Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 326, November 2001

Case No 2067 (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) - Complaint date: 03-FEB-00 - Closed

Allegations: Anti-union legislation, suspension of collective bargaining following a decision by the authorities, hostility on the part of the authorities towards a trade union confederation

1. 494. The Committee examined this case at its June 2001 meeting and presented an interim report to the Governing Body [see 325th Report, paras. 576-589, approved by the Governing Body at its 281st Session (June 2001)].
2. 495. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 21 June 2001.
3. 496. Venezuela has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 497. At its June 2001 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations on the allegations that remained pending:
   • – the Committee reiterates its previous recommendations and demands that the Government take measures to repeal or substantially amend the trade union standards and decrees that are in violation of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, adopted since the arrival of the new Government. The Committee also demands that the Government take steps to withdraw the Bill for the protection of trade union guarantees and freedoms and the Bill for the democratic rights of workers, which contain restrictions to trade union rights that are incompatible with Conventions Nos. 87 and 98. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard;
   • – the Committee requests the Government to provide its observations concerning the new allegations submitted by the CTV (4 and 25 April 2001) and the ICFTU (22 May 2001).
2. 498. In its communications dated 4 and 25 April 2001, the CTV had sent statements made by the President of the Republic following a strike in the petroleum sector which they considered to be hostile to the Confederation and to clearly display favouritism with regard to the Bolivarian Workers’ Force (a partial transcription is given below):
   • “They threatened to bring the petroleum enterprise to a standstill and I sent them the message: go ahead! I’ll tell you how it happened. Manuit, the gang of four of the Acción democrática sent a message to the Government saying if we didn’t give them this, that and the other they would paralyse the petroleum industry. So I told them: go ahead! I give you my permission. Of course we immediately started preparing our contingency plans and talking to petroleum workers everywhere. They called the strike and fell flat on their faces. They came up against the workers’ conscience. They have failed yet again, they are dead, there is nothing they can do anymore … the Venezuelan petroleum workers do not believe in you anymore. We have new leaders now. You might as well face it. You ought to back down quietly as others have done but if you want to carry on fighting you will be beaten again, every time you stick your necks out you are going to get it, you union bosses and bandits of the Acción democrática gang of four. Come on out and see what happens to you, you will be defeated again and again and soon there will be trade union elections. I call on the Venezuelan working class to elect real workers’ leaders who are committed not only to the working class but to the revolution, the Bolivarian revolution, the working class should be aware not only of its own interests but those of the country in general …” “I call on the workers to join the Bolivarian Workers’ Force, that is the way to fight for their interests and move ahead with the revolution.” “They are heading for defeat (the CTV) because they are doomed to suffer their most crushing defeat at our hands and we will continue to defeat them. Workers of Venezuela, unite. Bolivarian Workers’ Force, attack! To the trade union elections, take your new place in a revolutionary trade union movement committed, I repeat, to the working class and the revolution, to the country. Take up the Bolivarian struggle, defend the revolution and do not let yourselves be manipulated by all these union bosses whom we are gradually displacing. Good luck Nicolás, the Bolivarian Teachers’ Force is also gaining ground and growing everywhere. They held their assembly a few days ago and we beat the teacher’s union bosses who were also threatening to paralyse the education system by more than a minimum percentage; Venezuelan education did not stop and is not stopping now, the Bolivarian education process is moving ahead; no one can stop the Bolivarian schools. So it should be emphasized today that we are pushing ahead with the revolution; the past week has been a very positive one, a week of victories showing the country and the world that the revolution is consolidating itself; we defeated the petroleum union bosses sector and new trade unions and new leaders are emerging in the petroleum sector. We defeated the call made by the teachers’ union bosses and a Bolivarian Teachers’ Force is arising.”
3. 499. The CTV had also alleged that new provisions had been adopted that implied state interference in trade union affairs. Specifically, the CTV objects to the Special Statute for the renewal of the trade union leadership issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) and published in the Official Gazette on 20 April 2001. The CTV alleges that the Statute in question empowers the CNE to organize, authorize and suspend trade union elections. According to the CTV this is an abuse of power aimed at stripping trade union organizations of the ability to organize their own elections; pursuant to this Statute, it will be up to the CNE to grant prior authorization for any trade union election process. Lastly, the CTV adds that the Statute in question contains a large number of provisions that violate the principle of trade union autonomy and freedom of association. Moreover, the CTV objects to resolution No. 01-00-012 of 1 April 2001 of the Comptroller-General’s Office of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which requires trade union officials to declare their assets to the Comptroller’s Office within 30 days following their election. The CTV alleges that this provision distorts the nature of the statutory obligation to declare their assets to the membership and the internal supervisory bodies of trade union organizations.
