Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 251, June 1987

Case No 1215 (Guatemala) - Complaint date: 19-JUN-83 - Closed

230. Cases Nos. 1176, 1195, 1215 and 1262 have been examined by the Committee on several occasions and most recently, in May 1986, in its 244th Report (paras. 258-275) approved by the Governing Body at its 233rd Session (May-June 1986), when the Committee submitted an interim report on these cases.

1. 230. Cases Nos. 1176, 1195, 1215 and 1262 have been examined by the Committee on several occasions and most recently, in May 1986, in its 244th Report (paras. 258-275) approved by the Governing Body at its 233rd Session (May-June 1986), when the Committee submitted an interim report on these cases.
2. 231. Since then the Government had sent only some incomplete information and observations in a communication of 17 September 1986, and the Office asked the Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations Office at Geneva, in a communication of 7 October 1986, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in communications of 1 December 1986, 27 January 1987 and 12 March 1987, to provide more detailed information in order to enable the Committee on Freedom of Association to examine these cases in full knowledge of the facts.
3. 232. At its February 1987 meeting, the Committee addressed an urgent appeal to the Government to provide additional observations, and in paragraph 12 of its 248th Report drew the Government's attention to the fact that, having regard to the time which had elapsed since the filing of allegations in these cases, and in conformity with the procedural rule set out in paragraph 17 of its 127th Report, it would examine the substance of those cases at its next session even if the Government's observations had not been received at that date.
4. 233. Furthermore the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has transmitted new allegations concerning Case No. 1195 in a telegraphic communication of 12 March 1987 and additional information on those allegations in a communication of 23 March 1987. The Government has communicated its observations in reply to ICFTU's latest allegations in a letter of 27 April 1987.
5. 234. Guatemala 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. Previous examination of the cases

1. 235. The matters at issue in these cases relate to allegations of the detention, kidnapping, bodily assault and even murder of trade union activists and leaders. According to the allegations, the fate of certain persons has been unknown since January 1983.
2. 236. On examining these cases at its May 1986 Session, the Committee concluded that the allegations related to a period before the change of regime in Guatemala. However, to its regret, the new Government had failed to send all the information requested by the Committee in a previous urgent appeal addressed to the Government at its February 1986 meeting.
3. 237. In the circumstances the Committee formulated the following conclusions in its 244th Report (May 1986): "
   • a)The Committee notes that the allegations relate to a period before the change of Government in Guatemala. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the new Government will send the information needed by the Committee to enable it to reach its conclusions in full knowledge of the facts.
   • b) The Committee hopes that the new Government will do its utmost to ensure that the investigations under way result in the establishment of the whereabouts of the trade union leaders and members listed in the annex to this report as having disappeared over a period of many years. The Committee stresses that these investigations should cover all the trade unionists who have been cited by the complainants as having disappeared and requests the Government to inform it of the outcome in the near future.
   • c) With respect to the alleged murder of trade union leaders and trade unionists or serious physical harm inflicted on them, the Committee considers that the investigations carried out by the administrative authorities should be conducted by the judicial authorities. The Committee therefore urges the new Government to ensure that judicial inquiries are carried out in order to elucidate the facts in full and determine responsibilies; it requests the Government to inform it of any such inquiries and of any sanctions that might be imposed on the guilty parties.
   • d) Generally speaking, a climate of violence makes it impossible to exercise trade union rights; such rights should also be based on respect for civil liberties. The Committee therefore requests the Government to ensure respect for civil liberties, which are vital for the exercise of trade union rights.
   • e) In accordance with Article 2 of Convention No. 87, teachers should, as in the case of other workers, enjoy trade union rights. The Committee urges the Government to ensure that this category of workers may legally set up trade union organisations.
   • f) The Committee recalls that the legal formalities for registering a trade union should not be of such a nature as to hamper the setting up of occupational organisations, nor be applied in such a way as to delay or prevent their establishment. The Committee stresses that the Central Trade Union of Municipal Workers (SCTM), which filed its rules one year ago, should be registered as soon as possible, if the legal formalities needed for this purpose have been fulfilled.
   • g) The Committee requests the Government to indicate the grounds for closing down operations at the Universal Textiles Factory a move which, according to the complainants, was intended to destroy the trade union.
   • h) The Committee once again requests the Government to send its observations on the alleged attack on the headquarters of the San Carlos University Workers' Union by National Army troops, the serious damage caused and the seizing of trade union documents." An annex followed, containing the names of 74 persons who, according to the complainants, had disappeared or been murdered between 1980 and 1985.

