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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
- 110. In its previous examination of the case in March 2010, the Committee formulated the following recommendations on the issues that were still pending [see 356th Report, paras 197–199]:
- – The Committee requests the Government to send the text of the revised Practice of Medicine Act as soon as it has been adopted and to take account of the Committee’s conclusions in the present case. The Committee also requests the Government to supply information on the outcome of the FMV elections convened for 20 January 2010 within the framework of the CNE. The Committee notes the FMV’s statement that for years it has met the legal requirements for holding such elections, that the Government maintains that there had been omissions and that the CNE called for rectifications to be made. The Committee observes, according to its understanding of the Government’s reply, that the FMV is an organization of doctors’ associations (and not a trade union federation) and as such it cannot engage in bargaining in accordance with the “purity principle” (as established by section 118 of the Organic Labour Act). This argument was previously examined by the Committee and the FMV indicated that the legislation in force gives it the right to engage in collective bargaining on behalf of its members.
- – The Committee notes with regret that in this case, as in previous ones, the proceedings and appeals dealt with by the CNE and its decisions have resulted in the FMV elections being delayed for years. The Committee requests the Government once again to ensure that the CNE refrains from interfering in elections of organizations. The Committee reminds the Government that it previously asked it to promote collective bargaining between the FMV and doctors’ associations, on the one hand, and the medical sector employers, on the other, pending the amendment of the Practice of Medicine Act. The Committee again requests the Government to guarantee this collective bargaining and regrets that the Government has previously failed to do so.
- – Finally, it is the Committee’s understanding (the Government has not sent any specific information in this respect) that the refusal to grant trade union leave to FMV officials is based on the same reasoning as the refusal to engage in collective bargaining. The Committee requests the Government to maintain the existing entitlement to trade union leave of FMV leaders.
- 111. In its communication dated 18 May 2010, the Government refers to the new rules adopted on 28 May 2009 by the National Electoral Council (CNE) on technical advice and logistical support for trade union elections and states that these rules define the parameters for action by the electoral authority in response to voluntary requests from trade unions for technical advice and logistical support for holding trade union elections. These provisions protect the principles and fundamental rights to active participation, trade union democracy, suffrage by men and women trade union members, free choice and re-election of trade union representatives, guaranteeing reliability, equality, impartiality, transparency, publicity of proceedings, good faith, procedural economy and efficiency, and respect for freedom of association. There is thus no interference of any kind by the CNE in the elections of the executive committees of the country’s trade unions. The Government requests the Committee to take due note of its arguments, as it has informed it repeatedly in previous replies that the recommendations of the different ILO bodies have been complied with by amending the former CNE rules to limit its action to providing support only when requested to do so by a trade union. The Government therefore fails to understand why the Committee continues to single it out for alleged interference in trade union elections even when its observations have been heeded and implemented.
- 112. The Government adds that the Venezuelan Medical Federation (FMV) is composed of doctors’ associations, which in turn consist of both workers and employers. Section 410 of the Organic Labour Act provides that trade unions may be for workers or employers, and section 118 of the regulations implementing the Organic Labour Act establishes the “purity principle” as follows:
- Prohibition of mixed trade unions (purity principle). Section 118. Establishing a trade union which seeks to represent jointly the interests of workers and employers shall be prohibited ...
- 113. The Government states further that the Organic Labour Act provides that five or more trade unions may establish a federation; however, as has already been mentioned, the FMV does not consist of trade unions, but of doctors’ associations, and therefore does not have the status of a federation as stipulated by law, since doctors’ associations are not trade unions. The FMV cannot claim to be a trade union as it is a professional association and, as such, applied to the CNE for registration on 31 May 2005. The Government accordingly requests the Committee to take due note of this argument.
- 114. The Government states that in 2008, the authorities of the FMV, in a communication addressed to the CNE, requested its support in holding its elections. The FMV electoral committee subsequently sent a communication to the CNE in 2009 requesting the Trade Union Affairs Department of the CNE to assist it in preparing its election plan so that the new electoral committee of that Federation of professional associations could issue a call for elections. The CNE provided all the support that the FMV had voluntarily requested; however, according to the CNE itself, there is no information indicating that the Federation has set up an electoral committee to proceed with its elections. Neither does the CNE have any information as to whether the Federation has given up its declared intention to hold elections.
- 115. In conclusion, the Government points out that all of the above attests to the fact that neither the CNE nor any Venezuelan state body has refused to support and further the election process for the executive committee of the FMV (consisting of doctors’ associations and not trade unions, as affirmed by the Federation itself). On the contrary, it is common knowledge that the public institutions have abided faithfully and fully by the constitutional and legal framework in force.
- 116. The Committee recalls that the allegations in this case refer to refusal by the authorities to engage in collective bargaining with the FMV, refusal to grant trade union leave to its officials and obstacles by the authorities to trade union elections in the Federation despite its attempts over the years to hold such elections. When the Committee examined this case for the first time, it requested the Government to amend the Practice of Medicine Act so that, among other things, the FMV would not include both doctors and employers that are owners of medical establishments and, in the meantime, pending amendment of the Act, to promote collective bargaining between the FMV and the doctors’ associations with the public employing bodies [see 340th Report, para. 1441], so that the Federation could continue to bargain collectively as authorized by law, as it had done. The Government informed the Committee that the revision of the Practice of Medicine Act was before the National Assembly and that it would keep the Committee informed in that regard [see 356th Report, para. 192].
- 117. The Committee takes note once again of the Government’s observations on the new rules of the CNE and the voluntary nature of its intervention, as well as the fact that the FMV consists of doctors’ associations, not trade unions. The Committee notes that the Government denies that there has been any interference and states that the CNE has provided all the support requested by the FMV in 2009, but that the CNE does not have any information indicating that the FMV has set up an electoral committee or whether it has given up its intention to hold new elections.
- 118. The Committee observes that the Government has not provided any information indicating that the authorities have engaged in collective bargaining with the FMV or that a solution has been found to the problem of the refusal by the authorities to grant trade union leave. The Committee observes that the Government has not informed it of any developments in the process of adoption of the draft Practice of Medicine Act. Lastly, as regards the intervention by the CNE and the elections for the executive committee of the FMV, the Committee notes that the Government had stated that the call for elections had been scheduled for 20 January 2010 [see 356th Report, para. 195] and now states that the CNE does not have any information as to whether the Federation has given up its intention to hold elections or whether an electoral committee has been set up.
- 119. The Committee recalls that, according to the complaint presented by the FMV, the Federation considers that the intervention by the CNE in its trade union elections violates trade union rights and that it submitted to it because it could not avoid it. Given that the Government states that intervention by the CNE is voluntary, the Committee invites the Government to inform the FMV in writing that it may hold its trade union elections without intervention or supervision (including in regard to appeals) by the CNE, to comply with its previous recommendations on the Practice of Medicine Act, and to ensure that collective bargaining takes place between the FMV and the authorities until such time as the Act is amended. Lastly, the Committee once again requests the Government to maintain the existing entitlement to trade union leave of FMV officials.
- 120. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments relating to these issues.
