Interim Report - Report No 116, 1970

Case No 604 (Uruguay) - Complaint date: 18-JUL-69 - Closed

1. 391. The Committee examined this case at its meeting in November 1969, when it submitted an interim report to the Governing Body, which appears in paragraphs 252-293 of its 114th Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 177th Session (November 1969).
2. 392. Certain aspects of the case are outstanding, which relate to allegations on the mobilisation of workers, the imprisonment of trade unionists and the closing of trade union premises, on which points further information was requested from the Government. The Committee also adjourned to its present meeting the examination of certain allegations on anti-trade-union measures against the UTE Employees' Union (AUTE).
3. 393. The AUTE submitted further allegations in a communication dated 18 December 1969.
4. 394. The Government submitted observations and further information in three communications dated 24 November and 10 December 1969 and 12 January 1970 respectively.
5. 395. Uruguay 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. A. The complainants' allegations

• Allegations relating to the Mobilisation and Imprisonment of Workers and Trade Union Leaders in 1969
  396. 396 In paragraph 293 of its 114th Report, the Committee submitted the following recommendations which were approved by the Governing Body and transmitted to the Government:
       • (a) to take note that, in essentials, the questions of principle concerning the introduction by the Government of emergency security measures has already been examined by the Committee in its 110th and 112th Reports approved by the Governing Body, in connection with an earlier case concerning Uruguay (Case No. 561);
       • (b) with regard to the allegations made in the present case with respect to the security measures promulgated by the Decree of 24 June 1969, to take note of the statements of the Government according to which no official, worker or employee has been arrested as such, the arrests-within the Constitutional régime of the emergency security measures-having been made on the grounds of activities contrary to public order, subversive acts or contraventions of the above-mentioned decree; no industrial or trade union organisation has been taken over; no person has been maltreated or tortured, and no form of forced labour has been imposed, the Government being willing to agree to any procedure and any acceptable method of establishing proof in order to elucidate these matters;
       • (c) to take note of the statement of the Government according to which the mobilisation of the workers in various state agencies has already been rescinded, and that it is hoped that demobilisation will soon affect all those workers covered by the decrees which have been promulgated;
       • (d) taking into account the serious consequences that the mobilisation of workers may have from the point of view of the exercise of trade union rights, and that such measures can be justified only by the need to ensure the functioning of essential services or industries, the interruption of which would give rise to a situation of acute crisis, to express the hope that the measures of this type still remaining in force may be repealed as soon as possible and to request the Government to keep it informed of the measures taken for this purpose;
       • (e) to request the Government to be good enough to submit its observations relating specifically to the allegations concerning the closure of the premises of the CNT and the UTE Employees' Union;
       • (f) to take note of the information submitted by the Government according to which six of the trade unionists mentioned in the complaint, who had been arrested, have been released, and that no record of the arrest of two others could be found, but to request the Government to be good enough to submit its observations with regard to the other trade unionists mentioned in paragraph 292;
       • (g) to take note of the present interim report, it being understood that the Committee will present a further report once it has received the additional information and observations requested from the Government in subparagraphs (d), (e) and (f) of this paragraph.
  397. 397 The trade unionists concerning whose imprisonment no information had been supplied by the Government were Messrs. Ariel Mederos, Hugo Castro, Ricardo Mario Acosta, Humberto Rodriguez and Eduardo Platero. In addition, the International Federation of Teachers' Unions, in a communication dated 10 October 1969, referred to the arrest of various teachers' trade union leaders, and the Government has not yet submitted its observations on this point.
  398. 398 In its communication dated 24 November 1969 the Government states that Mr. Mederos, Mr. Castro, Mr. Acosta and Mr. Platero, who had been arrested for infringement of the Decree of 24 June 1969 respecting security measures, were released on certain specified dates during the months of July and August 1969. As regards Humberto Rodriguez, the Government indicates that it is seeking information concerning him and will submit it as soon as this is available.
  399. 399 In its communication dated 10 December 1969 the Government states that by a Decree of 24 November, the Executive has ended the call-up of public servants in the State Electricity and Telephone Service (UTE).
