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- 100. The Committee examined this case at its meeting in May 1988 and
- submitted an interim report to the Governing Body (see 256th Report, paras.
- 383-400). The Government subsequently sent its observations in communications
- of 25 May, 30 May, 3 June, 2 August and 13 September 1988.
- 101. The Committee was also informed that the Director-General, accompanied
- by Mr. Gernigon, Chief of the Freedom of Association Branch, paid a visit to
- Côte d'Ivoire from 27 to 29 July 1988 in order to examine the questions raised
- in the present case with the government authorities.
- 102. Côte d'Ivoire 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 case
A. Previous examination of the case
- 103. The World Federation Of Teachers' Unions (FISE) alleged that the
- congress of the National Union of Secondary School Teachers of Côte d'Ivoire
- (SYNESCI) had been suspended; that certain non-paid up elements had gone ahead
- with an illegal creation of an executive, which had occupied the union's
- headquarters with the help of the national police; and that SYNESCI's bank
- accounts had been frozen by order of the Minister for National Education in
- favour of the unlawful executive committee.
- 104. The FISE also alleged that three SYNESCI leaders, including the
- Secretary-General, Mr. Laurent Akoun, had been arrested and subsequently
- sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from four to six months for
- "misappropriation of union funds". It added that 13 other unionists had been
- detained in the Séguéla military camp, 18 had had their salaries suspended and
- six had been suspended from duties.
- 105. In the light of information available at its meeting in May 1988, the
- Committee submitted the following interim conclusions to the Governing Body:
- - Given the seriousness of the numerous allegations in this case, the
- Committee would like to hope that the Government will do its utmost to ensure
- that respect for trade union rights of teachers is guaranteed in Côte
- d'Ivoire.
- - The Committee asks that the National Union of Secondary School Teachers
- (SYNESCI), which has challenged the unlawful executive purporting to represent
- secondary school teachers, will have its case soon heard before the courts and
- requests the Government to inform it of the outcome of the case.
- - The Committee requests the Government to supply copies of the December
- 1987 judgement sentencing three SYNESCI leaders to prison terms for
- misappropriation of union funds and urges the Government to release or to
- inform it of the charges brought against the 13 trade union leaders who have
- apparently been detained without charge or trial in the Séguéla military camp
- since 31 October 1987 and of their current situation.
- - As regards the acts of anti-union discrimination taken by the authorities
- against SYNESCI activists over the last six months, the Committee requests the
- Government to inform it of the current situation of those teachers who have
- been suspended or transferred or have had salaries suspended because of their
- trade union activities or functions.
- B. The Government's reply
- 106. In its communication of 25 May 1988, the Government explains that prior
- to its congress the SYNESCI had encountered internal difficulties. There was
- general disenchantment among the activists, with the exception of a hard core,
- itself deeply divided. The members were reluctant to pay their contributions.
- The national executive was glaringly inefficient and its management
- disastrous. The congress was crucial, since the leadership wanted to maintain
- its position by all possible means, whereas the vast majority of secondary
- school teachers wanted a change of leadership if SYNESCI was to be
- revitalised. Already on the opening day of the congress, two groups clashed
- and the group supporting the retiring executive left the hall. The other group
- elected an executive for the duration of the congress and continued its work.
- The outgoing leadership was summoned to appear and account for its management
- over the preceding term. On its refusal to do so, a censure motion was passed
- against it. Four commissions were set up and the congress carried on its work
- until the end. Mr. Djanwet Kouakou was elected Secretary-General by an
- absolute majority. The new Secretary-General took possession of the SYNESCI
- premises on 24 July, accompanied by a bailiff.
- 107. On 4 August 1987, the new Secretary-General submitted a complaint to
- the Public Prosecutor of Abidjan against Messrs. Laurent Akoun, Traoré Yaya
- and Adoukou Vanga, members of the outgoing SYNESCI executive, for breach of
- trust and illegal possession of funds (14,700,000 CFA francs) and technical
- equipment belonging to the union. Following this complaint, information was
- obtained establishing that the technical equipment had been taken away while
- the congress was meeting by Mr. Laurent Akoun. Furthermore, between 21 and 23
- July 1987, the sum of 14,700,000 CFA francs had been withdrawn from three
- different banks on cheques signed by the retiring Secretary-General and
- countersigned by the retiring Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer.
