Interim Report - Report No 222, March 1983

Case No 1040 (Central African Republic) - Complaint date: 25-MAY-81 - Closed

1. 179. The Committee already examined this case at its November 1981 and February 1982 meetings, when it presented interim reports to the Governing Body.
2. 180. Since then, one of the complainant organisations, the General Union of Central African Workers (UGTC), supplied further information on the case on 27 March 1982. In a cable of 2 April 1982, the Government regretted that it was unable to supply the information requested by the Committee and assured the Committee that it would do so without delay. At its May 1982 meeting, in the absence of a reply on the substance of the case, the Committee decided to adjourn its examination pending receipt of the additional information and observations of the Government. On 24 August 1982, the ILO sent a cable requesting such information. At its November 1982 meeting, the Committee again decided, in the absence of a reply, to adjourn an examination of the case and to make an urgent appeal to the Government, pointing out that it would present a report at its next meeting on the substance of the case even if the Government's observations had not been received by then, in accordance with the procedural rules set out in paragraph 17 of its 127th Report.
3. 181. The Committee took note of documentation transmitted by a government representative during the 68th session of the International Labour Conference in June 1982, relating to the complaints by the ICFTU and the UGTC. The Government sent a communication concerning this case dated 5 January 1983. The ICFTU sent a cable containing a further allegation on 7 February 1983 concerning the arrest of Mr. Sonny Cole, Secretary-General of the UGTC. The Director-General intervened immediately and cabled the Government concerning this allegation.
4. 182. The Central African Republic has ratified 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. Previous examination of the case

1. 183. The complaint presented in this case related mainly to the administrative dissolution of the General Union of Central African Workers (UGTC). It also concerned the occupation of the UGTC's premises, the freezing of its assets and the censorship imposed on it, as well as the dismissal of four persons and other disciplinary measures taken against them.
2. 184. The complainants had explained that the UGTC, a trade union organisation affiliated to the ICFTU, with 15,000 members, had been dissolved by a Presidential Decree of 16 May 1981.
3. 185. In addition to its own dissolution by administrative authority, the UGTC alleged that 48 hours earlier a new central trade union organisation, the National Confederation of Central African Workers (CNTC), had been recognised by the Government.
4. 186. The UGTC explained that on 15 May 1981, after due notice had been given, it called a general strike throughout the private sector following unsuccessful attempts at collective bargaining with the Government and the employers. The Government had, according to the Union, rejected the list of grievances presented by the workers on the occasion of May Day although the list contained demands relating for the most part to the working conditions of all wage earners.
5. 187. On 16 May 1981, the day after the strike had been called, the President of the Republic dissolved the organisation by decree, on the grounds of its alleged uncompromising attitude in the negotiations with the employers and the Government, its alleged secret dealings abroad and its illegality arising from the trade union monopoly status set out in its constitution.
6. 188. More recently, the UGTC also alleged the dismissal or suspension of a number of trade unionists and attached to its communication a ministerial Order of 23 May 1981 suspending four senior officials, Mr. Possiti, Mr. Gallo, Mr. Mamadou Sabo and Mr. Sakouma, for dereliction of duty, and a memorandum from the Director of Education relieving Mr. Solamosso, a school headmaster, of his duties. It also enclosed a note from the ministry ordering the Director-General of the National Savings Bank of Central Africa to block the account of the UGTC.
7. 189. The Government confirmed that the UGTC had been dissolved but explained that, in its opinion, the general strike of 15 May 1981 had no connection with the working conditions of wage earners; the excuse that was seized on to call a strike - which had very little support - was a court case of a political nature being heard under ordinary law it affirmed that it had dissolved the UGTC, which was exercising a trade union monopoly, in order to allow the Central African workers freely to create the trade unions of their own choosing.
8. 190. In November 1981, the Governing Body noted with concern that the General Union of Central African workers had been dissolved by administrative authority. It recalled the principles relating to the dissolution of organisations and expressed the firm hope that the Government would, as a matter of priority, rescind the administrative measures by which the UGTC had been dissolved, and requested the Government to keep it informed of developments in the situation.
9. 191. With regard to the allegations concerning the occupation of the premises, the freezing of the assets and the censorship imposed on the UGTC, and the allegations of dismissals or suspensions of workers mentioned by the complainants, the Committee asked the Government to communicate its observations on these aspects of the case and to keep it informed of any measures that might be taken.