  400. 400 In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to take note of the information referred to in paragraph 399 and of the Government's statements to the effect that of the five trade unionists concerning whom it had been invited to supply information, four had regained their liberty and the Government would send information relating to the alleged imprisonment of the trade unionist Humberto Rodriguez when it had obtained it. Meanwhile, observing that the Government has not submitted any information concerning the allegations relating to the detention of various teachers' trade union leaders or to the closing of the premises of the AUTE or the National Labour Congress (CNT), the Committee recommends the Governing Body to invite the Government to send, as soon as possible, information regarding all the outstanding points, indicating in each case the precise reasons for the measures taken.
• Allegations relating to Anti-Trade-Union Measures against an Organisation
  401. 401 When it examined the case at its meeting in November 1969 the Committee pointed out that the conflict between the trade union organisation of the officials of the State Electricity and Telephone Service (UTE) and the authorities of that body appeared to be particularly serious. In fact, so far as this conflict was concerned, the Committee observed that the complaints were not restricted to the mobilisation measures (which aspect of the case the Committee has already examined, including the questions relating to strikes and the arrest of trade unionists), but also contained further allegations, the examination of which the Committee adjourned until the present meeting as it had received the Government's observations too late to consider them at its meeting in November 1969.
  402. 402 Specifically, the UTE Employees' Union has formulated the following allegations z According to the UTE Employees' Union, ten days after the strike which had occasioned the mobilisation of workers had been called off, 56 workers were dismissed, including all the members of the Managing Committee and many delegates to the National Congress of the complaining organisation. The UTE Employees' Union also alleged that the right to organise had been violated, since the Board of Directors of the UTE, after its appointment on 28 June 1968, had systematically attacked the trade union organisation, which had 11,000 members out of a total of 14,000 workers. The union had never been received by the Board and no answer had ever been made to any of its memoranda or complaints. The collection of union dues had been stopped, in spite of the fact that it was legally authorised, and the Board, according to the complainants, had improperly seized the dues for the month of June 1968. It was alleged that trade union privileges had been violated in that, in addition to the 56 workers dismissed in July 1969, other members of the Managing Committee, members of the National Congress and trade union militants had been dismissed or suspended. The complainants claimed that for more than a year the workers had been unsuccessfully seeking to have the problems discussed; the conflict was set off by the authorities themselves, who mobilised the workers and arrested their leaders and delegates.
  403. 403 In specific reference to these allegations, the Government, in its communication dated 28 October 1969, stated that the dismissals of officials were decided upon by the Board of the UTE for grave misconduct in the performance of their functions. If there had been any irregularity, the Administrative Disputes Tribunal would be the body competent to quash an order for dismissal if it were proved that it was contrary to the law or that it constituted a misuse of powers. The Government claimed that there had been no refusal to recognise either the legal personality or the lawful rights of the UTE Employees' Union. Union dues were collected directly by the union and it was therefore unnecessary for them to be withheld from wages by the official financial authorities, which was not compulsory but only authorised by the law, and which had been found to be inconvenient. There had been no misappropriation of funds.
  404. 404 In its communication dated 18 December 1969, the complaining organisation (the UTE Employees' Union) states that " the situation has not changed to any marked degree ". The Executive has ordered the ending of the "military call-up ", but the emergency security measures remain in force. It is alleged that the leaders of the UTE Employees' Union continue to be sought by the police, fines being imposed on them in the form of unpaid work and they continue to be dismissed for trade union activities.
  405. 405 In its communication dated 12 January 1970, the Government, after repeating that the military call-up of the officials in question was ended in November 1969, states that work is now normal in this state industrial service and that there are no labour or trade union problems giving rise to conflicts. The Government goes on to say that the " persistence of urban guerrilla warfare and terrorism " has obliged the Government to maintain the security measures, but not a single UTE Employees' Union leader is being sought or persecuted by the police for being a trade union leader. The fines imposed by the Managing Board of the UTE within its disciplinary and legal competence are not imposed on account of trade union problems but are the consequence of offences against discipline, regulated and punishable by standards set prior to their commission and subject to the broadest régime of administrative and legal safeguards. The persons concerned are able to appeal through the administrative procedure provided by the Constitution, the law and the staff regulations of the UTE. Nobody has been dismissed for trade union activities; those who have been dismissed have been punished for grave breaches of discipline. The Government says that it knows of no measure of this kind which has been annulled by the Administrative Disputes Tribunal.