- 108. When questioned, the accused admitted the facts, but explained that the
- sums withdrawn from the banks were used to pay the salaries of Mr. Akoun's
- office staff and various expenses arising from the congress and union
- activities. As far as the equipment was concerned, they had intended to
- deposit it in a safe place and restore it to its rightful owners after the
- congress which they had envisaged calling. On 19 September 1987, appearing
- before the examining magistrate, Mr. Laurent Akoun declared that he was ready
- and able to hand over formally SYNESCI's technical equipment and the funds,
- after deduction of expenses, amounting to 3,850,000 CFA francs (approximately
- 7,700 French francs) to pay for the union's operating costs. The other two
- accused signified their agreement with these new statements by Mr. Laurent
- Akoun. On 1 October 1987, lawyers acting for the accused handed over to the
- examining magistrate the funds and the technical office equipment
- misappropriated by their clients.
- 109. Mr. Laurent Akoun was remanded in custody on 5 September 1987 and the
- two others on 11 September 1987, and all the accused appeared before the
- Abidjan Criminal Court on charges of breach of trust and receiving stolen
- goods. Before the Abidjan Criminal Court, and subsequently before the Appeal
- Court, to which they had appealed at the same time as the Public Prosecutor,
- the accused maintained that the restitution which they had made nullified
- their indictment and that the congress had been dissolved on 21 July 1987 as a
- result of the disturbances; this meant that Mr. Djanwet Kouakou had not been
- properly elected and was therefore not qualified to represent SYNESCI.
- 110. The Abidjan Criminal Court and Appeal Court held that, in the absence
- of any proof, the alleged election dispute was wholly illusory and that the
- forced restitution carried out by the accused was no more than an act of
- repentance which did not erase their fraudulent intent and, at best,
- constituted extenuating circumstances. On these grounds both courts sentenced
- Mr. Akoun and Mr. Traoré Yaya to six months' imprisonment without remission
- and a 100,000 CFA francs' fine and Mr. Adoukou Vanga to four months'
- imprisonment without remission and a 50,000 CFA francs' fine.
- 111. On 21 September 1987, Mr. Laurent Akoun and his supporters brought a
- suit before the Labour Court, which was clearly not competent to deal with the
- case and which rejected their complaint in a decision of 5 November 1987. The
- parties then applied to the Abidjan Court of First Instance for the annulment
- of the July 1987 elections. The Court held, in a judgement handed down on 6
- April 1988 (a copy of which is supplied by the Government), that the opening
- of the congress had the effect of dissolving all the union's management
- bodies, automatically terminating their terms of office, and that Mr. Akoun
- could not act as Secretary-General of SYNESCI since he had lost that position
- and could only regain it as a result of re-election by the congress. His
- complaint was therefore declared irreceivable.
- 112. The Government also states that after the arrest of Mr. Akoun, a
- massive disinformation and indoctrination campaign was launched by his
- supporters, with the circulation of seditious, defamatory, tendentious and
- harmful tracts displaying exceptional violence against certain political
- personalities, against the law, against the education administration and,
- above all, against the President of the Republic.
- 113. Notwithstanding the extreme gravity of these deeds and actions, which
- were contrary to the Côte d'Ivoire Public Service Act, their authors, although
- public servants, were merely questioned and, having admitted their
- involvement, incurred no greater penalty than assignment to other posts in
- Côte d'Ivoire. Some had their deferment of military service lifted and, like
- all citizens of Côte d'Ivoire, were simply sent to serve their legal term at,
- among others, the Séguéla camp. Finally, those who resigned their posts out of
- solidarity with their comrades before the courts naturally lost their salaries
- for the time not worked, while others who had refused to accept their new
- assignment also, quite legitimately, had their salaries suspended.
- 114. As regards the SYNESCI congress, the Government considers that the
- changes in the union leadership are not the responsibility of the Government.
- In the Government's opinion, it is a result of the rift between the activists
- and their known opponents before and during the congress, which had been
- universally anticipated as a chance to change the national leadership which
- was inefficient in trade union matters, unnecessarily rigid and lacking in any
- distinct policy. This explains why, before the congress, Mr. Akoun had altered
- article 24 - which became article 26 of the union's regulations - and
- furthermore added a new article 3, whereby the means of scrutinising the
- election of a Secretary-General was changed. Only 82 people would have the
- legal right to choose the Secretary-General, 82 sure supporters since they
- were all officials of subsections established by the existing executive.
- Moreover, profiting from the widespread disenchantment and the refusal of
- almost all the teaching profession to pay up their union subscriptions (out of
- a membership of 7,000, only 150 were fully paid up), Mr. Akoun served his own
- interests by opposing the last-minute move to regularise the situation on the
- part of all those who he knew had decided to oust him and his team from the
- leadership of the union. As dedicated teachers, the majority were dissatisfied
- with the running of their trade union organisation and disgusted by their
- inability to make their voices heard at their own congress; after exhausting
- all other avenues of peaceful dialogue, which had led nowhere for several
- years, they finally imposed their will by weight of numbers.