B. The Government's first reply

1. 238. In its communication of 17 September 1986 the Government states that the competent authorities have taken due note of the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association as set forth in the 244th Report, and in particular of the conclusion in which the Committee observes that some of the allegations in question were made in 1983. In that connection, the Government points out that the authorities provided a reply on 28 August 1985, as stated in paragraph 508 of the 241st Report, to the effect that all cases of alleged violation of freedom of association had been passed on to the Ministry of the Interior with instructions to transmit to the Committee any information that might come to light as a result of its inquiries.
2. 239. With regard to the more recent allegations summarised in the Committee's 244th Report, concerning in particular the demonstrations held in August and September 1985 in protest against price increases; strikes; the alleged arrest of Francisco Gonzales Moya, a member of the National Council of National Education; and the kidnapping for several hours, on 5 February 1985, of the Financial Secretary of the Central Trade Union of Municipal Workers, who was said to have been subjected to brutal treatment in order to make him give up his trade union functions, the Government states that the persons concerned have made no complaints or protests to the competent authorities.
3. 240. With regard to the trade union situation of teachers, municipal workers and the workers of the Universal Textiles Factory, and in particular the allegations that teachers' trade union organisations have been prohibited except for the only trade union organisation of teachers allowed to function, that the Central Trade Union of Municipal Workers (SCTM) has been denied registration and that the Universal Textiles Factory has been closed down with the deliberate intention of destroying the trade union of that undertaking, the Government states that the trade union organisations to which these categories of workers belong are carrying on their usual activities and have made no complaints or protests to the competent authorities.
4. 241. With specific reference to the municipalities of Guatemala City, the capital, and Mixco, which are said to have taken reprisals, in the form of murders or dismissals, against workers seeking to organise, the Government adds that no complaints have been made to the competent authorities concerning the facts alleged. According to the Government, the organisations of the workers of these two municipalities are carrying on their activities normally within the framework of labour relations and of the autonomy conferred on them by the Constitution. The two organisations of workers in question are not, incidentally, affiliated to the federal organisation mentioned by the complainants, i.e. the Central Trade Union of Municipal Workers (SCTM).
5. 242. The Government specifies with regard to the Universal Textiles Factory that, according to the competent authorities it has consulted, the plant was closed down, not for trade union reasons, but for economic reasons.
6. 243. Returning to the question of the Central Trade Union of Municipal Workers (SCTM), which according to the complainants' communication of 17 February 1986 had been denied registration more than one year after depositing its rules, the Government likewise states that no complaint has been made to the competent national authorities. In that connection, it observes that the rules of the trade union organisation in question refer to Guatemala City as the legal domicile of that trade union body and provide that the trade union leaders shall be elected every two years. According to the Government, however, the leaders' last term of office expired in 1981; in 1983 and 1985 it was not informed of the holding of elections for new trade union leaders, and it was a matter of public knowledge at the date of the Government's reply that that trade union organisation had been left without legal representatives and that its activities had been suspended. The Government points out in general terms in that connection that employers' and workers' organisations are required to respect the law of the land as provided by Article 8 of Convention No. 87.
7. 244. The Government adds that the Constitution of Guatemala which entered into force in 1986 guarantees the application of the rights and freedoms defined in Conventions Nos. 87 and 98; that workers and employers have the right to exercise them in defence of their economic and social interests; and that the authorities, including the competent courts, are performing their constitutional duties within the framework of a State based on law. According to the Government all persons, including organisations covered by Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, can exercise their constitutional rights in conformity with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic.
8. 245. In conclusion the Government states that it would be grateful if the Committee would include the foregoing observations in its final conclusions.

