Interim Report - Report No 217, June 1982

Case No 1066 (Romania) - Complaint date: 10-JUL-81 - Closed

1. 564. The complaint of the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) is contained in a communication dated 10 July 1981. Additional information in support of the complaint is contained in two further communications from the world Confederation of Labour, dated respectively 28 August and 9 December 1981.
2. 565. The complaint and additional information were transmitted to the Government which transmitted observations thereon in a communication dated 9 February 1982.
3. 566. At its meeting in February 1982 the Committee noted that the Government had sent certain observations to the ILO in its communication dated 9 February 1982. In this communication the Government referred generally to the functions carried out by the trade unions in Romania and to the legal provisions which exist in this domain. It stated that the allegations concerning the alleged violations of freedom of association in Romania had no real foundation. On the other hand, the Government's statements did not contain any precise information which denied the specific allegations of the WCL concerning the measures taken against certain persons who were said to have created the "Free Trade Union of Romanian Workers" (SLOMR) or to have belonged to it. Consequently the Committee requested the Government to supply detailed observations and information on the allegations that workers cannot freely express and defend their interests in Romania and that leaders and members of the SLOMR have been exiled, arrested or interned in psychiatric hospitals, giving the reasons for such measures and information on the present situation of the persons named in the complaint.
4. 567. In response to this request of the Committee the Government transmitted a further communication dated 30 April 1982 containing additional observations on the case.
5. 568. Romania 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. The complainant's allegations

