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

Case No 2418 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 30-APR-05 - Closed

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

1. 67. On last examining this case at its March 2006 meeting, the Committee reached the following conclusions [see 340th Report, paras 810–811]:
2. – In view of all the preceding points, the Committee can only conclude that the expulsion of the trade union adviser Mr. Banchón Rivera is essentially linked to the exercise of his duties as trade union adviser and to the exercise of trade union rights, rather than to the exercise of political activities, it being understood that the exercise of trade union rights might at times entail criticisms of the authorities of public employer institutions and/or of socio-economic conditions of concern to trade unions and their members. The Committee notes with regret that a number of violent actions mentioned (although they refer in a very general way to Mr. Banchón Rivera “with other trade unionists” or strikers), such as the exploding of mortar bombs or blocking the entrance to doctors, do constitute an abuse of trade union rights. The Committee points out that: the resolution of the Ministry of the Interior ordering Mr. Banchón Rivera’s expulsion states that only three days were given to him to exercise his right of defence, although the facts dated back to 2002 and 2003; that Mr. Banchón Rivera has been married for years to a Salvadoran national and his expulsion would contravene the principle of family regrouping; that the resolution of the Ministry of the Interior does not provide evidence but refers to reports from the migration authorities and articles in the press; and, as may be ascertained from the resolution itself, that Mr. Banchón Rivera is primarily reproached for a number of activities that are clearly of a trade union rather than a political nature. In these circumstances, the Committee expresses the hope that the Constitutional Court of the Supreme Court of Justice will take all these factors into account when it examines the appeal concerning the expulsion order against the trade union adviser Mr. Banchón Rivera and that it keeps it informed in this respect. The Committee also requests the Government to communicate to it the text of the judgement handed down by the Constitutional Court of the Supreme Court of Justice on this matter.
3. – Finally, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the principle that no person should be dismissed or prejudiced in his or her employment by reason of trade union membership or legitimate trade union activities [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th edition, 1996, para. 696].
4. 68. In its communication of 21 July 2006, the Government transmits the ruling of the Constitutional Court on an appeal for constitutional protection (recurso de amparo), lodged by the wife of Pedro Enrique Banchón Rivera Gallardo, declaring the appeal to be inadmissible on procedural grounds and informing the claimant that she could lodge a new appeal once the procedural errors had been corrected.
5. 69. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government. The Committee brings to the attention of the complainant organization (the Union of Doctors Employed by the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (SIMETRISSS)) the importance of lodging a new constitutional appeal with the Constitutional Court after having corrected the procedural errors pointed out by the Court.