4. 500. In its communication dated 22 May 2001, the ICFTU alleges that the SIDOR-Consorcio Amazonia enterprise refused to negotiate a new collective agreement with the Single Trade Union of Iron and Steel and Allied Workers of the State of Bolívar (SUTISS). The ICFTU states that in accordance with the terms of the current collective agreement, the draft new agreement had been deposited 90 days before its expiry with the Zona de Hierro labour inspectorate. According to the ICFTU, the enterprise’s refusal to negotiate a new collective agreement aims at disregarding fundamental gains achieved by the workers and continuing the process of making labour more precarious, initiated with the privatization of SIDOR.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 501. In its communication dated 21 June 2001, concerning the allegation regarding interference by the Comptroller-General’s Office of the Republic, the Government states that there is no provision stipulating intervention by the Comptroller-General’s Office in the administration of trade union funds. This body only intervenes in the administration of a trade union at the request of its members and when the supervisory body of the confederation or federation does not reply or take a decision on a request made by its members, within 60 days of the date of the request, to investigate the accounts of the administration concerned (a long-standing provision contained in the Organic Labour Act of November 1990, section 442, second paragraph). The Government states that it must be noted that the Comptroller-General’s Office of the Republic is a functionally autonomous body which even supervises the administration of the Government, since the Comptroller is elected by the National Assembly on the basis of a shortlist presented by civil society, which guarantees its independence. Specifically, as regards the disputed resolution No. 01-00-012 of 10 April 2001 of the Comptroller-General’s Office of the Republic, published in Official Gazette No 37,179 of 17 April 2001, which stipulates that trade union officials shall individually present this body with a sworn declaration of assets before and after taking up their office, there is a whole range of procedures for filing appeals and challenges available to anyone who feels their rights have been infringed, which in this case have not been exhausted by the complainants.
2. 502. As regards trade union elections, the Government states that it has to ensure that they are conducted in accordance with the constitutional provision enshrined in Article 3 of Convention No. 87 concerning universal, direct and secret suffrage, and that the spirit of the Convention is accordingly embodied in article 95 of the Constitution. According to the Government, the means to achieve the aim of Convention No. 87 have now been strengthened by the presence of the Electoral Power that is functionally entirely independent and largely comprised of members of civil society and of the law faculties of the country’s universities. The Government states that the National Electoral Council (CNE) has the main objective of guaranteeing respect for the voters’ will and for their right to participate directly in trade union affairs through free elections in which equality of treatment without any discrimination whatsoever is guaranteed, in a climate of impartiality, transparency and reliability of the electoral committees; this aspect corresponds precisely to the provisions laid down in article 293 of the national Constitution.
3. 503. The Government points out that progress has been achieved in the re-legitimization process backed by all of the trade union movements in the country, with the presence of the CNE, in that the trade unions have contributed their database and the CNE has been able to compare it with its own data from the permanent electoral register. In the new Constitution, the Constituent Power, expressing the will of the entire people of Venezuela, sanctioned what is termed the Electoral Power, which enjoys organic independence and functional autonomy, whose fundamental objective is to guarantee impartiality, ethics, transparency and efficiency in electoral processes (article 294 of the Constitution). The exercise of this power takes place through its executive body, the CNE, which, in the current process of trade union re-legitimization, is nothing other than the technical facilitator of the autonomous electoral power, aimed at guaranteeing the transparency and impartiality of the process, in accordance with the constitutional mandate set forth in the Eighth Transitional Provision.
4. 504. The Government adds that in order to carry out its constitutional mandate, the CNE has drafted a transitional Special Statute providing for the renewal of the trade union leadership, following consultations with the trade unions involved in the process, without disregarding the rights of these organizations, which freely formulate their by-laws and internal regulations, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Moreover, section 61 of the Statute in question refers specifically to the temporary nature of this Statute, “which will remain in effect until a ruling is handed down on the appeals lodged by the persons concerned in connection with the corresponding elections”. The Government emphasizes that this Statute embodies the amendments proposed to the CNE by the trade unions in the process of dialogue.
