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Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
- 97. At its June 2005 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 337th Report, para. 793]:
- (a) As to the allegations concerning delays affecting procedure in the case concerning the dismissal of trade union officials of the Association of Workers of the Fertilizer Sector (more than eight-and-a-half years after the dismissals took place), the Committee notes and deplores the excessive delays affecting the abovementioned case and recalls that proceedings relating to matters of anti-union discrimination, in violation of Convention No. 98, should be examined promptly, so that the necessary corrective measures can be really effective; excessive delay in dealing with anti-union discrimination cases and, in particular, the long delay in deciding proceedings for the reinstatement of dismissed union leaders amounts to a denial of justice and thus a denial of the union rights of those affected. Whilst taking note of the efforts being made by the authorities to resolve the question of delays to legal proceedings, the Committee once again expresses its concern at the delays affecting proceedings, in particular with regard to the present case. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the draft laws it referred to which are aimed at speeding up the operations of the legal system are adopted promptly. The Committee expects that the judicial authority will issue a ruling on the dismissal of the trade union officials of the ATF without delay, given that over eight and a half years have passed since the dismissals took place and requests the Government to communicate a copy of the ruling as soon as it is issued.
- (b) As to the entry effected by employees of FERTICA into the trade union office of the AFT and requisitioning of documents and goods, the Committee deplores the fact that representatives of the enterprise FERTICA unilaterally and without prior warning or consent entered into the office of the ATF trade union and relocated it to other premises belonging to the enterprise. The Committee requests the Government to communicate a copy of the ruling to be handed down as a consequence of the legal process undertaken by the Ministry of Labour for unfair employment practices and expects that the ruling will be handed down in the near future, restitution will be made for the damages and the ATF trade union will have its possessions returned to it.
- (c) The Committee requests the Government to communicate a copy of the ruling dated 8 April 2001, handed down by the Lower Small Claims Court of Puntarenas.
- 98. In its communications of 11 November 2005 and 24 February 2006, the Government indicated its willingness to respond to the Committee’s concerns regarding the delay in the proceedings, and refers to the information given to the Committee of Experts on a number of bills aimed at resolving this problem and drawn up with the ILO’s technical assistance. The Government adds that it has communicated the Committee’s conclusions on the present case to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice and to the general manager of FERTICA. The Supreme Court considers that the situation with regard to Case No. 2367 is unacceptable, and that efforts must be made to ascertain whether the delay is due to the conduct of the parties concerned or of one of the individuals responsible for examining the case. The Supreme Court on 6 September 2005 reported on developments in the proceedings in relation to this case, which have dragged on for more than nine years.
- 99. The Government also reports another case examined by the Lower Small Claims Court of Puntarenas which led to a ruling on 17 February 2005 against the FERTICA company for arbitrarily evicting the supplies store and union office of ATF from their premises. The company was fined 661,200 colones, but lodged an appeal which is still pending.
- 100. The Committee notes this information and, noting that the judicial proceedings in this case have been dragging on for more than nine-and-a-half years, once again expresses its serious concern at the situation which it deeply deplores, reiterates its previous recommendations, and hopes that rulings will be handed down without any further delay. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
