Interim Report - Report No 401, March 2023

Case No 3431 (Angola) - Complaint date: 31-MAY-22 - Closed

Allegations: The complainant organization alleges that there have been attempts to marginalize the União Nacional dos Trabalhadores de Angola – Confederação Sindical (UNTA-CS) involving attacks on freedom of expression, government interference in UNTA-CS affairs and threats of deregistration; all in a general climate of increased violence against trade unionists and workers

1. 85. At its 110th Session (June 2022), the International Labour Conference approved the Credentials Committee’s proposal – made in accordance with article 32, paragraph 6 of the Conference Standing Orders – to refer to the Committee on Freedom of Association the issues raised by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in its objection concerning the nomination of the Workers’ delegation of Angola.
2. 86. The issues raised by the ITUC are contained in a communication dated 31 May 2022 and a communication dated 5 June 2022 provided in response to a request from the Credentials Committee.
3. 87. The Government provided information on these issues in communications dated 2, 4 and 7 June 2022 and in a communication dated 1 February 2023.
4. 88. Angola has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Allegations of the complainant organization and examination of the case by the Credentials Committee

1. 89. In its communication dated 31 May 2022, the ITUC lodged a complaint with the Credentials Committee concerning the nomination of the Workers’ delegate and adviser of Angola to the 110th Session of the Conference (May–June 2022), and provided further information in this regard dated 5 June 2022. This complaint and the observations provided by the Government in its communications dated 2, 4 and 7 June 2022 were examined by the Credentials Committee, as set out below:
   • 28. The Committee received an objection presented by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) concerning the nomination of the Workers’ delegate and adviser of Angola. The author of the objection challenged the exclusion from the Workers’ delegation of the União Nacional dos Trabalhadores de Angola – Confederação Sindical (UNTA-CS), the country’s most representative workers’ organization which had always been included in the tripartite delegation. The Government had unilaterally decided to replace it with a representative of another trade union, the Força Sindical – Confederação Sindical (FS-CS), and refused to pay for the travel and subsistence expenses of the UNTA CS representative to the Conference. This exclusion came at a time when a UNTA-CS representative had been accused of colluding with foreign forces, after criticizing another government during the last session of the Conference, and in a general context of increased violence against trade unionists and workers. In particular, a social movement led by the Sindicato Nacional do Médicos de Angola (SINMEA), an affiliate union of the UNTA CS, had resulted in threats by the Government of dismissal, suspension of salaries, strike breaking and other forcible actions. In April 2022, the Deputy Secretary-General of the SINMEA had been found dead in suspicious circumstances. In this context, the exclusion of the UNTA-CS, following years of representation, appeared intentional. In addition, the Government had reportedly threatened to deregister the UNTA-CS. Contrary to the Government’s statements, the UNTA-CS had not attended any meeting and had not agreed to any rotation system. The ITUC noted that the UNTA-CS was the only worker’s organization, out of the three members of the National Committee for the ILO, not accredited in the Workers’ delegation which, together with the manifestly unbalanced nature of the delegation, raised concerns as to the exclusion of the UNTA-CS.
   • 29. In three written communications addressed to the Committee in response to its request, the Government indicated that it had nominated the Workers’ delegation following a meeting of the National Committee for the ILO. This Committee, created in 1990, was a tripartite body under the purview of the Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security, composed of the most representative, legally constituted, employers’ and workers’ organizations. Its current composition had been established by a Ministerial order in February 2022 and included representatives of three trade unions, the UNTA-CS, the CGSILA and the FS-CS. This Committee held a virtual meeting on 31 March 2022 which, contrary to what the ITUC stated, was attended by the Deputy Secretary-General of the UNTA-CS. In addition to providing the minutes of the meeting, the Government informed the Committee that this kind of online meetings are recorded. In that meeting, the composition of the delegation to the Conference was approved and it was unanimously decided that the participation of members of the Committee to the sessions of the Conference would be determined on a rotational basis. The decision took into account that for the past 15 years, Angolan worker participation at the Conference had been ensured exclusively through the UNTA-CS and its sole representative, thus excluding other organizations members of the National Committee for the ILO. This system would henceforth give every member the opportunity to participate, unless for specific reasons continuity of presence at the Conference was necessary. The Government recalled that it had recently ratified the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144).
