Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 286, March 1993

Case No 1549 (Dominican Republic) - Complaint date: 31-AUG-90 - Closed

1. 168. The Committee has examined this case on various occasions, most recently at its November 1992 meeting, when it submitted an interim report to the Governing Body (see 284th Report, paras. 747-757, approved by the Governing Body at its 254th Session (November 1992)). The Government sent new observations in a communication of 1 December 1992.
2. 169. The Dominican Republic has ratified both the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 170. The allegations pending from the November 1992 Session refer to various acts of violence which occurred as a result of a labour dispute in August 1990 in the Dominican Electricity Corporation (CDE), and which are described below:
   • - physical assaults in November 1990 and January 1991 against the General Secretary of SITRACODE and the trade union activists, Félix Santana, Pascual Díaz, Juan Serra, Pantaleón Silva and Ramón Paulino;
   • - physical assaults against 106 leaders and activists of SITRACODE (resulting in various injuries to Hilario Portalatín) on 18 March 1991 during a protest march to the Governmental Palace calling for the dispute to be resolved;
   • - physical assaults against 32 trade union leaders and activists on 20 March 1991 (seriously wounding the trade union leaders, Germán Marte, Saturnino Guzmán, Miguel Linareas, Ernesto de Luna, Donar Saillant and José Apolince) when they were violently expelled from a church by the police and the army; and
   • - physical assault against a worker, Miguel Mercedes.
2. 171. In this respect, at its November 1992 Session, the Committee urged the Government in its recommendations to reply to the serious allegations concerning these instances of physical assaults on trade unionists, and requested the Government, in the cases mentioned by the complainants in which an offence certainly appears to have been committed, urgently to undertake judicial investigations to determine responsibilities and punish the guilty parties, and to keep it informed of the outcome of any such proceedings (see 284th Report, para. 757).

B. The Government's reply

1. 172. In its communication of 1 December 1992, the Government states that the acts of violence against officials of the Dominican Electricity Corporation Workers' Trade Union (SITRACODE) took place on 22 and 24 August 1990 as a consequence of clashes between the National Police and workers affiliated to SITRACODE, which took place as a result of street protests during the labour dispute.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 173. The Committee takes note of the Government's observations in this regard, to the effect that the acts of violence against officials of the Dominican Electricity Corporation Workers' Trade Union (SITRACODE) were a consequence of clashes between the National Police and workers affiliated to SITRACODE, which took place as a result of street protests during the above-mentioned labour dispute.
2. 174. The Committee wishes to remind the Government that "in cases in which the dispersal of public meetings by the police for reasons of public order or other similar reasons has involved loss of life or serious injury, the Committee has attached special importance to the circumstances being fully investigated immediately through an independent inquiry and to a regular legal procedure being followed to determine the justification for the action taken by the Police and to determine responsibilities" (see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 1985, 3rd edition, para. 79). In these circumstances, the Committee once again requests the Government to undertake judicial investigations urgently into the acts of violence committed during the collective dispute in question - including those which, according to the complainants, took place in November 1990 and January and March 1991, on which the Government has not sent observations - to determine responsibilities and punish the guilty parties, and to keep it informed of the outcome of these proceedings. The Committee further requests the Government to take the measures necessary to avoid a repetition of such acts by police forces.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 175. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendation:
   • The Committee once again requests the Government urgently to undertake judicial investigations into all the alleged acts of violence which took place as part of the collective dispute between SITRACODE and the Dominican Electricity Corporation, so as to determine responsibilities and punish the guilty parties, and to keep it informed of the outcome of any such proceedings, and to take the measures necessary to avoid a repetition of such acts by police forces.