1. 569. In its communication dated 10 July 1981 the WCL alleges that workers of various professions living in Bucharest at Turnusseverin, Targumures and Timiseara, at the end of February 1979 created a trade union known as the "Free Trade Union of Romanian Workers". The complainant organisation transmits the statement constituting this organisation and a list of its founding members.
2. 570. The WCL adds that this trade union wished to carry out its activities openly and in strict legality. It was not backed by any political force and its objects were to ensure justice in the social and labour areas in Romania, states the complainant, conditions of life and work and the economic and social situation have been on the decline for a number of years and the authoritarian regime has not permitted the workers to express themselves freely and defend their interests. The intention of the new trade union was to enter the struggle against unemployment, for better conditions of work, for safety and health in the factories, for the revision of the wages system and the pension system, for the reduction of the weekly work period and the suppression of unpaid overtime, etc. The new union, insisting on the legality of the steps it had taken, requested a frank dialogue with the authorities for the settlement of these claims.
3. 571. Soon thousands of workers from various localities joined the new union which included in its programme (a) freedom for all workers, including peasants, to change their place of work; (b) the right to a decent wage for peasants and the right to freely sell their products; and (c) the suppression of terror and internment in psychiatric hospitals of those who demanded that their rights be respected.
4. 572. The complainant alleges that from March 1979 onwards the Romanian authorities practised terrorist methods of intimidation, arrests and beatings. The complainant adds that the authorities, in carrying out massive arrests, internment in psychiatric hospitals and in condemning the founding members and the members of the new trade union, used pretexts that were designed to conceal the antiunion nature of their actions. Judgements were delivered immediately and in camera.
5. 573. In particular the complainant organisation refers to the disappearance of the following trade unionists: Vasile Paraschiv (Bucharest), Virgil Chender and the members of the trade union of the town of Sighisoara, Melania Mateescu of Constantaza in November 1980 who, according to the complainant, had communicated the names of trade unionists interned in the psychiatric hospital of that town, Constantin Acrinei and more than a dozen trade unionists who appear on a list of disappeared persons published in July 1980 by Amnesty International. The complainant organisation claims that, according to the information which it has gathered, the number of disappeared persons seems to be increasing. The WCL states that it is also preoccupied by the fate of Yonel Cana and Gheorge Brasoveonu, leaders and militants of the new trade union as well as many others.
6. 574. In its communication the WCL also describes the situation of the miners in the largest coal mine in the country situated in the Jiu Valley. In August 1977, states the complainant, 3,500 miners went on strike claiming in particular (a) the suppression of a law adopted in July 1977 providing for a diminution of 30 per cent in the wages and pensions of a large number of categories of workers; (b) the improvement of conditions of work and conditions of safety and health; (c) the suppression of obligatory and unpaid overtime; and (d) an improvement in the food available. The complainant adds that after many unkept promises the reaction of the authorities was to proceed to repress the miners by interrogation and beatings. Approximately 3,000 miners were transferred to other mines and a large number were demoted. The miners so transferred were assigned to barracks and two leaders of the strike, Yon Dobre and G. Jurca, engineers of Lupeni and Petrosani, were "accidentally" killed. Since that time the situation has become more repressive in the mines and the attitude of the military and the new officials has hardened.
7. 575. It is clear from this information, states the complainant organisation, that Romanian workers do not enjoy the right to strike, the right to organise or the right to bargain collectively.
8. 576. In its further communication dated 28 August 1981, the WCL communicates the texts of two statements made by members of the "Free Trade Union of Romanian Workers", namely Nicolae Dascalu and Karl Gibson from the region of Timisoara, who, according to the complainant, were arrested, sentenced and expelled from the country. These statements describe the creation of the new trade union in February 1979 in Bucharest and in other regions of Romania, the arrest and sentencing of trade union leaders and the expulsion of certain members from the country. The statements also describe the ill-treatment inflicted on prisoners and the psychological methods used by the authorities on the prisoners. In one of the statements it is affirmed that 153 leaders of the union were arrested on the pretext of parasitism and hooliganism. The majority of those, the statement continues, were sentenced. A number of trade unionists were also obliged to sign statements disclaiming the existence of the Free Trade Union. The WCL adds that the founding members of the new union were assigned to residence, interred in psychiatric hospitals, imprisoned or expelled from the country after serving their sentences. In its further communication dated 9 December 1981 the WCL transmits a communication from Nicolae Dascalu, leader of the new free trade union movement and presently living in the United States. In this statement, Mr. Dascalu states that in the first five days after the announcement of the creation of the new trade union over 2,000 people joined. The majority of the first signatories were members of a clandestine union organised by Virgil Chender which had been created in the autumn of 1978 in the Mures district. This union was composed of workers, peasants and soldiers and numbered about 1,600. The statement continues that five days after the statute was announced the regime arrested the leaders of the union, Dr. Ionel Cana and Mr. Gheorghe Brasoveanu, and surrounded their houses with thousands of agents. At the same time, the authorities launched a campaign of slander, image destruction, character assassination, spreading false rumours and extremely harsh threats, in short a propaganda machine designed to destroy the union. The statement adds that the leaders of the union were arrested and charged with plotting against the state. It also adds that the organisation had no weapons, nor had it the slightest intention of using violence. After the initial arrest of the leaders of the union, others took over the task of organising the union but a month later others were arrested and the remainder were subjected to permanent harassment. Several hundred union members were arrested throughout the country at the same time. The declaration continues that as the movement began to gain in intensity the regime, in the months of May and June 1979, arrested and sentenced to imprisonment some 30,000 to 50,000 people.

