Interim Report - Report No 388, March 2019

Case No 2923 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 13-JAN-12 - Active

Allegation: Murder of a trade union leader

1. 329. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2017 meeting, when it presented an interim report to the Governing Body [see 381st Report, paras 386–398, approved by the Governing Body at its 329th Session (March 2017)].
2. 330. The Government sent new observations in communications dated 27 April 2018 and 28 January 2019.
3. 331. El Salvador has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135), and the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 332. In its previous examination of the case in March 2017, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 381st Report, para. 398]:
   • (a) The Committee, deeply deploring and condemning the murder of trade union leader Mr Victoriano Abel Vega, once again firmly urges the Government to keep it informed of developments relating to the criminal proceedings initiated, and trusts that tangible progress will be made without delay regarding clarification of the facts, identification of the guilty parties and the imposition of commensurate punishment in accordance with the law, with a view to preventing such types of criminal offences. The Committee once again urges the Government and all the competent authorities to take all possible steps in accordance with the law to identify the perpetrators of this murder without delay and to ensure that the alleged anti-union motives behind it also keep on being investigated in depth.
   • (b) The Committee once again requests the Government and the complainant organizations to keep it informed of any pending issues relating to the allegations of dismissal of the union’s founding members, including referring the allegations to the competent authorities.
   • (c) Lastly, the Committee draws the Governing Body’s attention to the extremely serious and urgent nature of this case.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 333. In its communication of 27 April 2018, the Government reiterates that the murder of Mr Victoriano Abel Vega is considered a serious case by the competent authorities and the Ministry of Labour, and that appropriate steps are being taken to shed light on the murder. In this respect, the Government indicates that, during the direct contacts mission concerning the application of Convention No. 87 that took place in July 2017 as follow-up to the 2016 conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference, the Office of the Public Prosecutor said that “four lines of investigation were being examined, including possible anti-union motives, but they did not seem to be the most likely motives”. The Government then states that, in March 2018, the Minister of Labour sent an official communication to the Public Prosecutor, requesting that he send her an updated report on the investigation of the case. The Government adds that, on 18 April 2018, the Public Prosecutor responded to her request, indicating that: (i) the investigation remains open and is being handled by the Special Investigation Unit against Organized Crime; (ii) certain proceedings that were pending have been conducted by the Elite Division against Organized Crime of the National Civil Police; (iii) the investigation still has not produced concrete material evidence on the perpetrators or the involvement of any persons in the events concerned; and (iv) once such evidence has been obtained, the appropriate criminal proceedings will be launched and reported in detail. Lastly, the Government states that the Ministry of Labour is taking all steps at its disposal to shed light on the murder of Mr Vega; however, the Ministry notes with regret that, despite all its requests to expedite the investigation, it has not yet been completed. In its second communication dated 28 January 2019, the Government indicates that on 17 January 2019, the Ministry of Labour sent a note to the new National Public Prosecutor in order to inform him of the importance of the investigation into the assassination of Mr Vega to the ILO supervisory bodies and in order to once again request the submission of an updated report on the process undertaken by the Office of the General Prosecutor’s Special Unit on Organized Crimes.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 334. The Committee recalls that the present case refers to the murder, on 16 January 2010, of Mr Victoriano Abel Vega, general secretary of the Union of Municipal Workers of Santa Ana (SITRAMSA), who, according to the complainant organizations, had already received death threats for his union activities.
2. 335. In its last examination of the case, after highlighting once again the extremely serious nature of the allegations, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that meetings and communication with the competent bodies had continued in order to expedite the investigation but that, despite such measures, it had not yet been possible to identify the perpetrators. The Government also indicated that the possibility of a link between Mr Victoriano Abel Vega’s trade union activities and his murder had been included in the lines of investigation. The Committee notes the Government’s observations of April 2018 and January 2019, according to which: (i) in 2017, the Office of the Public Prosecutor indicated that four lines of investigation were being examined, including possible anti-union motives, but they did not seem to be the most likely motives; (ii) according to the information provided by the Office of the Public Prosecutor in 2018, the investigation remains open and is being handled by the Special Investigation Unit against Organized Crime, with various proceedings conducted by the Elite Division against Organized Crime of the National Civil Police; (iii) the investigation still has not produced concrete material evidence on the perpetrators or the involvement of any persons in the events concerned; and (iv) the Minister of Labour sent a note to the new National Public Prosecutor in January 2019 in order to inform him of the importance of the investigation into the assassination of Mr Vega to the ILO supervisory bodies and in order to once again request the submission of an updated report on the process undertaken by the Office of the General Prosecutor’s Special Unit on Organized Crimes.
