Definitive Report - Report No 268, November 1989

Case No 1462 (Burkina Faso) - Complaint date: 16-JUN-88 - Closed

1. 105. A complaint alleging violation of freedom of association was submitted by Mr. Soumane Touré, on behalf of the National Executive of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso, in a letter dated 16 June 1988 supplemented by a communication of 15 September 1988. Mr. Hyacinthe Ouedraogo, also on behalf of the National Executive of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso, commented in a letter dated 20 July 1988 on the unfounded nature of the complaint. The Government supplied its observations on this case in letters dated 13 September and 8 December 1988, received at the ILO on 5 June 1989.
2. 106. Burkina Faso has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 107. On behalf of the National Executive of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso, Soumane Touré - claiming to be Secretary-General of this confederation - alleged in his complaint of 16 June 1988 that the Government had interfered in trade union matters.
2. 108. He provided the following account of the facts: on 31 July 1987, his Executive submitted a complaint to the Labour Inspectorate and Social Security Office of Ouagadougou against the organisers of the irregular congress of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso held on 30 June 1987. However, before the Labour Inspectorate had ruled on this matter, there was a coup d'état in Burkina Faso on 15 October 1987.
3. 109. On 26 January 1988, the Minister of Territorial Administration of the Government of the People's Front (Front populaire) issued certificates recognising trade union executives, described as "puppet" bodies by the complainant. He alleges that these trade union executives were set up by the National Revolutionary Council (CNR) and that the Minister had resolved the problem of the trade union leaderships instead of the trade union institutions and workers.
4. 110. Furthermore, according to the complainant, the Minister of Labour, Social Security and Civil Service had, in an administrative decision of 1 May 1988, acknowledged that the convening of the "congress" of 30 June 1987 was contrary to the spirit of Convention No. 87, thereby acknowledging the validity of his initial challenge to its legality.
5. 111. Contrary to this decision, however, the complainant alleges that the Minister had stated that he could only work with those trade union officials who had been issued certificates of recognition, whereas the CNR itself, which had set up these trade union executives described by the complainant as "puppet" bodies, had not dared to legalise them by providing them with certificates of recognition. The complainant adds that he had requested an interview with the Minister of Territorial Administration and the President of the People's Front to discuss these matters, but he was not received by the authorities in question.
6. 112. In conclusion, the complainant warns the Committee on Freedom of Association that persons such as Hyacinthe Ouedraogo, Secretary-General of the Executive which the complainant describes as a "puppet" body, are most certainly going to address it to claim - wrongly - that they represent the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso, and to try and get him to withdraw his complaint.
7. 113. In a communication dated 15 September 1988, the complainant claims that the Congress of 27, 28 and 29 April 1988 was organised by the Government in violation of the statutes of the Confederation and that, in spite of the rejection by all trade unions, the Government requested Mr. Hyacinthe Ouedraogo to represent the workers at the 1988 Session of the International Labour Conference. The Government had also allegedly prevented the holding of the Congress of workers involved in the human and animal health fields which had been scheduled for 12 to 14 August 1988.

B. Communication from Mr. Ouedraogo on behalf of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso

1. 114. In a letter dated 20 July 1988, Mr. Hyacinthe Ouedraogo, on behalf of the same Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso, claiming to be its Secretary-General, denounces Mr. Soumane Touré's complaint which he considers unwarranted.
2. 115. He explains that the Fifth Ordinary Statutory Congress of the Confederation was held from 27 to 30 April 1988 and that this Congress considered in a positive light the relations that had been established following the events of 15 October 1987 between the trade unions and the State. This is evidenced by (1) the invitation to the trade unions to participate in meetings on the assessment of four years of revolution held in Ouagadougou from 8 to 10 January 1988; (2) the meeting between the trade unions and the People's Front in April 1988; and (3) the willingness shown by the Government to respect the exercise of freedom of association.
3. 116. Furthermore, he adds that during the 75th (1988) Session of the International Labour Conference, he had, on behalf of the National Executive of which he is the head, submitted to the ILO a copy of the minutes of the Fifth Ordinary Congress which elected him to his position.

