Interim Report - Report No 279, November 1991

Case No 1562 (Colombia) - Complaint date: 27-NOV-90 - Closed

1. 507. The complaint is contained in a communication from the Workers' Central Organisation of Colombia (CUT) dated 27 November 1990. This organisation sent additional information in a communication dated 5 December 1990. The Government sent its comments in communications dated 10 January and 13 September 1991.
2. 508. Colombia 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. The complainant's allegations

1. 509. In its communications dated 27 November and 5 December 1990, the CUT alleges that the Government declared illegal the national strike called for 14 November 1990 by the four Colombian trade union confederations to protest against the Government's economic policy (restructurisation and privatisations in the public sector with mass dismissals; increase in rates of public services and prices of basic goods for the family shopping basket; inadequate adjustment of the basic wage and pay of public servants, etc.). The CUT also referred to the repercussions of the horrendous war that has claimed the lives of about 600 trade union officials and trade unionists during the past four years.
2. 510. The CUT adds that the Government decided, amongst other things, to:
   • - introduce the possibility of dismissing workers in both the public and private sectors who had taken part in the strike;
   • - suspend the legal personality of the Trade Union of Workers of the Barranquilla Municipal Telephone Enterprise and set in motion the process to suspend the Association of Telephone Technicians and the Trade Union of Workers of the National Telecommunications Enterprise;
   • - arrest on 13 November 1990 in Cali the president of the SINDEUNION trade union, Jorge Herrera, and the workers Adelain Jacinto Figueroa, Juan Carlos Barreto, Martín Acuña and César Molina;
   • - dismiss Eduardo Sandoval, Juan Franco, Hugo Aduen, Eduardo Turizo and William San Juanelo (leading officials of the Barranquilla Municipal Telephone Enterprise); dismiss Luis Enrique Cano and Juan Fernando Ortiz, officials at the Medellín Packaging Enterprise; and to dismiss 30 assistants from the National Statistics Department (El Valle branch);
   • - ask 190 workers in ECOPETRO, ten workers in the Cafetero Bank (Bucaramanga branch) and 12 trade union officials in the Cementos del Valle Enterprise to justify their action;
   • - initiate proceedings for the suspension - from one to 15 days - of 295 workers and six trade union officials in the Quimica Industrial y Textil Enterprise (QUINTEX), with a threat of dismissal;
   • - censor the radio and television, which, several days afterwards, were still not allowed to give information on the national strike;
   • - deploy a considerable number of troops in towns and workplaces.

