Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 318, November 1999

Case No 1812 (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) - Complaint date: 26-OCT-94 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 83. In its last examination of the case in March 1999 (see 313th Report, paras. 270-284), when it considered allegations concerning interference by an employer in the establishment of a trade union, the Committee requested the Government to carry out an investigation into the alleged presence of representatives of the company CORAVEN-RCTV at the constituent meeting of the trade union SINATRAINCORACTEL and alleged threats to dismiss workers who refused to join the new union, and to keep it informed of developments as soon as possible; and, considering it necessary to have the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice on the matter that had given rise to the complaint, the Committee requested the Government to send it a text of this ruling.
2. 84. In communications dated 12 and 22 October 1999, the Government indicates that the legal representative of the trade union SRTVA sent a communication stating that the organization did indeed initiate proceedings before the Supreme Court of Justice to have the act of registration of the National Trade Union of Workers at CORAVEN-RCTV annulled, but the application was never actually lodged and the act of registration therefore remained in force. In the light of this, the legal representative considers that the complaint brought by the SRTVA before the Committee should be set aside. Given this information from the legal representative of the SRTVA, the Government considers that, since the necessary legal steps were not taken, the case is devoid of the elements necessary for its continued examination.
3. 85. The Committee takes note of this information from the Government, but emphasizes that it contradicts its earlier information according to which the appeal lodged by the SRTVA was ruled to be admissible by the Supreme Court on 5 May 1997 (see 313th Report, para. 274). The Committee regrets that the Government has not acted on its recommendations in which it requested an investigation into the alleged presence of representatives of the company CORAVEN-RCTV at the constituent meeting of the trade union SINATRAINCORACTEL and the alleged threats to dismiss workers who refused to join the new union. The Committee wishes to draw the Government's attention to the fact that, by ratifying Convention No. 98, the Government undertook to respect the principle that organizations of workers and employers must enjoy adequate protection against any act of interference from one another, be it direct or through its agents or members, in their establishment, operations or administration. The Committee hopes that in future the Government will ensure that cases of interference and discrimination will be dealt with severely and that appropriate legal sanctions will be applied.