10. 192. In its communication of 23 December 1981, the Government reiterated that the UGTC had been dissolved to allow workers the freedom to join or not to join a trade union of their own choosing and stated that, since the dissolution of the UGTC, several central trade union organisations had been set up by the workers themselves: the National Confederation of Central African Workers (CNTC), the Central African Confederation of Free Trade Unions (CCSL) and the Central African Federation of Labour (FCT). It acknowledged that it had blocked the UGTC's bank accounts as a measure to safeguard the workers' assets and explained that the Bangui Court of First Instance was making an inventory of the assets of the former union and would decide how they were to be allocated to the organisations pursuing the same ends. According to the Government, the suspension of certain officials was a disciplinary measure taken against senior administrative officials found guilty of dereliction of duty, whose professional misconduct constituted lawful grounds for terminating their contracts of employment.
11. 193. At its February 1982 meeting, the Committee accordingly noted that, since the events referred to in the complaint, three central trade union organisations had been established and that the Bangui Court of First Instance was to decide on the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC to organisations pursuing the same ends. It observed that it was not clear from the Government's reply whether one of these organisations corresponded, as far as its aims and international affiliation were concerned, to the former UGTC, and recalled that the workers who had belonged to UGTC should, if they wish, be able to set up an organisation carrying on from the UGTC, provided of course that its by-laws conformed with the law and did not attempt to establish any trade union monopoly.
12. 194. In these circumstances, the Committee requested the Government to supply information on the three new central trade union organisations, in particular on their by-laws and international affiliation if any, and to send it a copy of the judgement of the Bangui court on the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC.

B. Subsequent developments

• (a) New allegations
  195. 195 In a communication received from Bangui, dated 27 March 1982, the Secretary-General of the UGTC, Mr. Sonny Cole, denounces the Government's replies as groundless. He reiterates that the dissolution of the UGTC was illegal since it was contrary to the labour Code of 2 June 1961 and to Convention No. 87, ratified by his country, which lays down the principle that a court decision is needed to dissolve or suspend a trade union organisation.
  196. 196 According to the complainant, the central trade union organisations to which the Government refers in its communication of 23 December 1981 are sham organisations that represent no one and it would he pertinent to ask whether they have first-degree unions in any undertakings. The complainant reiterates the information already supplied by it to the effect that the CNTC was recognised 48 hours before the UGTC was dissolved by administrative authority. According to it, the CCSL is an attempt to set up a trade union organised by the former Prime Minister Bozanga, an attempt which had previously failed before a meeting of trade union delegates in the CCAM conference hall. The complainant has no knowledge of the third central trade union organisation.
  197. 197 Furthermore, according to the complainant, the UGCT lodged a complaint against the Government before the Bangui court, which was to be heard on 17 March 1982. However, three judges of the Bangui court were arrested, including the President of the Administrative Court.
  198. 198 As regards the legal question of the UGCT's dissolution and the transfer of its assets, the complainant points out that article 36 of the organisation's by-laws, registered in 1964, provides that the UGTC may be dissolved only by a congress by a two thirds majority of the members present or represented and that, in the event of dissolution, its assets are to be transferred to an organisation concerned with social welfare.
  199. 199 The complainant hopes that a mission will be sent to the country to look into the central trade union organisations now in operation since, according to it, the workers have no valid representative to protect their interests. It states that it will continue to take legal action and that only the congress which elected the union's management can decide the dissolution of the organisation, adding that at all events if the Government claims to have recognised three central trade union organisations, it fails to see why the UGTC should not continue its activities.
  200. 200 In a cable dated 7 February 1983, the ICFTU states that the Secretary-General of the UGTC, Mr. Sonny Cole, was arrested on 2 February 1983 for having incited a strike.
• (b) The Government's observations
  201. 201 The Government's cable of 2 April 1982 stating that it would supply without delay the information requested by the Committee has only been followed up by a written communication addressed to the Committee on 5 January 1983. However, in the meantime, during the June 1982 Session of the International labour Conference, a Government representative made statements before the Committee on the Application of Standards concerning the complaints by the ICFTU and the UGTC and supplied documentation to the ILO.
  202. 202 According to the statements which the Government representative made to the Conference, the National Confederation of Central African Workers (CNTC), established on 10 August 1980, was affiliated to the WCL, the Central African Federation of Labour (FCT), established on 12 July 1981 and the by-laws of which were being studied by the Ministry of the Interior, would be affiliated to the WFTU, and the Central African Confederation of Free Trades Unions (CCSL), established in 1981 and the by-laws of which were also being studied by the Ministry of the interior, would be affiliated to the ICFTU. The incomplete by-laws of the CNTC and the by-laws of the FCT had been communicated to the Office; on the other hand, those of the CCSL which, according to the Government representative, was to become affiliated to the ICFTU, the complainant organisation, had not. According to the Government representative, the judgement of the Bangui Higher Court concerning the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC had not yet been handed down, but it would be communicated to the ILO in due course. The Government representative also explained to the Committee on the Application of Standards that the UGTC's bank deposits had disappeared after the UGTC was dissolved, its officers with the power of signature having rushed to the banks to draw cheques for their own benefit, the traces of which could be verified. He also stated that there was nothing to prevent the members of the former UGTC from constituting a new trade union organisation of their own choosing.
