Definitive Report - Report No 131, 1972

Case No 659 (Guatemala) - Complaint date: 08-APR-70 - Closed

104. The complaints are contained in communications addressed direct to the ILO by the National Confederation of Workers of Guatemala, dated 8 April 1970, and the Latin American Federation of Christian Trade Unions, dated 21 April 1970 and 5 February 1971, and in a communication dated 8 February 1971 addressed direct to the ILO by the World Confederation of Labour. The World Confederation of Labour submitted additional information in a further communication dated 7 May 1971.

1. 104. The complaints are contained in communications addressed direct to the ILO by the National Confederation of Workers of Guatemala, dated 8 April 1970, and the Latin American Federation of Christian Trade Unions, dated 21 April 1970 and 5 February 1971, and in a communication dated 8 February 1971 addressed direct to the ILO by the World Confederation of Labour. The World Confederation of Labour submitted additional information in a further communication dated 7 May 1971.
2. 105. The complaints and additional information were communicated to the Government on 28 April 1970, 14 May 1970, and 17 February and 19 May 1971. The Government, however, did not submit any observations thereon despite the repeated requests addressed to it. Accordingly, at its session in November 1971, the Committee made an urgent appeal to the Government to supply the information which it had sought from it. No reply having been received to this request, the Committee, at its session in February 1972, in accordance with the rule of procedure contained in paragraph 17 of its 127th Report, informed the Government that it might submit a report on the substance of the case at its present session even if the information awaited from the Government had still not been received. To date, this information has not been received.
3. 106. Guatemala has ratified both 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

1. 107. In its communication of 21 April 1970 the Latin American Federation of Christian Trade Unions alleges that trade union rights are being violated as a result of a Decree (No. 2/1970) which, according to the complainant organisation, prohibits the operation of trade unions.
2. 108. In its communication dated 8 April 1970, the National Confederation of Workers also refers to the suspension of trade union activities by Decree No. 2/1970. This organisation adds that after the state of emergency was proclaimed a number of people were apprehended, including the former Secretary-General of the Autonomous Trade Union Federation of Guatemala (FASGUA), Miguel Váldez Girón, at present a militant member of the Union of Tailors, who was taken violently from his home in the early hours of the morning. To date, the police deny having taken Mr. Váldez Girón and detained him.
3. 109. In its further communication dated 5 February 1971, the Latin American Federation of Christian Trade Unions adds that, following the state of siege proclaimed by the Government of Colonel Carlos Arana Osorio, approximately 700 persons, including trade unionists, were murdered as a result of their political, trade union or student activities. For example, continue the complainants, the leader of the Christian Democratic opposition, Adolfo Mijangos, and the leader of the peasants' trade union, Tereso de Jesús Oliva, were recently gunned down in the centre of Guatemala City. Other trade union leaders were also being persecuted and an attempt was being made to eliminate all the organisations and persons who were trying to maintain the freedom and dignity of the people and workers of Guatemala.
4. 110. In its communication dated 8 February 1971, the World Confederation of Labour states that the wave of repression by the authorities has not failed to have an effect on the trade union movement. The WCL also refers to the death of Tereso de Jesús Oliva who, it states, was once associated with the WCL.
5. 111. In its further communication dated 7 May 1971 the WCL states that, under the decree introducing the state of emergency, all forms of trade union activity are prohibited, and that general assemblies of unions and committee meetings can no longer be held. As a result, it is not possible to conclude collective agreements or to ensure the normal functioning of the unions.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 112. In this connection, the Committee has taken note of the observations made by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations to the Government in 1972 in which that Committee noted the terms of Decree No. 31/1971, which regulates certain trade union activities during a state of emergency and refers to the existence of another decree which suspended the operation of trade union activities. The Committee of Experts observed that Decree No. 31/1971 made it possible (with the approval of the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare) to extend the term of office of union leaders when it was impossible to hold union meetings because of a state of emergency, and authorised these leaders to undertake only activities connected with the termination or negotiation of collective agreements. The Committee also notes that while the Committee of Experts considered that these provisions represented progress as compared with the decree suspending trade union activities in general, it requested the Government to supply information on the steps taken to permit trade unions to engage in all legitimate trade union activities.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 113. The Government having failed to reply to the allegations, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to recall the observation made by the Committee as early as its First Report, namely that the purpose of the whole procedure is to promote respect for trade union rights in law and in fact, and the Committee is confident that, if it protects governments against unreasonable accusations, governments on their side should recognise the importance for the protection of their own good name of formulating for objective examination detailed factual replies to such detailed factual charges as may be put forward;
   • (b) to note that the allegations put forward concern the repression of the trade union movement in Guatemala, the restrictions imposed on trade unions in the free exercise of their activities, the death of a number of trade unionists, including in particular the leader of the peasant's trade union, Tereso de Jesús Oliva, and the disappearance of Miguel Váldez Girón;
   • (c) to note that the Government, in the present case, has supplied no information to show that these allegations are unfounded;
   • (d) to draw the attention of the Government to the principle that measures taken in a state of emergency may constitute a serious interference by the authorities in trade union affairs contrary to Article 3 of Convention No. 87, except where such measures are necessary because the organisations concerned have diverged from their trade union objectives and have defied the law, and that in any case, such measures should be accompanied by adequate judicial guarantees invoked within a reasonable time;
   • (e) to draw the attention of the Government to the principle that freedom of association implies not only the right of workers and employers to form freely associations of their own choosing but also the right, for the occupational organisations themselves, to pursue lawful activities in defence of their occupational interests; and that the right of trade unions to hold meetings freely on their own premises, without the need for previous authorisation and without control by the public authorities, is a fundamental element in freedom of association;
   • (f) to deplore the fact that, despite the repeated requests for information, the Government has not submitted any observations on the serious allegations put forward by the complainants, thereby making it impossible for the Committee to formulate its conclusions on the matter in full knowledge of the facts;
   • (g) to draw the attention of the Government, with regard to the death of Tereso de Jesús Oliva and the disappearance of Miguel Váldez Girón, to the opinion that the appointment of an independent commission of inquiry by the Government concerned would be a particularly appropriate method of ascertaining facts and determining responsibilities in these cases; and
   • (h) to request the Director-General to maintain all appropriate forms of contact with the Government in order to obtain information concerning the position of Mr. Miguel Váldez Girón.