Interim Report - Report No 300, November 1995

Case No 1831 (Bolivia (Plurinational State of)) - Complaint date: 28-APR-95 - Closed

Allegations: Arrests, internal exile and declaration of state of emergency as a result of strikes

1. 371. The complaints are contained in communications from the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 28 April and 5 May 1995 respectively.
2. 372. Several trade union organizations had previously requested the Director-General of the ILO to intervene with the Government of Bolivia concerning the same acts alleged in the above-mentioned complaints.
3. 373. In response to the intervention by the Director-General of the ILO, the Government sent its observations in a communication dated 20 April 1995. Subsequently, the Government sent a new reply in a communication dated 26 May 1995.
4. 374. Bolivia 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. The complainant's allegations

1. 375. In its communication of 28 April 1995, the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) alleges that on 18 April 1995 a special unit of the Bolivian police stormed the headquarters of the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization (COB) during the holding of a national meeting of trade union officials which decided to pursue its protest action against government policies and at the same time continue its dialogue with the Government. All the trade unionists present were arrested, as well as attending journalists. Throughout the country more than 300 leaders were arrested and sent into internal exile to various regions, in particular San Joaquín (80 persons), Apolo (77 persons), Ramón Darío (31 persons), Colcha (93 persons) and Puerto Rico (21 persons). The WCL includes in an annex two lists of 344 persons who were arrested and sent into internal exile or held in detention.
2. 376. Furthermore, after the declaration of a state of emergency during the night of 18-19 April 1995, following the above-mentioned arrests, the Government of Bolivia suspended basic rights, and in particular the right to strike and the right to assemble of trade union organizations. Through these measures, which according to the WCL are a serious infringement of human and trade union rights, the Government is attempting to deliver a blow to any protests by workers and their organizations against the social and economic policy of the Government, a policy which accentuates inequalities and injustice. The social security reform and the constant privatizations have resulted in massive lay-offs, as well as the reduction and disappearance of social protection for a large number of workers and members of their families. Furthermore, Act No. 1565 to reform education is the clearest example of the refusal by the Government to solve the situation through consensus. By modifying the text established by the various parties concerned - modifications involving very sensitive and controversial points - the Government sought confrontation rather than a lowering of tensions.
3. 377. The WCL concludes by stating that the workers expressed their discontent with the anti-social policy implemented by the Government, in particular through demonstrations and strikes, which are legitimate means available to them to defend their social and economic interests, but instead of listening and trying to understand the reasons for the population's discontent, the Government reacted in a brutal and dictatorial manner.
4. 378. In its communication of 5 May 1995, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) alleges that the Government ordered a state of emergency throughout the territory of Bolivia on the night of 18-19 April 1995. Hours before, the police burst into the headquarters of the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization (COB), during a meeting of the National Executive of this organization and proceeded to detain those present, including Mr. Oscar Salas, its executive secretary. At the same time, national and regional trade union leaders were arrested in various parts of the country and held in confinement at various military posts. The total number of persons thus detained was 370 (the ICFTU includes a list in the appendix to its communication). The emergency measure was promulgated by the Government supposedly to put an end to the daily demonstrations organized over a period of six weeks by the strike committees of teachers in the public education, health workers and workers in the COMIBOL state mining enterprise, all of whom were supported by the COB. The teachers' trade unions had gone on strike in support of wage claims and to express their opposition to a bill to reform the educational system.
5. 379. The ICFTU points out that the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization (COB) and the Government, with the mediation of the Catholic Church, were engaged in negotiations, which was the reason why the COB convened on 18 April the above-mentioned National Executive to assess the progress achieved. On the same day, the Office of the President of the Republic sent a communication to the trade union leader Oscar Salas, congratulating the COB on the mature attitude shown by its officials in resolving problems which affected them mutually. The state of emergency was ordered a few hours after the dispatch of this letter (the ICFTU encloses a copy).
6. 380. The ICFTU adds that given the seriousness of the situation it decided to send as a matter of urgency on 24 April a mission from the ICFTU, its regional organization for the Americas (ORIT) and the Coordinating Committee of Central Trade Union Organizations of the Southern Cone (of which the COB is part) with a view to gaining first-hand information on the situation of the detained trade unionists and requesting their immediate liberation. This mission confirmed that there were serious violations of human and trade union rights: trade unionists were arrested in a violent manner, their trade union premises were searched, they were beaten with electric truncheons by the police and sent into internal exile in distant places where they were kept incommunicado. Some of them were sick without any access to medical treatment.
7. 381. Furthermore, according to the ICFTU, the clandestine Single Trade Union Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia (CSUTCB) denounced the disappearance of its leader Mr. Félix Santos whose name does not appear on the official lists provided by the Government of persons arrested and sent into internal exile.
8. 382. Similarly, the ICFTU alleges that the Trade Union of Press Workers of La Paz denounced the fact that on 18 April 1995, during a violent attack by the police on the National Executive of the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization (COB), around 50 journalists, cameramen and photographers were brutally beaten, as were the trade unionists present. Some journalists were arrested and taken to a hangar at the air force base in El Alto. Some of them were sent into internal exile. When the state of emergency was introduced, the Minister of Government promised to release immediately all persons who had been detained, but this did not happen. Ten days later, ten journalists were released, but at least six press workers are still being held in confinement.
9. 383. Finally, the ICFTU states that the ICFTU/ORIT mission was harassed and persecuted by the Bolivian authorities after expressing at a press conference the international trade union movement's solidarity with and support for the workers and people of Bolivia. Mr. Alan Flores, President of the Single Trade Union Workers of Paraguay, and Mrs. Maria del Carmen Leunda, ICFTU secretariat official responsible for Latin America, were arrested in the El Dorado de La Paz Hotel, where they were staying, and taken to an unidentified place. They were not allowed to contact their respective embassies. Subsequently, they were taken to the Secretariat of Migrations, where they were told that the delegation had been declared non grata in Bolivia because its presence and activities constituted serious interference in the internal affairs of the country. Following mediation by some international bodies, they were able to return to their hotel later although they were forced to leave the country the following day.
   • The Government's reply
10. 384. In its communication of 20 April 1995, the Government states that for a long time different social and trade union sectors, some acting independently and others within the framework of the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization (COB), have been carrying out acts contrary to the normal exercise of their activities and the development of the country in general, such as work stoppages, strikes, blockades and acts of violence against persons, property, public order and social peace. The most serious case is that of urban and rural teachers who have so far prevented the resumption of classes in the public sector throughout the country.
11. 385. The Government adds that in response to this clearly politicized trade union movement promoted by sectors interested in thwarting the implementation of the reforms established by the Government of the President of the Republic, the administration has made every effort through dialogue and conciliation to find negotiated and mutually satisfactory solutions to the problems raised by the different labour sectors, including with the good offices of the Catholic Church, without any positive response from the leaders of the COB. On the contrary, the COB executive has stepped up its pressure through acts of vandalism, hunger strikes, blockades and the sabotage of public services, all of which are contrary to the political Constitution of the State and the laws of the Republic.