  203. 203 During the debate before the Committee on the Application of Standards, a workers' member of the Central African Republic recalled that he had been the first secretary-general of the UGTC in the past. Since then, he added, a break had taken place within the UGTC on 10 August 1980, and the UGTC leaders had become instruments of political parties. He stated that his own confederation, the National Confederation of Central African Workers (CNTC), was affiliated to the WCL. While he regretted that the UGTC had been dissolved by administrative authority, he considered that political activities had become mixed up with trade union activities and that the leaders of the former UGTC, by drawing funds after its dissolution, had not respected the by-laws. He confirmed that workers in the country could form organisations of their own choosing.
  204. 204 With its communication of 5 January 1983 the Government transmits a copy of a letter it claims to have sent to the ILO on 24 May 1982. It appears from the letter of 24 May, signed by Brigadier General Yangongo, that the Government reiterates its explanations on the illegality of the UGTC (the sole central organisation created under the 1964 Act setting up a single party system) which was dissolved because it could no longer exercise its monopoly on representation of the working class. The Government again states that the UGTC leaders, manipulated by external forces, had perpetrated numerous conflicts disorganising the national economy and seriously upsetting the social order. Thus the UGTC was dissolved by virtue of Article 22 of the Constitution of 5 February 1981. Moreover' according to the letter of 24 May 1962, no provision prohibits workers from forming trade unions of their own choosing, for example the CNTC and the CCSL have been created. The CNTC was recognised once the usual formalities required by law had been fulfilled.
  205. 205 However, the letter also states that the Military Committee of National Reconstruction, anxious to restore social peace and to recommence economic activity in the country in unity and harmony, suspended - when it came to power on 1 September 1981 - all activities by political parties and national organisations, including trade unions, throughout the national territory. It cannot therefore recognise the Central African Confederation of Free Trade Unions, or any other new organisation to be set up at the present time because of the objectives of its policy of national reconstruction.
  206. 206 In the letter dated 5 January 1983, Colonel Outdone from the Ministry of the Public Service, Labour and Social Security states that the decree dissolving the UGTC allows every citizen to create a union and every worker the right to join freely any union of his choosing, from which were formed the CNTC and the CCSL, but since 1 September 1981 the activities of these two central organisations have been temporarily suspended.
  207. 207 In a telegram of 22 February 1983, the Government states that Mr. Sonny Cole, former Secretary-General of the ex-UGTC, has been accused of acts of a political nature and that this is a simple coincidence of events as far as the ICFTU's communication of 4 February 1983 is concerned. The Government considers that it has supplied sufficient information on the case since the dissolution of the UGTC on 15 May 1981. It requests the Committee to refer to the declaration made in this respect by the Government representative to the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards at the 68th Session of the International Labour Conference.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 208. The Committee notes that the present case relates to the dissolution by administrative authority of the UGTC, affiliated to the ICFTU, contrary to Article 4 of Convention No. 87, which has been ratified by the Central African Republic. It also relates to the general suspension of trade union activities and to the arrest of the Secretary-General of the UGTC. In November 1981, the Committee noted with concern that the UGTC had been dissolved by administrative authority; nevertheless, in February 1982, it noted the Government's statement that since the events referred to in the complaint, three central trade union organisations had been established and that the Bangui court was to decide on the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC.
2. 209. In February 1982, consequently, the Committee, while recalling that any workers who so wished should be able to set up an organisation carrying on from the dissolved organisation, requested the Government to supply information on the three new central trade union organisations, in particular on their by-laws and international affiliation, and to send it a copy of the judgement of the Bangui court concerning the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC.
3. 210. The Committee notes that, since then, the complainant, Mr. Sonny Cole, continued to protest against the dissolution of the UGTC, a decision which was not taken by a two-thirds majority of the members present or represented as provided for by its by-laws, and stated that he had lodged a complaint with the Bangui court against the Government for having dissolved the UGTC but that the hearing which was to be held on 17 March 1982 did not take place since three judges of the court were arrested, including the President of the Administrative Court. Moreover, according to the ICFTU, Mr. Cole - Secretary-General of the UGTC - was arrested on 2 February 1983 for having incited a strike.