C. New allegations in Case No. 1195

1. 246. In Case No. 1195 ICFTU alleges in a telegram of 12 March 1987 the death of Manuel de Jesús López Morales of the Electricity and Energy Trade Union, whose body had been found mutilated and covered with obvious marks of torture. The victim had been kidnapped a few days earlier by persons unknown. In addition, the trade unionists Júlio Marténez and Ricardo Bonilla of the Unified Trade Union Confederation of Guatemala (CUSG), affiliated to ICFTU, were said to have received death threats.
2. 247. In its communication of 23 March ICFTU furnishes detailed information on the foregoing allegations, indicating that the murders of certain trade union leaders were brought to its knowledge on 30 November 1986. Specifically ICFTU claims that the facts are as follows:
   • - on 12 June 1986 Benjamén Borja Leonardo, a welder aged 35 years, is said to have disappeared while he was organising a trade union in Hoppy S.A., a banana company owned by Gustavo Anzueto Willman, a retired colonel;
   • - on 21 June 1986 Gerardo Asañor Letona, a gardener in the Service Department of the Faculty of Science of the National and Autonomous University of San Carlos, is said to have been detained; his fate remains unknown;
   • - in October 1986 Emilio Benétez, leader of the Welders' Trade Union, is said to have been pursued by paramilitary groups who broke into his home and, not finding him there, expressed the intention to murder him;
   • - in rural areas armed civilian groups are said to continue terrorising the peasants on the pretext that they are suspected of opposition sympathies; the victims and their families are said not to be making this public for fear of reprisals.
3. 248. Furthermore 62 trade unions organised by an organisation affiliated to ICFTU are said to be waiting to receive legal personality from the Directorate-General of Labour.
4. 249. In addition the Guatemalan Institute of Social Studies and Training is said to be recruiting 1,170 educators for organising and educational duties among the workers of town and countryside; their wages are to be paid by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development. The purpose of this measure is said to be to recruit state-paid educators in order to establish an official trade union confederation, as is said to be proved by an unsigned memorandum circulated to Christian Democrat deputies on 10 June 1986.
5. 250. Again: at the Guatemalan undertaking GUATEL, Mario López Estrada, the manager, is said to support a body called the "22 February Committee" led by Raúl Rodréguez, a member of the above-mentioned Institute. This committee is said to be a parallel organisation to the lawful trade union already present in the undertaking.
6. 251. In other instances, workers are said to have been subjected to measures of intimidation. Thus Pascual Ruch Hernández, general secretary of the Trade Union of Workers of San José Nacahuil, is said to have been taken in for questioning by uniformed police without a warrant on three occasions. Luis Antonio Morán, general secretary of the Bran Canhuaco Rural Trade Union, is said to have been brutally beaten by a person in plain clothes during a union meeting and the complaint filed with the authorities against the attacker, who was identified, is said to have produced no result. The workers of "Los Diamantes" ranch in the Department of Escuintla are said to have reported threats uttered by the manager, who is said to be preventing them from establishing a trade union.
7. 252. Lastly four persons are said to have been murdered: Edgar de la Paz, aged 28 years, a railway employee and a member of the Railway Trade Union, kidnapped by a group of civilians who are said to have tied him to a tree, sprinkled petrol over him and burned him; María Luisa Recinos Satoj, a teacher aged 39 years, found dead after a week in captivity on a ranch at Siquinala, Department of Escuintla; an unidentified woman whose body is said to have been found bound hand and foot and bearing signs of torture and mutilation and who according to witnesses had been a manual worker; and a member of the Central Trade Union of Municipal Workers who died after being savagely beaten by persons unknown.