- 115. The Government adds that, confident in their capacity and numbers, the
- members of the congress did not feel concerned by a sine die adjournment of
- the XVth Congress by a minority whose sole interest was in preserving the
- status quo. In this matter, the Government confined itself to preventing
- disorder. The other aspect - the decision as to the legality or illegality of
- the congress proceedings - is, in this country which respects the separation
- of powers, the responsibility of the judiciary and a submission to declare the
- proceedings of the XVth Congress invalid has in fact come before the courts.
- If the Government had acted differently, not only would the cry of
- inadmissible interference have gone up, but the Government would actually have
- been usurping the position of the judiciary. This is an additional reason why,
- on their request for an audience, the Head of State received the new
- executive, as he had always done for the outgoing executive.
- 116. As regards the criminal action taken against the former officials of
- SYNESCI, the Government states that it was neither based on mere assumption
- nor was in any sense a political trial. It was a matter of common law, treated
- as such, with scrupulous respect for the law in force, attended at all times
- by three representatives of the Paris and Abidjan bars; the plaintiff was Mr.
- Djanwet Kouakou, the new Secretary-General, whose right to defend the
- interests of SYNESCI was all the greater since there has been no judicial
- decision to invalidate his election. Moreover, every citizen has the right to
- denounce criminal acts and the Public Prosecutor acted on his complaint. In
- conclusion on this point, the Government declares that in any case it had no
- hand in the sentences imposed and that, even if it could give orders to a
- representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office, it would by no means be able
- to influence the verdict of a court.
- 117. Finally, the Government considers that the administrative decisions on
- military service, reassignment and suspension of salaries are trifling in
- relation to the misdemeanours committed, which all involved violations of the
- Public Service Act. Section 14 of the Act states that an official is free to
- hold his own philosophical, political and religious opinions. The expression
- of such opinions, however, may not challenge the principles laid down in the
- Constitution of the State. It is not permissible except off duty and may only
- be indulged with the discretion appropriate to the official's position. It may
- not be circulated in writing without the authorisation of the minister
- responsible. No charge has been taken up, or even laid, against the accused in
- relation to the insults and libels against the Head of State himself, all the
- attacks on his public and private life and the insults directed at the public
- authorities, which come under sections 174 and 243 ff. of the Penal Code.
- 118. The Government considers that, contrary to the allegations of the
- complainant, there has been no infringement on its part of the relevant
- provisions of Convention No. 87, Convention No. 98 and Convention No. 151.
- 119. In its communication of 3 June 1988, the Government states that the
- three SYNESCI leaders have served their sentences for breach of trust and
- receiving stolen goods. When released from prison, they proceeded to Séguéla
- camp to fulfil their legal term of military service. The Government therefore
- considers that their presence at Séguéla is due not to their lawful exercise
- of trade union activities, but to reprehensible actions committed in violation
- of section 14 of the General Public Service Act of Côte d'Ivoire.
- 120. In a communication of 2 August 1988, sent to the ILO after the
- Director-General had returned from his mission, the Government points out that
- the incidents that occurred during the last SYNESCI congress were the outcome
- of an internal dispute within the organisation between the various trade union
- factions. These factions had had the opportunity to put forward their views
- within the organisation and the Government in no way interfered in this
- internal matter of the SYNESCI. Only the judiciary had had to intervene in a
- civil trial and in a criminal trial initiated by both factions. The court, to
- whom the cases were referred by the parties concerned, ruled, on the one hand,
- on the validity of the elections held during the aforementioned congress and,
- on the other hand, on the criminal charges brought against the three former
- SYNESCI officials.
- 121. As regards the situation of persons who had been called to do their
- military service in military camps, the Government states that these persons
- had taken up their civilian teaching activities once again within their legal
- term of military service. Furthermore, measures are at present being studied
- so that the suspended salaries might be fully restored to the teachers
- concerned. Finally, the Government assures the Committee on Freedom of
- Association that the persons in question were never excluded from Ivorian
- society since there had been direct contacts with members of the Government on
- their situation.
- 122. In a further communication dated 13 September 1988, the Government
- states that this matter has reached its conclusion with Mr. Akoun and his
- colleagues regaining unconditionally the positions they had held in the
- administration before the incidents which gave rise to the present case before
- the Committee; their salaries have been restored as from July 1988 and the
- arrears in salary going back to the date of their suspension will be paid. The
- Government adds that only the results of the XVth SYNESCI Congress remain in
- place since this was a purely trade union problem in which the Government
- should not interfere.
C. The Committee's conclusions
C. The Committee's conclusions
- 123. The Committee notes that in the present case the complainant has
- submitted allegations concerning interference by the Government in the
- internal affairs of the National Union of Secondary School Teachers of Côte
- d'Ivoire (SYNESCI), the sentencing of three officials from this organisation
- to terms of imprisonment, the internment of other trade unionists in military
- camps and discriminatory measures taken against teachers, such as transfers or
- suspensions of salaries.