   • 30. On the question of the travel and subsistence expenses, the Government indicated that Ms M. Francisco of the UNTA-CS was not part of the delegation to the Conference but a regular Workers’ member of the ILO Governing Body and that the travel and subsistence expenses related to her participation to the Governing Body were to be covered in accordance with Annex IV to the Standing Orders of the Governing Body. Otherwise, the Government had complied with the obligation of payment for every member of the national tripartite delegation to the Conference. The Government expressed its indignation at the accusation relating to the SINMEA, recalled that it had responded to this matter in a letter to the International Labour Standards Department of the Office, and concluded that the matter did not fall within the purview of the Committee.
   • 31. The Government additionally produced a letter, signed by the Secretary-General of the UNTA-CS and addressed to the ITUC, which stated that the UNTA-CS had elected its Deputy Secretary-General as a new member to the National Committee for the ILO during its VIth Congress in August 2021. The letter further stated that the Secretariat of the National Executive Committee of the UNTA-CS had not been instructed to file an objection and complaint, and that, since the organs of the UNTA-CS did not endorse it, the National Executive Committee would expect its resolution. The ITUC expressed surprise in receiving a letter from one of its own affiliates through the Government, and reported that Ms Francisco, member of the ILO Governing Body and member of the Confederal Council of the UNTA-CS, had no knowledge of the letter presented by the Government. It was thus suspected that the Government was interfering in the affairs of the UNTA-CS.
   • 32. The Committee notes that the Government uses the mechanism of the National Committee for the ILO to obtain the designation of the Employers’ and Workers’ delegation to the Conference. The Committee wishes to stress, however, that the existence of a national tripartite body does not absolve the Government from its obligation to undertake full consultations with all the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations in the country.
   • 33. The Committee notes that, although it addressed several requests for clarification to both the objecting organization and the Government, the information provided is too contradictory to permit the Committee to reach conclusions on the conformity of the nomination of the Angolan Workers’ delegation with the requirements of article 3, paragraph 5 of the ILO Constitution. The decisive question before the Credentials Committee – whether the alleged rotation system, whose application purportedly resulted in the exclusion of the UNTA-CS from the delegation to this session of the Conference, was approved by it or not – remains open. It hinges on whether the Deputy Secretary-General of the UNTA-CS attended, in fact, the virtual meeting of the National Committee for the ILO on 31 March 2022 – a crucial fact on which the objecting organization and the Government differ. More generally, the information provided by both parties makes the Committee believe that the situation described by the objecting organization would merit further investigation for which the Committee lacks jurisdiction. The Committee considers that this could best be done by referring the case to the Committee on the Freedom of Association of the Governing Body, it being understood that this does not limit the receivability of objections based on the same facts or allegations that the same or other organizations may submit to the Committee at future sessions of the Conference.
   • 34. The Committee unanimously considers that the objection before it raises issues which relate to violations of the principles of freedom of association which have not already been examined by the Committee on the Freedom of Association of the Governing Body. It proposes that the Conference refer the question to that Committee, in accordance with article 32, paragraph 6, of the Conference Standing Orders.
   • …
   • 114. The Credentials Committee adopts this report unanimously. It submits it to the Conference in order that the Conference may take note of it and adopt the proposals contained in paragraphs 11, 18, 26 and 34.
   • 10 June 2022