D. The Government's new reply

1. 253. In its reply of 27 April 1987 the Government categorically denies the existence of armed civilian groups threatening the peasants in rural areas. It states that no official complaints have been made to that effect. The Government affirms in the democratic process now under way, no one is subjected to persecution, and especially not sympathisers of opposition political groups.
2. 254. More specifically it states with regard to Emilio Benítez, leader of the Welders' Trade Union, who according to the complainants had been persecuted by paramilitary groups, that in the absence of a definite date and of a complaint it can institute no inquiries.
3. 255. With regard to the charges of denial of legal personality to certain trade unions, the Government transmits a list of the unions which have been recognised in 1987 and of those awaiting the signature of the Office of the President of the Republic. It adds that it will transmit as soon as possible a list of the associations in process of approval and an indication of the statutory conditions which they have not yet met.
4. 256. With regard to the charge concerning the alleged establishment of an official trade union confederation on the pretext of organising and educating the workers of town and countryside, the Government expresses concern at such misinformation and at the bad faith of the informants of international organisations. It explains that in reality the Ministry of Development has indeed recruited 1,170 rural and urban educators belonging to a community development association, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation specialising in vocational training and in the endeavour to attain even levels of development. The aim of the educators in question, however, according to the Government, is to support communal organisation in order to establish local development boards as part of the new structure at regional and local level. These local development boards are to work directly in agreement with the National Board of Urban and Rural Development, which will bring together those who function as decision-makers at the local level. It is therefore absurd to imagine that the human resources in question, for whose training the Ministry of Devlopment is responsible, are intended to set up an "official trade union confederation". The Government asks the Committee not to let itself be misled by the information given in the memorandum, which has nothing genuine about it.
5. 257. As to the charge concerning the alleged parallel trade union set up in the GUATEL undertaking, the Government states that ICFTU has submitted no evidence to warrant the assertion that the manager of GUATEL has supported the establishment of a committee parallel to the lawful trade union of the undertaking.
6. 258. With regard to the alleged measures of intimidation to which workers are said to have been subjected in the pursuit of their trade union activities, the Government states that, in the absence of exact dates for the alleged events, it is practically impossible for it to pin down the information covered by the complaints.
7. 259. Lastly, with regard to the alleged murders of trade unionists, the Government communicates the following information:
   • - Edgar de la Paz, who according to the complainants was 28 years old and a railway employee, is said to be in reality Edgar Paz Tello, a worker in the area of the Permanent Way, and to belong in reality to the Rural Workers' Union. According to the Government, the man himself stated in the national press that on the morning of 29 November, when he was drunk and had fallen asleep on the public highway, thieves robbed him of a cheque for 100 quetzales and his driving licence. They then sprinkled petrol over him and set fire to him. In a fainting condition, he claims, he was taken by several persons to the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security, where he was given treatment and then sent home;
   • - the teacher María Luisa Recinos Satoj, who according to the complainants was 39 years old, was apparently not a primary school teacher but an employee of "Las Américas" bar at Escuintla. According to the bar owner, the person concerned went out on 25 November 1986 to take part in a celebration in the town recreation hall. On 26 November Mrs. Recinos Satoj's body is reported to have been found at the San Antonio La Ceiba ranch, 158 km from Escuintla. The lady's lover, who is said to have threatened her on several occasions and who was wanted by the police, is understood to be suspected of the crime. The Government emphasises that the information obtained proves that the victim did not belong to the Teachers' Trade Union of Guatemala and that she had not been held captive for a week; it affirms that the crime was one of passion;
   • - with regard to the other cases mentioned by ICFTU, the Government states that, in the absence of exact information, it cannot check the accuracy of the complaints.
8. 260. With regard to Justo Rufino Reyes, a member of the Trade Union of Municipal Workers, who according to the Government was murdered on 23 July 1986, the police discovered in the course of its investigation that the victim had offered certain persons jobs in the markets of the capital in exchange for money. Since apparently he kept none of his promises and did not return the money, those whom he cheated are suspected of having hired a killer to murder him. Still according to the Government, it should be noted that the victim died of stab wounds in the neighbourhood of one of the markets in the capital.
9. 261. With regard to the case of Manuel de Jesús López Morales who, according to the Government, had just joined the Electricity and Energy Trade Union, who held no office in that Union and whose body was discovered on 7 March 1987, it has apparently been established that the victim was collaborating with a network of drug traffickers. His death, like that of the person discovered near him, is understood to have been the outcome of vengeance and the settling of accounts between different gangs operating in the country. According to the record, the bodies showed no sign of torture but were in an advance state of decay, and predators had begun gnawing them.
10. 262. In conclusion the Government states that it will continue to keep the Committee informed about the trade unions not yet recognised and the cases under investigation, and it reaffirms that all cases will be examined by the ad hoc commission established by the President of the Republic.

