Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 344, March 2007

Case No 2046 (Colombia) - Complaint date: 17-AUG-99 - Closed

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

1. 40. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2006 meeting [see 342nd Report, paras 48–63]. On that occasion the Committee made the following recommendations regarding the matters that remained pending.
2. 41. The Committee requested the Government to keep it informed of the final outcome of the pending appeals of Mr Rodas and Mr Ruiz against the legal action taken by Cervecería Unión SA to have their trade union immunity suspended. The Committee notes with interest that a communication from Bavaria SA sent to it by the Government states that on 23 June 2006 the High Court of Medellín ordered the reinstatement of Luis Alberto Ruiz Acevedo in his job and that Cervecería Unión SA complied with the ruling on 17 July 2006. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the final outcome of the legal action taken by Mr Rodas.
3. 42. As to the alleged unjustified dismissal for gross misconduct of officials of the Colombian Union of Beverage Industry Workers (SINALTRAINBEC) and founders of the Trade Union of Workers of the Beverages and Foodstuffs Industry (USTIBEA), including William de Jésus Puerta Cano, Luis Fernando Viana Patiño, Edgar Dario Castrillón Munera and Alberto de Jésus Bedoya Riós, the Committee notes that in December 2005 the Government requested the Coordinator of the Prevention, Inspection, Supervision and Monitoring Group of the Territorial Directorate of Antioquia to begin an administrative labour inquiry into the company. The Committee notes that the communication from Bavaria SA sent to it by the Government states that the Territorial Directorate of Antioquia summoned the enterprise and the other parties involved to a mediation hearing on 27 April 2006, but that the complainants failed to attend and, consequently, after two months the matter was closed. The Committee notes this information.
4. 43. As regards the closure of the Colenvases plant, which led to the dismissal of 42 workers and seven union members in violation of their trade union immunity and of the labour ministry ruling authorizing the closure but only after implementing clauses 14 and 51 of the collective agreement, the Committee notes that Bavaria SA states in the communication sent by the Government that no ruling has yet been handed down in the case currently before the administrative disputes courts, which is being examined by the Council of State. The Committee recalls the importance it attaches to the swift processing of legal cases and requests the Government to send a copy of the ruling as soon as it has been handed down.
5. 44. As to the allegations presented by the National Union of Workers of Bavaria SA (SINALTRABAVARIA) regarding pressure on workers to resign from the union, the Committee takes note of the new communications sent by the trade union organization on 24 April 2006, which refer to the incidents that have already been examined. The Committee notes that the Bavaria SA states in the communication sent to it by the Government that the matter was resolved by the Ministry of Social Security in resolution No. 00015 of 2003, in which it was decided not to take measures against the enterprise, and that the trade union organization did not lodge any legal appeal against this decision. The Committee takes note of this information.
6. 45. With regard to the communication of the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT), dated 15 February 2006, referring to the closure of a number of Bavaria SA plants and the consequent drastic fall in the number of union members, the Committee takes note of the Government’s reply to the effect that the workers’ employment contracts were terminated by mutual agreement through a process of conciliation as part of a voluntary retirement plan in which the workers were offered financial benefits worth more than four times the bonuses to which they would be entitled under Colombian law. As to the liquidation of the trade union organization, the Government states that the Territorial Directorate of Cundinamarca, Inspectorate No. 10, initiated an administrative inquiry into the matters raised in the complaint. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the final outcome of the inquiry.