- 124. On the first point, the Committee notes that the matter can be traced
- back to the disputes that broke out between opposing groups during the SYNESCI
- congress. After the outgoing leadership had left the deliberations, the
- congress elected a new trade union executive which took over the premises and
- funds of the organisation. These elections were contested by the former
- leadership before the courts which rejected the complaint.
- 125. The Committee has always considered that it was not competent to make
- recommendations on internal dissensions within a trade union organisation, so
- long as the Government did not intervene in a manner which might affect the
- exercise of trade union rights and the normal functioning of an organisation.
- (See, for example, 217th Report, Case No. 1086 (Greece), para. 93.) In cases
- of this nature when there have been internal dissensions, the Committee has
- also pointed out that judicial intervention would permit a clarification of
- the situation from the legal point of view for the purpose of settling the
- question of the leadership and representation of the organisation concerned.
- The Government should recognise the leaders designated as legal
- representatives of the organisation. (See, for example, 172nd Report, Case No.
- 865 (Ecuador), para. 75.)
- 126. In the present case, the Committee notes that the group supporting the
- former trade union leadership left the deliberations of the congress of its
- own free will and did not therefore take part in the elections of the
- organisation's executive bodies. From the allegations, it does not appear that
- the public authorities at any time intervened in the electoral process.
- Furthermore, the complaint brought before the court by the former leadership
- was rejected. The Committee therefore considers that this aspect of the case
- does not call for further examination.
- 127. As regards the sentencing to terms of imprisonment of three former
- SYNESCI officials, the Committee notes that the judicial procedures leading to
- these sentences had been initiated after the new Secretary-General of the
- organisation had submitted a complaint alleging breach of trust and receipt of
- stolen goods. Furthermore, the Committee can merely state that from the
- information provided by the Government, in particular the text of the ruling,
- it would seem that those concerned benefited from normal judicial proceedings
- and, in particular, from the right of defence and appeal before the appeal
- courts.
- 128. As regards the internment of teachers in military camps - including the
- three sentenced officials after they had served their term - the Committee
- notes the Government's explanations that the parties concerned had had their
- deferment of military service lifted and were sent to these camps to serve
- their legal term of military service. According to the Government, these
- measures were taken following a defamatory and harmful campaign which they had
- led against certain personalities and, above all, against the President of the
- Republic.
- 129. In this respect, the Committee feels bound to recall that the right to
- express opinions publicly is one of the basic aspects of trade union rights.
- However, the exercise of trade union activity or the holding of trade union
- office does not provide immunity as regards the application of ordinary
- criminal law and the Committee considers in particular that, when making
- public statements, trade union officials should not exceed the admissible
- limits of controversy and refrain from extravagances of language. (See, in
- this respect, 218th Report, Case No. 1102 (Panama), para. 159.) In the present
- case, the fact nevertheless remains that the measures taken by the authorities
- to lift the trade unionists' deferment of military service were imposed
- without, it would seem, any normal judicial or disciplinary proceedings.
- Whilst noting that the parties concerned have now left the military camps and
- been reinstated in their teaching posts, the Committee nevertheless feels
- bound to draw the Government's attention to the importance it attaches to the
- principle that trade unionists, like all citizens, should benefit from
- proceedings guaranteeing full independence and impartiality when they are
- charged with common law or political offences.
- 130. The Committee takes note of the most recent information supplied by the
- Government to the effect that Mr. Akoun and his colleagues have regained the
- positions they had held prior to the incidents which led to this case before
- the Committee, in particular that their salaries have been restored as from
- July 1988 and the arrears due since the date of their suspension will be paid
- to them.
- 131. Finally, the Committee notes that an examination has being carried out
- into the situation of teachers whose payments were suspended, with a view to
- paying their salaries once again. It expresses the firm hope that the teachers
- concerned may therefore have their rights fully restored.
The Committee's recommendations
The Committee's recommendations
- 132. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the
- Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
- a) The Committee, given that the complainant did not produce any evidence
- that the public authorities interfered in the electoral process during the
- SYNESCI congress, considers that this aspect of the case does not call for
- further examination.
- b) The Committee notes that the trade unionists called up to military camps
- are now at liberty again and that they have been reinstated in their teaching
- posts. It nevertheless recalls the importance it attaches to the principle
- that trade unionists, like all citizens, should benefit from proceedings
- guaranteeing full independence and impartiality when they are charged with
- common law or political offences.
- c) The Committee notes that an examination has been carried out into the
- situation of those teachers whose salaries were suspended and that the arrears
- in their salaries are going to be paid to them. It expresses the hope that the
- teachers concerned will therefore have their rights fully restored.