E. The Committee's conclusions

1. 263. The Committee takes note of the information and observations communicated by the Government on aspects of cases antedating the change of regime and the entry into force of the new Constitution dated January 1986. It also notes that the new Government has replied in detail, on 27 April 1987, to the allegations of ICFTU dated 12 and 23 March 1987.
2. 264. The Committee is bound to note with regret, however, that the Government has not replied, or has replied only partly, to the allegations of fact put forward by the complainants in the complaints submitted before the change of régime that took place in Guatemala in 1986.
3. 265. With regard to the deaths and disappearances of trade unionists that occurred before 1986, the Committee regrets that the Government has not provided more specific information on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of many trade unionists whose names are given by the complainants and on the fate of those trade unionists who have disappeared, in some cases many years ago. The Committee can only reiterate its previous conclusions on these points and once again urge the new Government to do its utmost to determine by judicial investigation what has become of the missing persons, to bring the facts to light, to determine who is to blame, and to punish those guilty of the violent death of trade union militants and leaders.
4. 266. With regard to the further allegations concerning the trade union situation of teachers, municipal workers and workers of the Universal Textiles Factory, the Committee observes that the complainants' version and the Government's version of the facts concerning those workers are mutually contradictory. The Committee notes that the Government states that the trade union organisations to which these categories of workers belong are carrying on their activities normally, that the Universal Textiles Factory has been closed down for economic reasons and that the Central Trade Union of Municipal Workers (SCTM), which claimed that its rules had not been registered after a period of more than one year, had on the contrary ceased motu proprio to elect its trade union leaders as long ago as 1981 and since then had been without legal representatives, its activities being suspended.
5. 267. With regard to Case No. 1195 and the various allegations made by the ICFTU, the Committee notes that the complainants' version and the Government's version are mutually contradictory. The complainant maintains that several trade union leaders have suffered violent death or death threats, that the Government is installing an official trade union organisation composed of educators paid by itself, and that a great many trade unions are waiting in vain for legal personality. The Government maintains, on the contrary, that the inquiries made have revealed that the persons who have died did not die for having pursued trade union activities but fell victim to common law crimes. The allegation that a so-called official trade union organisation is being set up is held to prove the bad faith of the informants of international organisations because, according to the Government, the function of the educators belonging to the Community Development Association, who are indeed paid by the Government itself, is to improve vocational training and endeavour to attain even levels of development, and not to set up an official trade union organisation. Lastly, with regard to the acquisition of legal personality by trade unions in process of formation, the Government states that several trade unions have acquired legal personality in 1986, others are awaiting the signature of the Office of the President of the Republic and still others are in process of approval. On this last point, the Committee notes the Government's statement that it will continue to keep the Committee informed of the action taken on the registration of those trade unions which have applied for it.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 268. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • a) With reference to the deaths and disappearances of trade unionists that occurred before 1986, the Committee cannot but urge the Government once again to do its utmost to determine by judicial investigation what has become of the missing persons, to bring the facts to light, to determine who is to blame and to punish the guilty. It requests the Government to keep it informed of all developments in this matter.
   • b) With reference to the allegations put forward by ICFTU in March 1987 in Case No. 1195 concerning the death of several trade union leaders, the Committee notes that the information supplied by the Government and complainants is contradictory.
   • c) With reference to the difficulties encountered by certain trade unions in registering their legal personality, the Committee points out that, if the conditions for the granting of registration are tantamount to obtaining prior permission from the public authorities for the establishment or functioning of a trade union, this would undeniably constitute an infringement of Convention No. 87. The Committee therefore requests the Government to continue to keep it informed, as it has undertaken to do, of the action it has taken on the applications for registration submitted by trade unions.