12. 386. As a result of all the events occurring in the national territory as noted above, the Government, in pursuance of the powers conferred upon it by articles 111, 112 and 96(18) of the Political Constitution of the State, declared a state of emergency on 18 April 1995 throughout the national territory, with the support of the Council of Ministers.
13. 387. In its communication of 26 May 1995, the Government states that the denunciation made does not objectively reflect the true framework and context of the situation of social conflict and fails to note the share of responsibility for this situation by the labour movement headed by the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization, which resulted in serious street disturbances and disruption of public order for more than 45 days and a work stoppage by teachers for a similar period, which finally led to the recent declaration of the state of emergency. The Government points out that the socio-labour movement itself lost control of the dispute to a small group of Trotskyist radicals which distorted the just labour demands and called for the unconstitutional shortening of the mandate of the democratically elected Government. However, the Government, adopting an attitude which was widely recognized by the public as being both tolerant and democratic, urged the workers to engage in dialogue with a view to finding appropriate solutions to their claims through consensus.
14. 388. To this end, the Ministry of Government sent two notes on 2 February and 7 March 1995 to Mr. Oscar Salas Moya, executive secretary of the COB, informing him of the full withdrawal of the police during the demonstrations and marches. This same information was communicated to Mr. Javier Baldiviezo, executive secretary of the Confederation of Rural and Urban Teachers of Bolivia, in a note dated 9 February 1995.
15. 389. During the negotiations, which were convened by the Executive, both the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization and the national teachers systematically used pressure in the form of constant street demonstrations of a violent nature which threatened the life and property of other citizens, disrupting public order and peace through acts which were unworthy of the valuable process of dialogue initiated between the COB and the Government.
16. 390. As regards the denunciation concerning the supposed raid on the trade union premises by the police and military authorities and the repression of demonstrations and gatherings described as peaceful, the Government points out that it acted in full respect of trade union freedom and immunity and that the intervention of the police, in pursuance of the provisions of the Political Constitution of the State and the laws of the Republic, was strictly limited to the specific mission of maintaining public order and peace and protecting the large majority of citizens whose rights of free circulation and work were affected. As a result of this emergency action, some trade unionists of extremist tendencies were temporarily held in preventive detention, which was fully subject to the national legal order. At present they enjoy full freedom and all the guarantees afforded by the Government concerning respect of their human rights.
17. 391. Finally, the Government states that on 23 May 1995 an agreement was reached between the COB and the Government whereby the Government, in pursuance of the ILO Conventions which it has adopted, satisfied the wage demands put forward by the COB.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 392. The Committee observes that the complainant organizations have alleged the detention or sending into internal exile of more than 300 trade unionists, the raiding of trade union premises, the assault of trade unionists and the declaration of a state of emergency - all as a result of strikes in various sectors (education, health, etc.) - as well as harassment by the authorities of members of an ICFTU/ORIT mission which expressed its solidarity with the Bolivian workers.
2. 393. The Committee notes the statements by the Government which basically emphasized:
3. (1) that over a period of 45 days, different social and trade union sectors held strikes in major branches - such as teaching and health, etc. - and demonstrations which resulted in streets being blocked and acts of violence being committed against persons and property as well as acts of sabotage;
4. (2) the use by the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization and the national teachers of methods of pressure during negotiations (through violent street demonstrations which threatened the life and property of other citizens) and the disturbance of the public peace and order;
5. (3) no readiness was shown by these organizations to reach negotiated solutions;
6. (4) a small group of Trotskyist radicals took control of the dispute and distorted the just labour demands and called for the unconstitutional shortening of the mandate of the Government;
7. (5) as a result of all these events and in accordance with the Constitution a state of emergency was declared;
8. (6) in these circumstances, as regards the alleged searching of trade union premises, the mission of the police authorities was restricted by the law to the maintenance of public order and peace;
9. (7) as a result of these emergency measures, some trade unionists of extremist tendencies were taken into preventive and temporary detention, in accordance with legislation;
10. (8) all the persons arrested have now been released;
11. (9) the Government and the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization reached an agreement on 23 May 1995.
12. 394. First, as regards the declaration of the state of emergency and the subsequent suspension of certain constitutional guarantees and rights, the Committee should examine whether, in the light of the circumstances of the case, the measures adopted as a result of the declaration of the state of emergency violated trade union rights.
13. 395. In this respect, although it has noted the intensity of the collective action taken by the trade union organizations during a long dispute related to matters of great importance to the country (privatization, social security reform, educational reform, etc.) and repudiates the acts of violence against persons and property to which the Government refers, the Committee must emphasize, with a view to determining whether the measures adopted by the authorities were contrary to freedom of association, several points mentioned by the complainant organization: first, the very high number of trade unionists arrested or sent into internal exile (more than 300, according to the complainants); second, at least some of these arrests and internal exiles and the search of trade union premises occurred hours before the declaration of the state of emergency; third, such measures were taken when the Government was negotiating with the trade union organizations of the country (the complainants provided a copy of a letter from the Minister of the Presidency dated 18 April 1995 which refers to "important progress achieved in the negotiations" and notes that "the leaders of the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization have acted in a clear spirit of maturity in the negotiations").
14. 396. In these circumstances, the Committee concludes that the scope and seriousness of the measures adopted by the authorities within the framework of the state of emergency, precisely at a time when negotiations were under way which had allowed significant progress to be achieved, were contrary to freedom of association and their objective and result were largely to neutralize the trade union movement as a whole, in violation of Convention No. 87. In this context the Committee must deplore the arrests and internal exiles, the search of trade union premises and the acts of aggression against trade unionists, and the fact that the Government had not considered other solutions or alternative formulas. Noting that the persons who were arrested or sent into internal exile now enjoy full freedom and that the Government and the COB reached an agreement on 23 May 1995, the Committee stressed that the state of emergency was incompatible with the full exercise of freedom of association (see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 3rd edition, 1985, para. 196). It requests the Government to confirm that the state of emergency has been lifted and to provide information on the manner in which the constitutional provisions concerning the state of emergency were applied and their impact on trade union rights. The Committee emphasizes that the consequences of the state of emergency which have violated the rights of trade unionists must be set aright, in particular, in that all those who were dismissed be reinstated in their jobs and that the full exercise of trade union rights be guaranteed.
15. 397. As regards the allegation concerning the harassment by the authorities of members of an ICFTU/ORIT mission which expressed its solidarity with the Bolivian workers, the Committee regrets that the Government has not sent its observations on this point, deplores the hostility which was shown to the members of this mission and the arrest of the trade union leaders Alan Flores and Maria del Carmen Leunda, who were forced to leave the country because of their trade union activities, and draws the attention of the Government to the fact that "any assistance or support that an international trade union organization might provide in setting up, defending or developing national trade union organizations is a legitimate trade union activity." (See 284th Report, Case No. 1628 (Cuba), para. 1028.)