B. The Government's reply

1. 577. In its reply dated 9 February 1982 the Government points out that in Romania, in accordance with the Constitution, the objective of all state activities is the development and satisfaction of the socialist nation, the material and cultural well-being of the people, guaranteed freedom and human dignity and the total expression of the human personality (section 13). As a result of the application of a policy of economic and social development of the country, substantial progress has been achieved over the last decades resulting in an important increase in the standard of living of the workers and the fundamental role they play in society.
2. 578. In Romania, the Government continues, industrial production has increased 48 times since before the war. The process of modernisation of the structure of industrial production is evidenced by the concern for technical progress in the economy, the mechanisation and automation of the processes of production and the improvement in conditions of work and the environment. The Government supplies further information and statistical information indicating the improvements that have been made in wages and social benefits.
3. 579. The Government points out that the free exercise of the right of workers to organise into trade unions in Romania is guaranteed by the Constitution and in numerous other legislative texts, in particular Law No. 52/1945 and the Labour Code. The Government points out that by the very nature of the social regime in Romania and by the system of ownership of the means of production the workers in their capacity as owners of the means of production, as producers and as direct beneficiaries of everything that is realised participate within the framework of workers' autonomy in the elaboration, the adoption and the application of all decisions concerning the economic and social development of the country. The trade unions in Romania constitute by far the most democratic organisation of workers without any distinction on the grounds of nationality, race, sex or religion. The Government explains that in the country there are 13 branch unions affiliated to which are 10,900 unions organised at the level of the enterprise or the level of institutions or other economic and social units as well as at the local level.
4. 580. As regards the right to establish a trade union organisation and the right to adhere thereto the Government further points out that the activities and trade union freedoms which form the basis of Convention No. 87 are assured and protected by the legislation and by the rules of the unions themselves (statutes, decisions, instructions) and that these are recognised and respected by the public authorities. The Government adds that the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Romania stipulates in section 27 that "the citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania have the right to associate in trade union organisations, in cooperative organisations, organisations of youth and of women, socio-cultural organisations, technical and sporting organisations as well as in other public organisations. The State supports the activities of mass public organisations and creates conditions for the material development of these organisations and protects their interests".
5. 581. In the spirit of these Constitutional provisions Law No. 52/1945 concerning occupational organisations provides in section 2 that "all persons working in the same profession, in similar or assimilated occupations have the right to freely constitute occupational trade unions without previous authorisation being necessary. No one can be obliged to join or not to join or to cease to belong to an occupational organisation against his will".
6. 582. In Romania, the Government states, adequate legislation exists to ensure the necessary framework for the direct participation of trade unions, which are an integral part of worker autonomy, in the elaboration and the application of economic and social policy. There is also a legal framework for the exercise of trade union rights, for the participation of unions in their capacity as occupational organisations of workers and representatives of the economic and social interests of the workers, in the economic and financial management and in the control of the application of all measures concerning conditions of work and life of workers of every category.
7. 583. The Labour Code also stipulates in section 165 that "the unions serve the interests of the workers. They participate directly at every level in the planning of the economic and social life, their representatives being members of works Committees and councils, of ministerial bodies and other central institutions as well as of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Romania".
8. 584. Law No. 5/1978 on the organisation and management of socialist units of the State provides in section 33 that "the president of the trade union Committee is the vice-president of the works council of the enterprise" and section 44 provides that "in the works council at the level of the central body the president of the trade union organisation's Committee of those units belonging to the central body is also a member by right". Section 64 of the same Law provides "the number of representatives of workers elected for the general assemblies of the enterprise is fixed by the trade union Committee and the works council", and section 69 provides that "the general assembly of the enterprise is presided over by the president of the trade union Committee and that of the central body by a member of the presidium designated by the central body".
9. 585. In its communication, the Government also cites other legislative texts which bestow on the trade unions certain rights and obligations in the field of economic and social activity, pensions and social benefits, etc.
10. 586. The Government states that it has taken every action to provide the legal and factual basis for the exercise of trade union rights in accordance with Conventions Nos. 87 and 98. It affirms that the allegations concerning violations of freedom of association in Romania are unfounded. The Government mentions that other independent persons who have come to Romania to undertake their own investigations on the spot have noted that similar allegations were unfounded.
