Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 411, June 2025

Case No 3440 (Peru) - Complaint date: 09-FEB-23 - Follow-up

Allegations: The complainant organization alleges the violation of freedom of association as a result of the arrest of a trade union leader during a national strike

1. 512. The complaint is contained in a communication from the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) dated 9 February 2023.
2. 513. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 12 September 2023 and 15 April 2025.
3. 514. Peru 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), and the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151).

A. The complainant’s allegations

1. 515. The complainant organization alleges that the Government violated the right to freedom of association and failed to comply with Article 3 of Convention No. 87 by arbitrarily and disproportionately arresting its Human Rights Secretary, Mr Ernesto Fausto Tapia Chávez (hereinafter the CGTP Human Rights Secretary), during a strike in 2023.
2. 516. The complainant organization maintains that, on 1 February 2023, it submitted a communication to the competent authority of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion (MTPE) regarding a general and indefinite strike called to begin at midnight on 9 February 2023. The complainant organization claims that, although the assessment of the legality of the strike was still under deliberation by the labour administration, given that it had been ruled on only in the first administrative instance, the law enforcement agencies abused their authority against workers exercising their right to strike and arbitrarily arrested the CGTP Human Rights Secretary in the early hours of 9 February in the city of Pucallpa (department of Ucayali).
3. 517. The complainant organization states that the arrest of its Human Rights Secretary is part of a series of arbitrary arrests of social leaders by the National Police and the Armed Forces, which have been a constant feature of the various civic protests against the current presidential regime. Furthermore, the complainant organization points out that it is not consistent with the rule of law for law enforcement agencies to arrest rank-and-file workers and their union leaders. In its complaint, the complainant organization requests that the Government be required to report on the existence of directives from the National Police and/or the Armed Forces regarding the arrest of trade union leaders exercising their right to strike, to put in place mechanisms instructing the National Police to respect the right to strike and to guarantee freedom of expression for all workers and citizens who exercise it.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 518. In its communication dated 12 September 2023, the Government conveys the information provided by the Ministry of the Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office in relation to the alleged arrest of the complainant organization’s Human Rights Secretary.
2. 519. In official communication No. 3755-2023-COMASGEN PNP/SEC-UMITRDOC, the Ministry of the Interior reports that the aforementioned union leader was arrested in the early hours of 9 February 2023 on suspicion of committing a breach of the peace (rioting) during the mobilization of small vehicles in a convoy (national strike) through the main streets of the city of Pucallpa, a protest staged by the complainant organization and other regional trade union movements. According to the information provided by the Ministry: (i) a group of demonstrators, led by the CGTP Human Rights Secretary and another individual, blocked the entrance to a food market, citing their right to force businesses to close, as some farmers and traders were going about their daily business and were not observing the national strike; (ii) despite police instructions and the fact that their orderly and peaceful passage had been arranged, the demonstrators did not comply with what had been agreed, prompting a riot police unit to intervene in order to clear the roads and allow access to the food market; and (iii) the unit had to resort to increasing force to remove the demonstrators, and it was in this context that the union leader and the other individual were arrested. The Ministry of the Interior also reports that the arrest was communicated by telephone to a representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, namely the Provincial Deputy Prosecutor of the First Provincial Corporate Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Callería, and that both detainees were handed over to the First Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Coronel Portillo on 10 February 2023.
3. 520. In official communication No. 4428-2023-MP-FN-SEGFIN, the Public Prosecutor’s Office reports that the First Provincial Corporate Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Coronel Portillo-Segundo is in charge of investigating case No. 3006014501-2023-163 against the CGTP Human Rights Secretary for alleged rioting. The Service also reports that the union leader was released on 10 February 2023 by decision of the Provincial Deputy Prosecutor of the First Provincial Corporate Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Callería.
4. 521. By a communication dated 15 April 2025, the Government forwards information from the Public Prosecutor's Office indicating that case No. 3006014501 2023 163 has given rise to an indictment by the First Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Coronel Portillo.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 522. The Committee notes that, in the present case, it is alleged that the right to freedom of association was violated as a result of the arrest of Mr Ernesto Fausto Tapia Chávez, the Human Rights Secretary of the complainant organization (hereinafter the CGTP Human Rights Secretary), during a strike in 2023.
