Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 327, March 2002

Case No 2051 (Colombia) - Complaint date: 14-SEP-99 - Closed

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

1. 50. The Committee last examined this case, concerning the creation of cooperatives to the detriment of trade unions and the dismissal of workers who did not accept new employment in the cooperatives, at its March 2001 meeting [see 324th Report, paras. 360?371]. On that occasion, the Committee urged the Government to ensure that the administrative investigation under way was concluded rapidly and that it covered not only the allegation that employment in the cooperatives was offered to fixed-term workers of Confecciones Colombia SA under threat of dismissal, but also the other allegations that: (1) the cooperatives are a sham since they are managed by the employers and since the workers work in the same place, with the same bosses and with the same machinery as those still with the enterprise; (2) in February 1999 the company ordered a mass dismissal of cooperative workers; and (3) the creation of the associative labour cooperatives in the enterprise has had disastrous consequences for the workers and their trade unions.
2. 51. In its communication dated 4 June 2001, the Trade Union of Textile Industry Workers (SINTRATEXTIL) maintains that the cooperatives of Confecciones Colombia S.A. were established, managed and manipulated by the enterprise with the aim of undermining the trade unions.
3. 52. In a communication dated 4 September 2001, the Government states that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, through the Office of the Coordinator of Inspection and Surveillance of the Antioquia Territorial Directorate, issued resolution No. 1822 of 1 November 2001 acquitting Confecciones Colombia Everfit-Indulana. It adds that the investigation found that there were four work cooperatives operating in the enterprise (CODESCO, COTEXCON, SERVIEMPRESAS and PARTICIPEMOS), each with a manager and an office on the premises of the enterprise, and that the machinery, owned by the enterprise, was being used by the cooperatives under a loan contract. These cooperatives enjoyed financial, administrative and operational autonomy in the execution of contracts signed with Confecciones Colombia SA. The Government adds that it could not be ascertained whether the members of the cooperatives had been forced or coerced into withdrawing from the enterprise and joining the cooperatives and that it was demonstrated that the enterprise had not unilaterally dismissed any workers within the six-month period. The Government concludes that no appeal has been lodged against the abovementioned resolution.
4. 53. The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the complainant and by the Government. In this respect, the Committee notes with regret that the investigation carried out by the Ministry did not take account of all the complainants’ allegations in accordance with the recommendation made by the Committee. Thus, the Government has not sent any information on the allegation that the cooperatives are a sham, on the mass dismissal of workers of the cooperatives in 1999 and the consequences of these cooperatives for the workers and their organizations. The Committee urges the Government to take steps without delay to ensure that an investigation is carried out covering these allegations, and that it is concluded rapidly, and to inform it of the outcome.