4. 211. The Committee also notes that the Government has belatedly replied to the Committee's request but communicated oral information to the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International labour Conference at its June 1982 Session. It has also supplied the incomplete text of the by-laws of the CNTC (established on 10 August 1980 and affiliated to the WCL), an organisation which is now recognised by the government authorities, and the by-laws of the FCT (still under study at the time by the Ministry of the Interior) which, according to the Government, will be affiliated to the WFTU. It has not communicated the by-laws - still under study - of the CCSL which, according to it, is to be affiliated to the ICFTU, which is one of the complainant organisations in this case. It has affirmed that nothing prevents the members of the former UGTC from constituting a new trade union organisation of their own choosing. In addition, it has reported that funds were withdrawn by the officers of the former UGTC after its dissolution and stated that the judgement of the Bangui court has not yet been handed down but will be communicated to the ILO in due course. It has not commented on the allegation that judges were arrested.
5. 212. A Workers' member of the Central African. Republic has explained that, on 10 August 1980, a break did in fact occur within the UGTC; while regretting the administrative dissolution by the Government, he considered that political activities had become mixed up with trade union activities and that the withdrawal of funds after the Union's dissolution had been made in violation of its bylaws. He confirmed that workers in the country may form organisations of their own choosing.
6. 213. The Committee notes with great concern the information provided by the Government according to which, being anxious to restore social peace and to recommence economic activity in the country in unity and harmony, the Military Committee on National Reconstruction since it came to power on 1 September 1981 has suspended all activities of national organisations including the trade unions throughout the national territory and that consequently it cannot recognise the CCSL or any other new organisation which might be set up at the present time. It also notes with concern the arrest on 2 February 1983 of Mr. Sonny Cole, Secretary-General of the UGTC for having incited a strike.
7. 214. In these circumstances, the Committee stresses the particular gravity of the suspension of trade union activities, which has been affecting all aspects of trade union life since September 1981. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the suspension is only temporary and therefore expresses the firm hope that the trade union organisations in the Central African Republic will be able to recommence as rapidly as possible their activities and, in particular, that all workers will to able to set up the organisations of their own choosing, including organisations carrying on from the ex-UGTC, if they so wish.
8. 215. The Committee also requests the Government to supply a copy of the judgement of the Bangui court concerning the dissolution of the UGTC and the transfer of its assets when that decision is handed down and to reply to the allegation that judges of the Bangui court, including the President of the Administrative Court, have been arrested.
9. 216. As regards the arrest of the Secretary-General of the UGTC who allegedly incited workers to strike and who, in any case, was in conflict with the Government over the dissolution by administrative authority of the trade union organisation of which he was the leader, the Committee recalls that the arrest of trade union leaders and activists on the sole grounds of having carried out activities for the defence of the occupational interests of the workers they represent is a serious attack on trade union rights. While noting that the Government indicates that the person concerned has been accused of acts of a political character, the Committee nevertheless requests it to communicate information on the present situation of the Secretary-General of the UGTC, including any judgement which might be handed down in this affair.
10. 217. In view of the confused nature of the trade union situation, the Committee requests the Government to consent to a direct contacts mission to the country by a representative of the Director-General so as to examine all the issues in question.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 218. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to approve this interim report, in particular the following conclusions:
   • (a) The Committee would generally express its great concern over the seriousness of the suspension of trade union activities which has been affecting all aspects of trade union life since September 1981.
   • (b) The Committee notes the Government's statement that this measure is only temporary. It therefore expresses the firm hope that the trade union organisation in the central African Republic will be able to recommence as rapidly as possible their activities and that all workers will be able to set up the organisations of their own choosing including organisations carrying on from the ex-UGTC if they so wish. It requests the Government to inform it of any measures taken with a view to restoring the activities of all trade union organisations that wish to exist in the country.
   • (c) The Committee notes with concern the arrest on 2 February 1983 of the Secretary-General of the UGTC for having incited a strike. It recalls that the arrest of trade union leaders and activists for having carried out activities in the defence of the occupational interests of the workers they represent is a serious attack on trade union rights. While noting that the Government indicates that the person concerned has been accused of acts of a political character, the Committee nevertheless requests it to communicate information on the present situation of the Secretary-General of the UGTC, including any judgement which might be handed down in this affair.
   • (d) It also requests the Government to supply a copy of the judgement of the Bangui court concerning the dissolution of the UGTC and the transfer of its assets when that decision is handed down, and to reply to the allegation that judges of the Bangui court, including the President of the Administrative Court, have been arrested.
   • (e) In view of the confused nature of the trade union situation in the country, the Committee requests the Government to consent to a direct contacts mission to the Central African Republic by a representative of the Director-General in order to examine all of the issues in question.