Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 353, March 2009

Case No 1914 (Philippines) - Complaint date: 06-JAN-97 - Closed

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

1. 218. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2008 meeting [see 349th Report, paras 223–227]. The case concerns approximately 1,500 leaders and members of the Telefunken Semiconductors Employees’ Union (TSEU) who after being dismissed for their participation in strike action from 14 to 16 September 1995 and failing to obtain their reinstatement, are now trying to obtain the payment of retirement benefits for the period they worked in the enterprise. During the last examination of this case the Committee requested the Government to intercede with the parties with a view to reaching without further delay, a settlement for the payment of retirement benefits to the dismissed workers.
2. 219. In a communication dated 23 May 2008, the complainant indicates that despite using all legal means at their disposal, the workers concerned have been unable to obtain justice before the courts and have seen their appeals denied at the final instance. The complainant expresses dismay at the injustice after almost 13 years of pursuing their case before the courts.
3. 220. The Committee must once again express its profound regret at the manifest absence of equity in this case, due to the excessively long period of time over which the issue of reinstatement was pending (five years), the final decision which reversed a series of earlier rulings in favour of the workers, including from the Supreme Court, and the particularly large number of workers dismissed (some 1,500) as well as the denial of these workers’ vested rights in terms of pensions. The Committee observes that according to the complainants, they are entitled to the retirement plan which was included in their collective bargaining agreement and they had already reached the requisite age and length of service even prior to the strike of 14 September 1995 which led to their dismissal.
4. 221. The Committee recalls from the previous examination of this case its conclusion to the effect that “there is no doubt in the Committee’s mind that the 1,500 or so TSEU members were dismissed and not reinstated subsequently to having participated in strike action … the Committee reminds the Government that it is responsible for preventing all acts of anti-union discrimination and that cases concerning anti-union discrimination should be examined rapidly, so that the necessary remedies can be really effective. An excessive delay in processing cases of anti-union discrimination, and in particular a lengthy delay in concluding the proceedings concerning the reinstatement of the trade union leaders and members dismissed by the enterprise, constitute a denial of justice and therefore a denial of the trade union rights of the persons concerned” [see 308th Report, para. 667].
5. 222. Recalling that the issue is linked to freedom of association to the extent that these workers are denied their retirement benefits as a result of their dismissal pursuant to the strike staged in September 1995, the Committee urges once again the Government to intercede with the parties, with a view to reaching without further delay a mutually satisfactory solution for the payment of retirement benefits to the dismissed workers. The Committee requests to be kept informed of steps taken in this regard.