B. The Government's reply

1. 511. In its communication of 10 January 1991, the Government, referring to the national strike called by the trade union federations for 14 November 1990, stated that the subversive actions and widespread violence that continued to prevail in the country, as well as the political climate created by the campaign of a number of parties and movements to be elected to the Constituent National Assembly, gave the Government sufficient grounds to fear that the lawful right of protest of the working class - fully guaranteed by the legislation and democratic institutions - could be used by agitators undermining public law and order to create a situation with unforeseen repercussions. This being the case, the Government, fully exercising its constitutional powers to maintain public law and order, declared that the work stoppage planned by the trade union organisations was illegal, in order to guarantee the right to work of a large majority of Colombians; indeed, they showed proof of their civic sense and responsibility on the day of the strike and turned up for work.
2. 512. In its communication of 13 September 1991, the Government stated that:
   • - the Ministry of Labour and Social Security suspended the legal personality of the Trade Union of Workers of the Barranquilla Municipal Telephone Enterprise on 21 November 1990; in December 1990 it rejected the appeal submitted by the trade union; and in May 1991 the Ministry stated that the resolution suspending the trade union's legal personality was no longer enforceable;
   • - the Ministry of Labour and Social Security suspended for one year the legal personality of the Trade Union of Workers of the National Telecommunications Enterprise on 14 November 1990. The trade union submitted an application to set aside this decision and, in the resolution of 28 May 1991, rejected each and every part of the resolution of 14 November 1990;
   • - there was no resolution suspending the legal personality of the Association of Telephone Technicians;
   • - the arrest of Jorge Herrera, president of SINDEUNION has not been established;
   • - as regards the request made to the 291 workers in the QUINTEX Enterprise to justify their action as they had failed to turn up for work, the enterprise notified those concerned that they would be subject to disciplinary measures - using an argument that differed totally from that first given. The Departmental Labour and Social Security Directorate of El Valle, in a resolution dated 21 August 1991, penalised the QUINTEX Enterprise by imposing a fine constituting half a monthly minimum wage. This resolution was duly communicated to the parties concerned and an application to set aside the decision was submitted (the matter is pending). The outcome will be communicated to the Committee;
   • - as regards the request to ten workers in the Banco Cafetero (Bucaramanga branch) to justify their action, the administrative investigation into trade union persecution requested by Pedro Antonio Castellanos Supúlveda is in the preliminary stage, according to information provided by the Labour Inspectorate. As soon as the outcome of this investigation is known, the Committee will be informed. Furthermore, during the investigation requested by Hernando Salazar, a ruling was handed down to the effect that there had been no infringement of contractual standards. The Labour Inspectorate states that an application to set aside this decision has been submitted. Concerning the request made to Oscar Tovar to justify his action, this was withdrawn because it infringed the disciplinary procedure agreed upon between the enterprise and the trade union. As regards the same request made to Reynaldo Vera, an administrative complaint is being made - according to information provided by the trade union. Similarly, according to the trade union, Esperanza Sierra was dismissed soon after being called upon to justify her action and is on the point of submitting a complaint;
   • - the trade unionists working for the Barranquilla Municipal Telephone Enterprise - Eduardo Sandoval, Juan Franco, Hugo Aduen, Eduardo Turizo and William San Juanelo - were dismissed from the enterprise because, following the declaration that the strike of 14 November 1990 was illegal, the Ministry of Labour also authorised, under the resolution of 21 November 1990, the dismissal of workers having taken part in this strike.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 513. The Committee notes that the Government admits declaring illegal the national strike called by the four trade union confederations for 14 November 1990 and suspending, by administrative authority, the legal personality of the Trade Union of Workers of the Barranquilla Municipal Telephone Enterprise and the Trade Union of Workers of the National Telecommunications Enterprise. The Committee notes that the complainant organisation alleged that this national strike set out to protest against the Government's economic policy (privatisations accompanied by mass dismissals, an increase in rates and prices of basic goods for the family shopping basket; inadequate adjustment of the basic wage and pay of public servants, etc.) and referred to the murder of hundreds of trade unionists during the past few years. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government, the national strike was declared illegal on the grounds of: (1) acts of subversion and widespread violence that still continue to prevail in the country; (2) the political climate created by the campaign of a number of parties and movements to be elected to the Constituent National Assembly, which gave rise to the fear that the protests by workers might be used by agitators undermining public law and order to create a situation with unforeseen repercussions; (3) the need to guarantee the right of work to the large majority of Colombians.
2. 514. In this respect, the Committee wishes to draw the Government's attention to the fact that, whatever possible grounds might be raised, the suspension of workers' organisations by administrative authority always constitutes an infringement of the provisions of Article 4 of Convention No. 87. The Committee notes, however, that the two suspensions of legal personality - which it deplores - were pronounced in May 1991 and that the new political Constitution of Colombia (18 July 1991) disposes in article 39 that: "the invalidation or suspension of legal personality can only be pronounced by judicial authority", so that it may be hoped that there will be no more suspensions of legal personality by administrative authority in the future.
3. 515. As regards the declaration that the national strike of 14 November 1990 was illegal, the Committee observes that this was a strike protesting against the social and labour consequences of the Government's economic policy and that the reasons invoked by the Government for its declaration of illegality did not justify this action. The Committee therefore concludes that the declaration that the national strike of 14 November 1990 was illegal and its banning constituted a serious violation of freedom of association. The Committee asks the Government to take measures so that federations and confederations are not deprived of the right to call strikes.
4. 516. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take steps to lift the detrimental measures (dismissals, suspensions, or requests to workers to justify their action, with threats of dismissal) taken against trade union officials and trade unionists who took part in the national strike of 14 November 1990 and, in particular, in the case of trade unionists and workers mentioned by the complainant organisation with respect to the Medellín Packing Enterprise, ECOPETRO, the Banco Cafetero (Bucaramanga branch), the Cementos del Valle Enterprise, the Química Industrial y Textil Enterprise, the Barranquilla Municipal Telephone Enterprise, and the National Statistics Department (El Valle branch).
5. 517. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the arrest of Jorge Herrera (president of SINDEUNION) has not been established and it requests the Government to state clearly whether or not he was arrested and to indicate his present whereabouts, as well as to indicate the grounds for the alleged arrest of the workers Adelain Jacinto Figueroa, Juan Carlos Barreto, Martín Acuña and César Molina.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 518. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee considers that the declaration that the national strike of 14 November 1990 (protesting against the social and labour consequences of the Government's economic policy) was illegal and the banning of this strike constituted a serious violation of freedom of association.
   • (b) The Committee deplores the suspension of the legal personality of two trade union organisations by administrative authority (although it ended in May 1991) and it notes that the new Constitution (of July 1991) stipulates that the suspension of legal personality can only be pronounced by judicial authority.
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to take steps to lift the detrimental measures taken (dismissals, suspensions or demands for a justification of action taken) against trade union officials and trade unionists who took part in the national strike of 14 November 1990 and particularly in the case of trade unionists and workers mentioned by the complainant organisation with respect to the Medellín Packing Enterprise, ECOPETRO, the Banco Cafetero (Bucaramanga branch), the Cementos del Valle Enterprise, the Química Industrial y Textil Enterprise, the Barranquilla Municipal Telephone Enterprise and the National Department of Statistics (El Valle branch).
   • (d) The Committee requests the Government to state clearly whether or not Mr. Jorge Herrera (President of the SINDEUNION) was arrested and to indicate his present whereabouts, as well as to indicate the grounds for the alleged arrest of the workers Adelain Jacinto Figueroa, Juan Carlos Barreto, Martín Acuña and César Molina.
   • (e) The Committee requests the Government to take all the necessary measures so that federations and confederations are not deprived of the right to call strikes.