Interim Report - Report No 122, 1971

Case No 540 (Spain) - Complaint date: 31-OCT-67 - Closed

97. The Committee last considered these cases at its session in February 1970, on which occasion it submitted a provisional report to the Governing Body (paragraphs 194 to 261 of its 116th Report, approved by the Governing Body) at its 178th Session (March 1970).

1. 97. The Committee last considered these cases at its session in February 1970, on which occasion it submitted a provisional report to the Governing Body (paragraphs 194 to 261 of its 116th Report, approved by the Governing Body) at its 178th Session (March 1970).
2. 98. Spain has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 99. The Committee offered its conclusions on certain aspects of these cases. Other allegations, with regard to which the Government had been asked to send information and comments, remained outstanding.
2. 100. The Committee also offered some general considerations on these cases. It stated that in the light of the allegations made and of the Government's replies, the questions of principle in connection with freedom of association raised in the various complaints had already been considered in other cases concerning Spain, on which occasions the Committee was able to express its views on these matters, in the light of the principles it has always applied in analogous cases. The Committee added that from all the information available, it seems apparent to the Committee that these problems have one element in common-namely the fact that certain workers' activities having a trade union character are offences under the law. The offences most commonly invoked in this connection are those of illicit or unlawful association, propaganda, and assembly.
3. 101. In this connection, the Committee had urged the Governing Body once more to remind the Government:
   • (a) that any action taken against the workers on the grounds that they have tried to set up, or reconstitute, occupational organisations outside the Trade Union Organisation is incompatible with the principle that workers shall have the right to establish organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation;
   • (b) that an essential part of trade union freedoms is the right to hold meetings and demonstrations for trade union purposes, and that the authorities should refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof;
   • (c) that the full exercise of trade union rights calls for a free flow of information, opinions and ideas, and that to this end employers, workers, and their organisations should enjoy freedom of opinion and expression at their meetings, in their publications, and in the course of other trade union activities;
4. 102. As regards the questions still outstanding, the Committee recommended the Governing Body to note that according to the information analysed, the trade unionists Marcelino Camacho, mentioned in paragraph 222, Nicolás Sartorius, Julián Ariza and David Morin Salgado, mentioned in paragraph 230, and other trade unionists mentioned in paragraphs 242, 249 and 250, were tried or detained, and to ask the Government to be good enough to describe the exact nature of the facts which had led to the proceedings, the outcome of the proceedings themselves and the present situation of these people under the law.
5. 103. It had likewise recommended the Governing Body to ask the Government to be good enough to send in its observations on the allegations made about the dismissal of arrested trade unionists, which allegations are examined in paragraph 253.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 104. The Committee expresses its concern at the fact that the Government has not yet supplied the information and comments asked for despite the length of time which has elapsed since they were requested.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 105. In these circumstances, it urges the Governing Body:
   • (a) once more to remind the Government of the principles set forth in paragraph 101 above;
   • (b) to ask the Government to supply as a matter of urgency the information and observations referred to in paragraphs 102 and 103 above;
   • (c) to take note of this interim report, on the understanding that the Committee will report again once the information and observations requested have been obtained.