Seguimiento dado a las recomendaciones del Comité y del Consejo de Administración - Informe núm. 412, Noviembre 2025

Caso núm. 3420 (Uruguay) - Fecha de presentación de la queja:: 09-FEB-22 - Cerrado

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

1. 70. The Committee last examined this case, in which it is alleged that the public education authorities have, on the one hand, restricted the right of teachers’ trade unions to express their opinions on economic and social issues in the workplace and, on the other hand, questioned and modified the use of trade union leave by such organizations, at its meeting in June 2024 [see 407th Report, paras 43–49]. On that occasion, the Committee requested the Government to: (a) report on the status of the complaint filed by FENAPES with the National Human Rights Institution and Ombudsman’s Office (INDDHH) regarding, among other issues, the prohibition of holding union meetings within the educational centre. The Committee also invited the Government to promote dialogue between FENAPES and the National Public Education Administration (ANEP); and (b) report on the status of the criminal complaint filed against teacher and leader Mr Marcel Slamovitz, as well as on the two ongoing criminal complaints related to the use of trade union leave by certain FENAPES leaders during the period 2015–19, and on an ongoing administrative investigation into the possible irregular use of leave by other FENAPES members. The Committee expressed its firm hope that, if deemed necessary, the issues relating to union leave for secondary school teachers could be addressed and reviewed in the future through dialogue and bipartite collective bargaining.
2. 71. In a communication dated 25 September 2024, the Government indicated that: (i) social dialogue and respect are part of ANEP’s ongoing activities; (ii) criminal complaints are pending and the administrative investigation has not yet been completed; and (iii) no new discrepancies have been reported regarding the union leave of secondary school teachers.
3. 72. In a communication dated 8 November 2024, FENAPES alleges that, on 17 October 2024, the management of Liceo No. 3 in the department of Rivera sanctioned trade union activists Rubén Darío Acuña and María Fernanda Madruga for placing material related to a plebiscite on the union notice board.
4. 73. In this regard, in a communication dated 25 February 2025, the Government indicates that this measure consisted of a minor verbal observation, which was not formally recorded and has no impact on the teachers’ careers.
5. 74. In a communication dated 3 September 2025, FENAPES indicated that: (i) the Directorate-General for External Security (DGES), which reports to the Central Governing Board of the National Public Education Administration (ANEP), in compliance with the resolutions and considerations of the governing body, and based on the recommendations made by the Committee on Freedom of Association in June 2023 regarding the sanctions imposed on six teachers at Liceo 1 in San José, decided to revoke those sanctions, thereby eliminating all administrative and economic consequences affecting those teachers (a copy of the minutes signed on 13 August 2025 in the conciliation proceedings convened by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS) is attached, which gives an account of this); (ii) the DGES also concluded the administrative investigation against FENAPES leaders José Olivera and Emiliano Mandacen without any administrative or disciplinary consequences; (iii) the administrative investigation against leaders Mario Bango and Raúl May concluded with a verbal observation, the content and scope of which in disciplinary terms has no administrative or functional consequences; (iv) it remains to be seen what progress and conclusions will be reached in the criminal investigation being conducted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which originated in the complaint filed by the Uruguayan House of Representatives and the former DGES against FENAPES for alleged irregularities in the use of trade union leave.
6. 75. The Committee takes note of this information. The Committee observes that, as recorded in the aforementioned minutes signed on 13 August 2025, the MTSS, ANEP, FENAPES and the Coordinating Committee of Secondary Education Unions agreed, on 29 May 2025, to establish a bipartite forum for dialogue and negotiation, with the aim of reaching a resolution that takes into account the recommendations made by the Committee in the present case. The Committee takes note with satisfaction the creation of this forum for dialogue, as well as the commitment made to implement, within that framework, the recommendations made in the present case. The Committee takes due note that, according to the complainant organization, the sanctions were revoked and the administrative investigations against the leaders were concluded, while the criminal investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, originating from the complaint by the Uruguayan House of Representatives and the former DGES against FENAPES for alleged irregularities in the use of trade union leave, is still pending. The Committee hopes that this investigation will be concluded as soon as possible and expresses its firm hope that any issues that may arise in relation to the matters that gave rise to the complaint can be discussed in the bipartite dialogue and negotiation forum referred to above. On the basis of the foregoing, the Committee considers that this case is closed and does not call for further examination.