B. The Government’s further observations

1. 90. In its communication dated 1 February 2023, the Government merely provides evidence that it paid the travel and accommodation expenses of the members of the Employers’ and Workers’ delegations, without providing any further explanation of the reasons for the absence of UNTA-CS in the Workers’ delegation, or regarding the ITUC’s other allegations that justified the matter being referred to the Committee.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 91. The Committee notes that the present case was referred to it by the International Labour Conference upon a proposal of the Credentials Committee – made in accordance with article 32, paragraph 6, of the Conference Standing Orders – to refer the issues raised by the ITUC in its objection concerning the nomination of the Workers’ delegation of Angola to the Committee on Freedom of Association. The Credentials Committee considered that the objection raised issues that went beyond representation at the Conference. The Committee notes that the Credentials Committee indicated that the information provided by the two parties led it to believe that the situation described by the objecting organization merited further investigation that fell outside of its jurisdiction. While recalling that the matter of representation at the International Labour Conference falls within the competence of the Credentials Committee of the Conference, the Committee will proceed with the examination of this case in accordance with article 32, paragraph 6, of the Conference Standing Orders and its mandate to review issues raised by the Credentials Committee.
2. 92. The Committee notes that the ITUC’s allegations make reference to attempts to marginalize UNTA-CS involving attacks on freedom of expression, government interference in UNTA-CS affairs and threats of deregistration; all in a general climate of increased violence against trade unionists and workers.
3. 93. The Committee notes the complainant organization’s allegation that UNTA-CS is the most representative workers’ organization, which justifies the nomination of one of its members as the Workers’ delegate to the Conference, but on the occasion of the 110th Session of the Conference (May–June 2022), UNTA-CS was excluded from the Workers’ delegation in favour of another organization. The Committee notes the Credentials Committee’s indications that the crucial matter before it was whether a rotation system, the application of which would have resulted in the exclusion of UNTA-CS from the Conference delegation, had been approved by UNTA-CS, and that this matter, in view of the contradictory elements brought to its attention, could not be settled. However, the Committee notes that according to the complainant organization the Government decided to replace the UNTA-CS delegate with a representative from another trade union after a UNTA-CS representative was accused of colluding with foreign powers for having criticized another government during the previous session of the Conference. While taking due note of the fact that the question of whether there is a rotation agreement remains open, the Committee wishes to recall that freedom of opinion and expression and, in particular, the right not to be penalized for one’s opinions, is an essential corollary of freedom of association, and workers, employers and their organizations should enjoy freedom of opinion and expression in their meetings, publications and in the course of their trade union activities [see Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, para. 235]. It should also be recalled that any decision concerning the participation of workers’ organizations in a tripartite body should be taken in full consultation with all the trade unions whose representativity has been objectively proved [see Compilation, para. 1572]. The Committee requests the Government to engage in constructive dialogue with all the parties concerned with a view to determining, together with the parties, objective and transparent criteria for the designation of workers’ representatives to the 111th Session of the Conference (June 2023). The Committee requests the Government to provide a detailed report on the discussions held to this end, the persons present and the agreement between the parties, by the next meeting of the Committee (June 2023).
4. 94. Regarding the allegations of government interference in the internal affairs of UNTA-CS, the Committee notes that the Credentials Committee observed that the Government had provided a letter from UNTA-CS indicating that the Secretariat of the National Executive Committee of UNTA-CS had not received instructions to lodge a complaint with the Credentials Committee and that the ITUC had expressed astonishment at receiving a letter from one of its affiliates through the Government, especially as a member of the ILO Governing Body, who is also a member of the Confederal Council of UNTA-CS, had not been aware of the letter. The Committee also notes that the ITUC alleges that the Government threatened UNTA-CS with deregistration. While it regrets that the complainant organization has not provided further information on these matters, the Committee considers that employers’ and workers’ organizations must be allowed to conduct their activities in defence of their interests in a climate that is free from pressure, intimidation, harassment, threats or efforts to discredit them or their leaders. The Committee also wishes to recall that measures of suspension or dissolution by the administrative authority constitute serious infringements of the principles of freedom of association [see Compilation, para. 986].
5. 95. With regard to the climate of increased violence against trade unionists and workers, the Committee notes the ITUC’s allegations that a social movement led by the Sindicato Nacional do Médicos de Angola (SINMEA), a union affiliated to UNTA-CS, had resulted in threats of dismissal, suspension of salaries, strike-breaking and other coercive acts by the Government. The ITUC also reports the death of the deputy Secretary-General of SINMEA in suspicious circumstances. This context leads the ITUC to believe that the exclusion from the Angolan delegation of the UNTA-CS representative was not a coincidence. The Committee notes in this regard that, in its observations provided in response to a request from the Credentials Committee, the Government denied the allegations of harassment and threats of dismissal against SINMEA and said it was outraged by the remarks made by the ITUC in this regard. In the absence of further information from the Government, the Committee would like to recall that a free and independent trade union movement can only develop in a climate free of violence, threats and pressure, and it is for the Government to guarantee that trade union rights can develop normally [see Compilation, para. 87]. Regarding the allegations concerning the death of the Deputy Secretary-General of SINMEA, recalling that it is important that all instances of violence against trade union members, whether these be murders, disappearances or threats, are properly investigated [see Compilation, para. 102], the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether a judicial investigation has been opened.
6. 96. In the context of an alleged climate of increased violence against trade unionists and workers, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure full respect for freedom of expression, association and the basic civil liberties necessary for the full realization of trade union rights.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 97. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee requests the Government to engage in a constructive dialogue with all the parties concerned with a view to determining, together with the parties, objective and transparent criteria for the nomination of workers’ representatives to the 111th Session of the Conference (June 2023). The Committee requests the Government to provide a detailed report on the discussions held to this end, the persons present and the agreement between the parties, by the next meeting of the Committee (June 2023).
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether a judicial investigation has been opened into the death in suspicious circumstances of the Deputy Secretary-General of SINMEA.
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure full respect for freedom of expression, association and the basic civil liberties necessary for the full realization of trade union rights.