11. 587. In its further communication dated 30 April 1982, the Government, in reply to the Committee's request for more specific information in reply to the allegations contained in paragraph 10 of the Committee's 214th Report, states that in its opinion the extensive legal and factual information supplied by the Government in its previous communication bears witness to the fact that in Romania the workers are guaranteed very broad rights including those concerning adherence to trade unions. The Government also points out that the Romanian legislation is in conformity with international Conventions and Recommendations in this area.
12. 588. The Government adds that it would like to emphasise that the allegations of violations of trade union rights in Romania are without foundation and that they are in obvious contradiction with the action undertaken in that country over previous decades with a view to the creation of a legal framework to ensure the right of association into trade unions in the light of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organisation.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 589. In the present case the Committee is called upon to examine allegations concerning particularly serious acts of repression by the Romanian authorities against the founders and other members of a trade union organisation known as the "Free Trade Union of Romanian porkers" following its establishment in February 1979. According to the complainant organisation the "Free Trade Union of Romanian Workers" was created to deal solely with labour and social problems and its establishment was not in any way motivated by political reasons. The complainant contends that the establishment of this organisation and the issue of its constituent statement was almost immediately followed by a wave of repression against it and its members, including the arrest, internment in psychiatric hospitals, exile, beatings and summary sentencing of founder and other members of the organisation.
2. 590. The Committee also notes that the allegations relate to the situation in the mines of the Jiu valley area where, in August 1977, a strike took place. This strike, according to the complainant resulted, again, in repressive measures being taken against the miners including the transfer or demotion of some 3,000 workers. Two workers who led the strike were said to have been killed following the strike.
3. 591. In its replies to all of these allegations the Government has confined itself to describing, in some detail, the Constitutional and other provisions in the legislation of Romania which regulate the existence of trade unions and define the scope of their activities. The Government, however, except for affirming in general terms that the allegations made by the complainants are unfounded, does not provide any detailed information to refute the specific allegations made by the complainants.
4. 592. The Committee would point out that, when a complaint contains precise allegations, the reply of the Government concerned should not be limited to observations of a general nature. The Committee would recall that the purpose of the procedure is to promote respect for trade union rights in law and in fact and the Committee is confident that, if the procedure protects governments against unreasonable accusations, governments on their side, should recognise the importance of formulating for objective examination detailed replies to such charges as may be put forward.
5. 593. The allegations in the present case, relating as they do particularly to the fundamental right of workers to establish and join organisations of their own choosing without any interference by the public authorities bring into question the application by Romania of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) which Romania has ratified. The other allegations concerning the repressive measures taken against the members of the "Free Trade Union of Romanian Workers" also bring into question the respect for those basic human rights which, in the opinion of the Committee, are essential for the free exercise of trade union rights.
6. 594. For these reasons, and in order to be able to examine the allegations made in full knowledge of the facts the Committee requests the Government to transmit as full and precise information as possible on the measures alleged by the complainant to have been taken against the founders and other members of the "Free Trade Union of Romanian Workers" following its establishment in February 1979. In particular, the Committee hopes that it will receive detailed information on the alleged arrest or exile of trade unionists and on the alleged disappearance of the following persons; Vasile Paraschiv, Virgil Chender and other trade unionists of the town of Sighisoara, Melania Mataescu, Constantin Acrinei, Yonel Cana and Gheorghe Brasoveonu.
7. 595. The Committee also requests the Government to supply detailed information concerning the circumstances of the strike at the Jiu Valley coal mine in 1977 and on the alleged repressive measures that were taken against the strikers thereafter. In particular, the Government is requested to supply information concerning the alleged deaths of Yon Dabra and G. Yurca, two engineers who are said to have led the aforementioned strike.

The Committee's recommendations

• Recommendations of the Committee
  596. 596 The Committee recommends the Governing Body to approve this interim report and, in particular the following conclusions:
       • (a) The Committee notes the Government's statement that the allegations are unfounded, but that, in support of this statement and in reply to the specific allegations made the Government has provided no precise information.
       • (b) The Committee requests the Government to provide as full and precise information, as possible concerning;
       • (i) the repressive measures, including arrest, exile internment in psychiatric hospitals and summary sentencing and imprisonment, that are alleged to have been taken against the founders and other members of the "Free Trade Union of Romanian Workers" following its establishment in February 1979;
       • (ii) the alleged disappearance or detention of those persons mentioned in paragraph 594 above;
       • (iii) the circumstances surrounding the strike, in 1977, at the Jiu Valley colliery and the alleged repressive measures that were taken against the strikers; and, in particular, concerning the alleged deaths of Yon Dabra and G. Yurca.