Interim Report - Report No 211, November 1981

Case No 1031 (Nicaragua) - Complaint date: 02-MAR-81 - Closed

1. 542. The complaint of the world Confederation of Labour (WCL) is contained in a communication dated 2 March 1981. WCL sent additional information on 8 April 1981. The Government sent its reply in a communication dated 27 April 1981.
2. 543. Nicaragua has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), as well as the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Allegations of the complainant

1. 544. The WCL alleges that simply as a result of a request for a wage increase which was presented by more than 800 workers through their trade union organisation, the most elementary rights of the workers at the Javier Guerra Mill were violated and suppressed.
2. 545. The complainant adds that the Javier Guerra Mill was attacked by the police and that Santos Martinez Ortiz, Róger Pérez and Manuel Guadamuz, trade union leaders of the Mill, were imprisoned along with Enrique Velarde Ortiz, Martha Alvarez and Victor Flores, national officials of the Nicaraguan Confederation of Labour (CTN). Lastly, the WCL alleges that Carlos Huembes, Secretary General of the CTN, was attacked as a result of his trade union functions.

B. Reply of the Government

1. 546. In its communication of 27 April 1981, the Government states that after certain workers at the Javier Guerra Mill had committed acts of sabotage aimed at disrupting production at the Mill, various suspects were arrested for questioning, including Messrs. Santos Martinez, Manuel Guadamuz and Róger Pérez. After 19 days of detention, the latter were released on bail by the Managua Court of Appeal.
2. 547. The Government also states that Messrs. Santos Martinez and Róger Pérez were dismissed from the Javier Guerra Mill because they were suspected of having committed acts of sabotage and because their insufficient work skills had proved detrimental to the Mill's production.

C. Conclusions of the Committee

1. 548. The Committee notes that discrepancies exist between the accounts of the complainant and the Government concerning the arrest of the trade union officials Santos Martinez, Róger Pérez and Manual Guadamuz. According to the complainant, the arrests appeared to be connected with the wage claims presented by the trade union organisation of the Javier Guerra Mill. For the Government, on the other hand, the three trade union officials were suspected of having carried out acts of sabotage against the Mill's production and the arrests were made in order to allow inquiries to be carried out. Be that as it may, the Committee notes that the three trade union officials were freed after 19 days' detention, following a decision by the Appeals Court to grant bail. In this respect, even if the discrepancies between the statements of the Government and the complainant cannot allow any conclusions to be drawn as to the motives behind the arrests, the Committee must, however, draw the attention of the Government to the fact that the detention of trade unionists without specific criminal charges against them involves restrictions of trade union rights.
2. 549. The Committee notes that according to the Government, the trade union officials Santos Martinez and Róger Pérez were dismissed from the Javier Guerra Mill because they were suspected of having committed acts of sabotage and because their insufficient work skills were proving detrimental to the production of the Mill. In this connection, the Committee observes that after a period of detention of 19 days for the purposes of investigating their involvement in acts of sabotage, Santos Martinez and Róger Pérez were released by the Appeals Court. The Committee also notes that according to the complainant, the arrests were connected with wage claims presented by the workers. In these circumstances, the Committee believes that it would be in the interests of developing harmonious labour relations if the Government examined to what extent the dismissals were due to the trade union activities of the workers concerned, so that in the event that the dismissals were made for such reasons, measures might be adopted with a view to the reinstatement of these officials in their work places.
3. 550. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the Government has not replied to the allegations concerning the acts of aggression against Carlos Huembes, Secretary General of the Nicaraguan Confederation of Labour, as a result of his trade union activities, and the arrest of Enrique Velarde Ortiz, Martha Alvarez and Victor Flores, trade union leaders of the Nicaraguan Confederation of labour. The Committee requests the Government to supply its observations on these allegations.

The Committee's recommendations

• Recommendations of the Committee
  551. 551 In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to approve the present interim report, and in particular, the following conclusions:
• The Committee notes that the trade union officials Santos Martinez, Róger Pérez and Manual Guadamuz have been released.
• The Committee draws the attention of the Government to the fact that the detention of trade unionists without specific criminal charges against them involves restrictions on trade union rights.
• The Committee believes that it would be in the interests of developing harmonious labour relations if the Government examined to what extent the dismissals of Santos Martinez and Róger Pérez were the result of their trade union activities, so that in the event that the dismissals were made for such reasons, measures might be adopted with a view to reinstating these persons in their work places.
• The Committee requests the Government to supply its observations on the allegations to which it has not yet replied, as indicated in the previous paragraph.