2. 523. The Committee notes the complainant organization’s claim that the law enforcement agencies arbitrarily and disproportionately arrested its Human Rights Secretary in the early hours of 9 March 2023 in the city of Pucallpa (department of Ucayali) during a general and indefinite strike called by the complainant organization. The Committee notes the complainant organization’s assertion that the arrests of rank-and-file workers and their union leaders by the National Police and the Armed Forces are not consistent with the rule of law and that the arrest of its Human Rights Secretary is part of a series of arrests of social leaders in the context of civic demonstrations against the current presidential regime.
3. 524. The Committee also takes note of the information communicated by the Government, which indicates that the CGTP Human Rights Secretary and another individual were arrested on the date and at the place specified on suspicion of committing a breach of the peace (rioting). According to this information: (i) a group of demonstrators, allegedly under the leadership of the aforementioned secretary, blocked the entrance to a food market in the city because some farmers and traders inside were not observing the national strike; (ii) despite police instructions and the fact that their orderly and peaceful passage had been arranged, the demonstrators did not comply with what had been agreed, prompting the intervention of a riot police unit and the subsequent arrest of the union leader and the other individual; (iii) the police reported the arrest to a representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, namely the Provincial Deputy Prosecutor of the First Provincial Corporate Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Callería, and both detainees were handed over to the First Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Coronel Portillo on 10 February 2023; (iv) on the same date, the union leader was released by order of the aforementioned representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office; and (v) an investigation was opened against him for alleged rioting (case No. 3006014501-2023-163) under the direction of the aforementioned Prosecutor’s Office of Coronel Portillo-Segundo, the case being under indictment.
4. 525. The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the parties, in particular regarding the arrest of the complainant organization’s Human Rights Secretary on suspicion of rioting (blocking roads and the entrance to a food market) during a general and indefinite strike called in 2023 by the complainant organization. The Committee notes that, although the Government reports that the union leader was released the day after his arrest, the complainant organization alleges that his detention was arbitrary and disproportionate. In this regard, the Committee observes that, according to the release order submitted by the Government, the prosecutor responsible considered that the requirements for imposing a measure as burdensome as pretrial detention on the CGTP Human Rights Secretary were not met since, among other reasons, there was no strong, well-founded evidence for reasonably believing that he had committed a crime, and it was necessary to carry out further investigations into the circumstances of his arrest and to determine whether he had made prior arrangements to riot during the strike. The Committee notes the Government’s assertion that a prosecutor’s investigation is under way against the CGTP Human Rights Secretary for the rioting allegedly committed during the strike. In this respect, the Committee recalls that, while persons engaged in trade union activities or holding trade union office cannot claim immunity in respect of the ordinary criminal law, the arrest of, and criminal charges brought against, trade unionists may only be based on legal requirements that in themselves do not infringe the principles of freedom of association [see Compilation of decisions of the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, para. 133]. The Committee also recalls that no one should be deprived of their freedom or be subject to penal sanctions for the mere fact of organizing or participating in a peaceful strike and that criminal sanctions may only be imposed if during a strike violence against persons or property or other infringements of common law are committed for which there are provisions set out in legal instruments and which are punishable thereunder [Compilation, paras 971 and 972]. The Committee also recalls that the police authorities should be given precise instructions so that, in cases where public order is not seriously threatened, people are not arrested simply for having organized or participated in a demonstration [Compilation, para. 230]. The Committee emphasizes that judicial proceedings related to union matters must be carried out without undue delay to ensure the effective protection of freedom of association. The Committee trusts that the remedies still pending resolution in this case will be resolved as soon as possible. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the penal action related to the participation of the complainant organization’s Human Rights Secretary in the 2023 strike.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 526. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the penal action related to the participation of the Human Rights Secretary of the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) in the 2023 strike.
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to give precise instructions to the police authorities so that, in cases where public order is not seriously threatened, people are not arrested simply for having organized or participated in a demonstration.