The Committee's recommendations

1. 398. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee deeply deplores the mass arrest and internal exile of trade unionists, the search of trade union premises and the assault of trade unionists, as well as the fact that the Government had not considered other solutions or alternative ways of resolving the labour dispute between the Bolivian Workers' Central Organization and other trade union organizations and the Government.
   • (b) Noting that the persons arrested or sent into internal exile now enjoy full freedom and that the Government and the COB reached an agreement on 23 May 1995, the Committee stresses that the state of emergency is incompatible with the full exercise of freedom of association. It urges the public authorities not to resort in the future to such measures. The Committee requests the Government to confirm that the state of emergency has been lifted. It requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the constitutional provisions concerning the state of emergency were applied and on the impact of its application on trade union rights. It emphasizes that the consequences of the state of emergency which have violated the rights of trade unionists must be set aright. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that all those who were dismissed be reinstated in their jobs and to guarantee the full exercise of freedom of association.
   • (c) As regards the allegation concerning harassment by the authorities against the members of an ICFTU/ORIT mission which expressed its solidarity with the Bolivian workers, the Committee deplores the hostility shown to the members of this mission, the arrest of the trade union officials Alan Flores and Maria del Carmen Leunda, who were forced to leave the country because of their trade union activities, and draws the attention of the Government to the fact that any assistance or support that an international trade union organization may provide in setting up, defending or developing national trade union organizations is a legitimate trade union activity.