  406. 406 The Committee and the Governing Body have always emphasised the importance which must be attached to the principle contained in Article 1 of the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), which has been ratified by Uruguay, that workers should enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment, which protection should more particularly apply in respect of any act calculated to cause the dismissal or otherwise prejudice a worker in any way by reason of union membership or because of participation in union activities outside working hours or, with the consent of the employer, within working hours.
  407. 407 In the present case, the complainants state that the sanctions, and more specifically the dismissal of 56 leading members of the trade union in July 1969 (including all the members of the Managing Committee), were on account of trade union activities. The Government categorically states that these measures were in no case adopted for trade union reasons, but for grave breaches of discipline, and that the persons concerned were in a position to appeal, under the procedure provided by the law, for the cancellation of the sanctions if these could be proved to have been arbitrary. The Government has further stated that the situation in the industrial service concerned was completely normal in January 1970 and that there were no labour or trade union problems outstanding.
  408. 408 The Committee notes the declarations of the Government referred to in the preceding paragraph. However, in order to be able to formulate its conclusions with full knowledge of the facts, it would wish to know whether the normality of the labour and trade union situation as regards the UTE implies that the union is able to carry on its normal activities, including the discussion of problems with the management, and whether the dismissals, which were alleged to concern the members of the Managing Committee and other leaders of the union, have been annulled. If these sanctions were being continued, the Committee would like to ask the Government to supply further information on the nature of the breaches of discipline attributed to those trade unionists which had occasioned their dismissal.
  409. 409 The Committee also notes the declaration of the Government that no leader of the UTE Employees' Union is being sought or detained by the police for being a trade union leader. In this regard, the Committee would like the Government to be good enough to state whether any restriction on the liberty of such persons is in force, and if so, for what specific reasons.
  410. 410 With regard to the allegation relating to trade union dues, the Committee notes the information sent by the Government, to the effect that the only measure taken by the management of the UTE was to suspend the automatic deduction of the trade union dues payable by its employees, leaving the collection of the dues to the union. In these circumstances, it does not appear that this aspect of the matter calls for further examination.
  411. 411 For these reasons, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that the allegation relating to the collection of trade union dues does not call for further examination on its part, but, with regard to the allegations relating to the dismissals and the position of the leaders of the UTE Employees' Union before the law, to ask the Government for further information as specified in paragraphs 408 and 409 above.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 412. In these circumstances, with respect to the case as a whole, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) with regard to the allegations relating to the military call-up and imprisonment of workers and trade union leaders in 1969:
   • (i) to take note of the information supplied by the Government to the effect that the Decree of 25 November 1969 brought to an end the military call-up of UTE officials;
   • (ii) to take note of the information submitted by the Government to the effect that of a group of five trade unionists alleged to have been imprisoned, four had been set at liberty, and that the Government will supply the information relating to Mr. Humberto Rodriguez when this has been obtained;
   • (iii) to ask the Government to be good enough to supply this information as soon as possible, and also information on the alleged imprisonment of various teachers' union leaders and the alleged closing of the premises of the UTE Employees' Union and of the National Labour Congress, indicating in each case the precise reason for the measures taken;
   • (b) with regard to the allegations relating to anti-union measures taken against an organisation:
   • (i) to decide, for the reasons indicated in paragraph 410 above, that the allegation relating to the collection of union dues does not call for further examination;
   • (ii) to ask the Government to be good enough to communicate whether the state of normality in labour and trade union matters in the UTE, to which its observations referred, implies that the trade union is in a position to carry on all its normal activities, including the discussion of problems with the management, and whether the punishment of dismissal alleged to have been inflicted on the members of the Managing Committee and other leaders of the UTE Employees' Union has been annulled, and-if these sanctions are being maintained-to supply more precise information on the nature of the breaches of discipline which occasioned the dismissals;
   • (iii) to invite the Government to be good enough to state whether there remains any restriction on the liberty of any of the persons referred to, and if so, the precise reasons therefor;
   • (c) to take note of this interim report, on the understanding that the Committee will submit a further report when it has received the further information requested of the Government.
     • Geneva, 25 February 1970. (Signed) Roberto AGO, Chairman.