3. 336. While noting the information provided and the Government’s reiterated commitment to ensuring that crime does not go unpunished, the Committee notes with deep concern that, nine years after the events, the authorities have still not identified the perpetrators of this murder or any accomplices, and that no tangible progress has been reported regarding the investigation. Moreover, the Committee notes with regret that it has not received specific information on the investigative measures taken to date by the competent authorities and, in particular, on the contact made by the Office of the Public Prosecutor with the trade union organization of which the victim was general secretary in order to gather any available evidence on the possible anti-union motives of the murder. Lastly, the Committee observes that the Ministry of Labour notes with regret that its various requests to expedite the investigation have not resulted in its completion.
4. 337. In this respect, the Committee recalls that acts of intimidation and physical violence against trade unionists constitute a grave violation of the principles of freedom of association and the failure to protect against such acts amounts to a de facto impunity, which can only reinforce a climate of fear and uncertainty highly detrimental to the exercise of trade union rights. The Committee also emphasizes that it is important that all instances of violence against trade union members, whether these be murders, disappearances or threats, are properly investigated and that the mere fact of initiating an investigation does not mark the end of the Government’s work; rather, the Government must do all within its power to ensure that such investigations lead to the identification and punishment of the perpetrators [see Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, paras 90 and 102]. In the light of the foregoing, recalling that the obligation to comply with the principles of freedom of association falls not only on the Ministry of Labour but also on the Government and on all the public authorities in the country, the Committee once again urges the Government and all the competent authorities to make, in a coordinated manner and as a matter of urgency and priority, all the necessary efforts, including the provision of the required human and financial resources, to expedite the investigations under way in order to identify and punish without delay both the instigators and the perpetrators of the murder of Mr Victoriano Abel Vega. In particular, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures so that the competent authorities (especially the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the police and the judiciary) ensure that when conducting the investigations, special attention is paid to exchanging information with the complainant organizations in the present case with a view to clarifying whether this crime has had an anti-union nature. Firmly hoping that tangible progress will be made in this regard, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic will provide detailed information on the status and findings of the investigations and the relevant criminal proceedings without delay.
5. 338. As regards the alleged dismissals of founding members of the Union of Municipal Workers of San Sebastián Salitrillo (SITMASSS), the establishment of which had been supported by Mr Victoriano Abel Vega, and the Committee’s reiterated request to the Government and the complainant organizations to keep it informed of any pending issues relating to these allegations, including the referral of the cases of dismissals to the competent authorities, the Committee observes that neither the Government nor the complainant organizations have provided the information requested in recommendation (b) of its previous examination of this case and therefore is not in a position to pursue its examination of this aspect of the case.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 339. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee once again urges the Government and all the competent authorities to make in a coordinated manner, as a matter of urgency and priority, all the necessary efforts including the provision of the required human and financial resources to expedite the investigations under way, in order to identify and punish without delay both the instigators and the perpetrators of the murder of Mr Victoriano Abel Vega. In particular, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the competent authorities pay special attention to exchanging information with the complainant organizations in the present case with a view to clarifying whether this crime has had an anti-union nature. Firmly hoping that tangible progress will be made in this regard, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic will provide detailed information on the status and findings of the investigations and the relevant criminal proceedings without delay.
   • (b) The Committee once again draws the Governing Body’s attention to the extremely serious and urgent nature of this case.