff whose files attest to their having committed serious misdemeanours in the performance of their functions.
2. 105. The Government states that it is the executive's responsibility to decide whether to terminate the contracts of employment of suspended employees after examining their files and the recommendations of the Secretary of State for Education in this connection. With this end in view, continues the Government, the suspended employees have been invited to discuss in a personal interview the accusations made in their files. As a result, some of the persons whose contracts had been suspended have already been reinstated in their posts, while the review of the remaining cases continues.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 106. The Committee has expressed the opinion on earlier occasions, within the context of Article 1 of Convention No. 98, ratified by the Dominican Republic, that it is not incumbent upon it to comment on the problem of breach of employment contract by dismissal, except in cases of dismissal as an act of anti-union discrimination. In this connection the Committee notes that the complainant has referred to mass dismissals of State-employed teachers, including more than 100 trade union officials, without furnishing any details as to the circumstances of these dismissals or specifying the names and trade union functions of the persons whose employment contracts are said to have been suspended. The Committee also notes that the Government states that there have been no mass suspensions of employment contracts, but that, under a plan for the reorganisation of the education system, the contracts of persons with a record of serious misdemeanours have been suspended. The Committee further observes that each of the cases of suspension is being reviewed individually, some of the persons concerned having already been reinstated while the review of the remaining cases is continuing.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 107. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that this case does not call for further consideration.