Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 308, November 1997

Case No 1878 (Peru) - Complaint date: 09-APR-96 - Closed

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

1. 61. In relation to the allegation made by the Single Trade Union of Workers of the Peruvian Broadcasting Company (SUTRACPR), the Committee in its meeting of June 1997 had requested the Government to carry out an investigation into the allegedly anti-union nature of the programme for the mass reclassification of 218 workers into positions of trust and as managerial staff, and to keep it informed in this respect (see 307th Report, para. 454).
2. 62. In a communication dated 18 September 1997, the Government states that it is not within its competence to carry out an investigation as requested by the Committee, since there are already adequate legal mechanisms with which aggrieved workers may seek redress before the appropriate court and contest any reclassification which contravenes the law. The Government states that section 61 of the Regulations under the Law on Productivity and Competitiveness stipulates that reclassification by the employer can be contested and the workers concerned can submit an application to the judicial authority to suspend such reclassification within 30 days of the application being submitted.
3. 63. While noting the legal mechanisms available to workers for defending their rights, the Committee notes with regret once again that the Government has not provided any new information to clarify the allegedly anti-union nature of the programme for the mass reclassification of 218 workers into positions of trust and as managerial staff, especially bearing in mind that, as pointed out by the complainant, all the workers reclassified as employees in positions of trust or as management staff are trade unionists, and include all the union's leaders, a fact which was not denied by the Government. In this respect, the Committee recalls that the Government, in ratifying Convention No. 98, has undertaken to apply Article 1 according to which "Workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment" and once again requests the Government to take any necessary measures to ensure that in future such staff reclassification programmes are not used to carry out acts of anti-union discrimination.
4. 64. Finally, the Committee notes that in a communication dated 12 September 1997, the Single Trade Union of Technicians and Specialized Auxiliaries of the Peruvian Social Security Institute (SUTAEIPSS) made certain comments on the partial application by the Government of the recommendations formulated by the Committee at its March 1997 meeting relating to this case (see 306th Report, para. 540(a) and (b)). The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.