5. 505. As regards the Government’s response in the media to the recent strike in the petroleum industry on 27 and 28 March 2001, the Government deplores the fact that the Federation of Oil, Chemical and Allied Workers of Venezuela (FEDEPETROL) called a strike in the country’s key industry without having fulfilled the statutory requirements in order to ensure that the stoppage would be accompanied by the safeguards laid down by law. On the contrary, they bypassed all the legal procedures (submission of a list of demands, conciliation proceedings, determination of minimum services, among others) and called an ill-timed strike which entailed severe losses for the country. Therefore, given that this strike was illegal and highly detrimental to the entire population, it was predictable that the Government would deplore the attitude of the Federation backed by the CTV, especially since the same Federation had concluded with PDVSA Petroleo y Gas S.A. the best collective agreement ever signed in the history of the Venezuelan petroleum industry’s 18 collective agreements and 53 years of negotiations with these social partners.
6. 506. As regards the Bills for the democratization of the trade union movement and for the protection of trade union guarantees and freedoms and trade union unification, the Government states that these have been forwarded to the trade union movement itself in its different confederations, which will decide in due course whether these Bills should be pushed forward and enacted into law, and will also decide as they see fit on the unity or diversity of the trade union movement.
7. 507. In a communication from the Government received during the Committee’s meeting, the Government indicates that SIDOR and SUTISS, with the mediation of the Minister of Labour, reached an agreement, following which the pending issues were resolved unanimously.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 508. The Committee observes that when it examined this case at its June 2001 meeting it had demanded that the Government take measures to: (1) repeal or substantially amend the trade union standards and decrees that are in violation of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, adopted since the arrival of the new Government; and (2) withdraw the Bill for the protection of trade union guarantees and freedoms and the Bill for the democratic rights of workers, which contain restrictions to trade union rights that are incompatible with Conventions Nos. 87 and 98. The Committee also requested the Government to provide its observations concerning: (i) the allegations submitted by the CTV objecting to the Special Statute for the renewal of the trade union leadership issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) and a resolution of the Comptroller-General’s Office requiring trade union officials to submit a sworn declaration of their assets and criticizing the hostile statements made by the President of the Republic against the CTV following a strike in the petroleum sector; and (ii) the allegations presented by the ICFTU concerning the refusal of the SIDOR-Consorcio Amazonia enterprise to negotiate a collective agreement.
2. 509. As regards the Committee’s recommendation to withdraw the Bill for the protection of trade union guarantees and freedoms and the Bill for the democratic rights of workers, the Committee notes that the Government states that the Bills in question have been forwarded to the trade union movement of Venezuela in its different confederations and that they will decide in due course on the advisability of adopting them and on the unity of the trade union movement. In this respect, the Committee recalls that it has already pointed out that the Bills in question contain restrictions to trade union rights and that they have also been the subject of observations by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and recommendations. In these circumstances, the Committee strongly urges the Government to ensure that the Bills in question are withdrawn.
3. 510. As regards the Committee’s recommendation on the need to repeal or amend the trade union standards and decrees that are in violation of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98 adopted since the arrival of the new Government, the Committee deeply deplores the fact that the Government has not communicated information on measures taken to this effect. In this respect, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary steps without delay to follow up on its recommendation.
4. 511. As regards the allegations objecting to the Special Statute on the renewal of the trade union leadership issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE), the Committee notes that the Government states that: (1) the Constituent Power had provided in the new Constitution for what is termed the Electoral Power, aimed at guaranteeing impartiality, ethics, transparency and efficiency in electoral processes, and that the exercise of this power takes place through an executive body, the CNE; (2) the main objective of the CNE is to guarantee respect for the voters’ will and for their right to participate directly in trade union affairs through free elections in which equality of treatment without any discrimination whatsoever is guaranteed, in a climate of impartiality, transparency and reliability of the electoral committees; and (3) the CNE drafted the Statute in question following consultations with the trade unions and after taking into account their proposed amendments, and that it is temporary in nature.
5. 512. In this respect, the Committee regrets to note that although in March 2001 it urged the Government to put an end to the functions of the National Electoral Council (CNE) in respect of trade union elections, the CNE decided to enact the Special Statute for the renewal of the trade union leadership. Moreover, the Committee deeply deplores the fact that the CNE has felt obliged to enact the abovementioned Statute as a result of the outcome of the referendum carried out on 3 December 2000 which resulted in the removal of elected trade union officials, despite the fact that this referendum had been criticized by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and recommendations at its November-December 2000 meeting and that the Committee had urged the Government at its March 2001 meeting to invalidate the results of the referendum. Moreover, the Committee observes that the Statute to which the CTV objects regulates in an excessively detailed manner the electoral process of trade unions and also provides for the establishment of an electoral register in the National Electoral Council with an updated list of the members of the trade unions, and that this information could be placed at the disposal of anyone interested. The Committee recalls that “the regulation of procedures and methods for the election of trade union officials is primarily to be governed by the trade union’s rules themselves. The fundamental idea of Article 3 of Convention No. 87 is that workers and employers may decide for themselves the rules which should govern the administration of their organizations and the elections which are held therein” [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th edition, 1996, para. 354] and that the establishment of a register containing data on trade union members does not respect rights of personality (including privacy rights) and such a register may be used to compile blacklists of workers. In these circumstances, the Committee once again strongly urges the Government to put an end to the functions of the CNE that are established in the National Constitution and to repeal the Special Statute on the renewal of trade union leadership. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any steps taken in this regard. Moreover, if this Statute has been applied from the date of its promulgation to that of the examination of this case, the Committee urges the Government to take steps to ensure that the trade unions which so wish may hold new elections governed by the provisions of their by-laws and without any interference whatsoever by the authorities or by bodies that have nothing to do with workers’ organizations.
