Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 337, June 2005

Case No 2297 (Colombia) - Complaint date: 01-SEP-03 - Closed

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

1. 56. The Committee last examined this case at its November 2004 meeting [see 335th Report, paras. 77-81]. On that occasion, the Committee requested the Government to inform it whether, following the dismissals and transfers alleged to have taken place during the process of restructuring at the General Directorate of Taxation Support of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, any legal action had been taken as a consequence of anti-union discrimination and to transmit its observations regarding the communication of the Trade Union of Communications Workers (USTC) dated 16 June 2004.
2. 57. These allegations refer to: (1) the voluntary retirement plan implemented by the Government in 1995, which involved the termination of more than 3,230 contracts of employment; (2) the removal of the USTC executive board in Maica, Guajira District; and (3) successive collective dismissals through the retirement, liquidation and closure of the TELECOM company, involving the dismissal of more than 7,000 workers and the consequent weakening of the union. The dismissed workers included trade union officials, and in these cases necessary steps were taken to suspend their trade union immunity before the dismissals took place. The complainant also makes other allegations concerning murders and threats against union members and officials, which have already been examined in the context of Case No. 1787 and are therefore not dealt with here.
3. 58. In its communication of 1 April 2005, the Government states with regard to the restructuring of TELECOM that the President of the Republic has the power to eliminate, merge or liquidate national bodies. The Government reiterates the explanations given during the previous examination of the case, stating that the restructuring became necessary because the company had ceased to be viable in terms of pensions, finances and trading, and that Decrees Nos. 1615 and 2062 of 2003 ordered the elimination of public sector posts. The Government adds that, with regard to the union officials, in accordance with section 405 of the Substantive Labour Code, applications to suspend the trade union immunity of the officials concerned were made to the courts.
4. 59. The Committee takes note of this information. As regards the process of restructuring at TELECOM, the Committee notes that, according to the statements of the complainant and of the Government, these measures were general in nature and affected all the workers, whether or not they were union members, and that their trade union immunity was suspended before dismissal took place. Under these circumstances, while it is true that the liquidation of the company weakened the trade union as a result of the considerable reduction in membership, the Committee is unable to determine whether the restructuring was carried out solely with the aim of rationalization, or whether it was a cover for acts of anti-union discrimination.
5. 60. As regards the process of restructuring of the General Directorate of Taxation Support of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the Committee regrets that the Government has not informed it whether or not any legal proceedings have been initiated for anti-union discrimination, and requests it to do so without delay.