C. The Government's replies

1. 117. In its letter of 13 September 1988, the Government points out that after the congress of 30 June 1987 the new Executive of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso was confirmed by the Fifth Ordinary Congress of the organisation held from 27 to 30 April 1988 in Ouagadougou. According to the Government, this congress, which was intended to promote reconciliation was open to all members of the Trade Union Confederation. What is more, the members of the former Executive did not, during this congress, make any objection or lodge any complaint.
2. 118. According to the Government, in so far as the Ordinary Congress was held without any interference on its part and the members of the new executive were elected democratically, the public authorities could not but respect the structures established during this assembly which resulted in Hyacinthe Ouedraogo being appointed Secretary-General of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso.
3. 119. The Government confirms that this new Secretary-General attended the 75th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 1988 without any problems concerning his position being raised before the Credentials Committee of the International Labour Conference.
4. 120. The Government acknowledges that it issued certificates recognising the new Executive of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso, in accordance with Act No. 18/AL of 31 August 1959 on associations. It explains that, wishing to adopt a neutral attitude towards trade unions, it had left it to the activists and grass-roots organisations to take a decision on the disputed leadership of the Confederation.
5. 121. In a communication dated 8 December 1988, received at the ILO on 5 June 1989, the Government points out that, concerning the Fifth Congress of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso, the trade union confederations which have a long-standing tradition of commitment to trade union rights - i.e. the National Confederation of Workers of Burkina Faso (CNTB) and the Trade Union Central of Workers of Burkina Faso (USTB) - attended this Congress, which they would not have done had trade union freedoms been infringed. As regards the crisis through which the union of workers in the human and animal health fields is passing, it points out that freedom of association is closely linked to the respect of law and public order. It concludes by stating that the crisis with which the trade unions in general and the CSB in particular are confronted, of which it is not the author, must be settled by the grass-roots activists who alone are able to settle internal disputes.

D. The Committee's conclusions

1. 122. The Committee notes that this case concerns rivalry that sprang up within one of the trade union confederations of Burkina Faso.
2. 123. In this respect, the Committee is bound to recall the position it has always adopted when confronted with disputes within a trade union organisation, i.e. that it is not competent to make recommendations on internal dissensions within a trade union organisation, so long as the Government does not intervene in a manner which might affect the exercise of trade union rights and the normal functioning of an organisation (see 172nd Report, Case No. 865 (Ecuador), para. 74; 217th Report, Case No. 1086 (Greece), para. 93; and 265th Report, Case No. 1463 (Liberia), para. 150).
3. 124. In the Committee's opinion, whenever there are internal dissensions within the same trade union confederation, the Government is bound, under Article 3 of Convention No. 87, to refrain from any interference which might restrict the right of workers' and employers' organisations to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes, or from any interference that might impede the lawful exercise of this right.
4. 125. In the present case, the Government states that the Fifth Ordinary Statutory Congress of the Trade Union Confederation of Burkina Faso was held in Ouagadougou, that it was open to all members, that it elected Hyacinthe Ouedraogo as Secretary-General of this confederation and that the complainant did not, at the time, make any objections or lodge any complaints about this election. It seems that the Government merely issued certificates acknowledging the new Executive, in accordance with the law. The allegations concerning the operations of the Federation of workers involved in human and animal health, an organisation affiliated to the CSB, must be seen in the same context of inter-union rivalry.
5. 126. In these circumstances, the Committee is of the opinion that it is not its role to determine which group should represent the members of the CSB but merely to determine whether there was any interference by the Government in the workers' free choice of their trade union leaders. It would seem that the complainant has not produced sufficient evidence of any interference of this kind.
6. 127. However, as it stressed in a recent case (see 265th Report, Case No. 1463 (Liberia), para. 152), the Committee would like to emphasise strongly that those who stand to lose the most in such situations of inter-union rivalry are the workers, and that the uncertainty stemming from these power struggles should be resolved as quickly as possible in the best interests of all the parties concerned, in particular the workers. The Committee firmly reiterates the principle that workers should freely choose their representatives. Therefore, it hopes that impartial procedures be established, if necessary, to guarantee the full exercise of this freedom.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 128. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee recalls that it is not its role to determine which group should represent a trade union organisation.
   • (b) The Committee firmly reaffirms the principle that workers' representatives should be freely chosen. It hopes that impartial procedures be established, if necessary, to guarantee the full exercise of this freedom.