6. 513. As regards resolution No. 01-00-012 of the Comptroller-General’s Office of the Republic criticized by the CTV for requiring trade union officials to submit to the Office a sworn declaration of assets within 30 days of taking office and within 30 days of the date on which their term of office ends, the Committee notes that the Government states that: (1) the Comptroller-General’s Office of the Republic is a body that is functionally autonomous and even supervises the administration of the Government; (2) the resolution at issue does not require intervention by the Comptroller’s Office in matters relating to the administration of trade union funds; and (3) as regards the resolution, there is a wide range of appeal procedures available to persons whose rights have been infringed, which have not been used by the complainant. In this respect, the Committee notes with concern that this resolution is discriminatory in nature, in that it is only applied to trade union officials. In these circumstances, the Committee urges the Government to ensure that resolution No. 01-00-012 of the Comptroller-General’s Office of the Republic is repealed.
7. 514. As regards the allegation concerning the hostile statements made by the President of the Republic against the CTV and displaying favouritism towards the Bolivarian Workers’ Force following a strike in the petroleum sector, the Committee notes that the Government states that it was logical for the Government to deplore the attitude of the Federation of Oil, Chemical and Allied Workers of Venezuela (FEDEPETROL), supported by the CTV, in calling a strike in the country’s key industry without going through all the legal procedures (submission of a list of demands, conciliation proceedings, minimum services, etc.) and entailing severe losses for the country. In this respect, although it can understand the concerns expressed by the Government, the Committee cannot accept threatening statements by the authorities of the country. Moreover, the Committee observes with concern that this is not the first occasion on which the government authorities have made such statements against the CTV (see 324th Report, paragraph 994). In these circumstances, the Committee deeply deplores the statements made to the media by the authorities in connection with the strike held by petroleum sector workers and once again urges the authorities to refrain from making threatening statements against the CTV or any other trade union affiliated to this Confederation.
8. 515. As regards the allegations concerning the refusal by the SIDOR-Consorcio Amazonia enterprise to negotiate a collective agreement, despite the fact that the trade union met the requirement laid down in the current collective agreement to deposit a draft new collective agreement with the Zona de Hierro labour inspectorate 90 days before the expiry of its term, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the parties have reached an agreement.
9. 516. The Committee draws the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and recommendations to the legislative aspects of this case.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 517. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee urges the Government to ensure that the Bill for the protection of trade union guarantees and freedoms and the Bill for the democratic rights of workers are withdrawn.
   • (b) The Committee once again strongly urges the Government to take steps without delay to repeal or amend the trade union standards and decrees adopted since the arrival of the new Government that are in violation of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98.
   • (c) The Committee once again strongly urges the Government to put an end to the functions of the National Electoral Council as it is established in the National Constitution and to repeal the Special Statute on the renewal of trade union leadership. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any steps taken in this regard. Moreover, if this Statute has been applied from the date of its promulgation to that of the examination of this case, the Committee urges the Government to take steps to ensure that the trade unions which so wish may hold new elections governed by the provisions of their by-laws and without any interference whatsoever by the authorities or by bodies that have nothing to do with workers’ organizations.
   • (d) The Committee strongly urges the Government to ensure that resolution No. 01-00-012 of the Comptroller-General’s Office of the Republic, which requires trade union officials to submit a sworn declaration of assets at the beginning and end of their term of office, is repealed.
   • (e) The Committee deeply deplores the statements made to the media by the authorities in connection with the strike held by petroleum sector workers and once again urges them to refrain from making threatening statements against the CTV or any other trade union affiliated to this Confederation.
   • (f) The Committee draws the attention of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and recommendations to the legislative aspects of this case.