Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 305, November 1996

Case No 1822 (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) - Complaint date: 08-FEB-95 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 67. During its last examination of this case by the Committee in June 1996 (see 304th Report, paras. 499-511), an allegation remained pending concerning the closure of the Editores El Nuevo Pais CA for a false financial crisis and returning to publish the newspaper El Nuevo Pais one month later with a different staff, in the absence of any trade union or collective agreement. The Committee made the following recommendation: "The Committee considers that the closure of Editores El Nuevo Pais CA may have been for anti-union reasons and calls on the Government to conduct an inquiry in this regard and, if such intentions are proven, to take measures, through legal proceedings, to compensate the National Press Trade Union and its former members in the enterprise concerned for the prejudice sustained, including by reinstating them in their jobs if they so wish. The Committee requests to be kept informed in this regard."
2. 68. In a communication dated 7 June 1996, the Government stated that as soon as the discussions concerning the draft collective labour agreement between the National Press Trade Union (SNTP) and Editores El Nuevo Pais, which lasted six months, arrived at an impasse, the union requested that the conciliation discussions be turned into dispute proceedings against the company. In the meantime, the company was closed for reasons of a financial nature. During the negotiations within the dispute proceedings, once the Conciliation Board was named, the workers put an end to their relationship with the company, reaching a compromise settlement (with final legal effect), in conformity with the Basic Labour Act. As a result, these workers were dismissed with compensation, as the settlement had been approved by the Labour Inspectorate (a copy of the labour settlement was attached).
3. 69. The Committee takes note of this information. Nevertheless, the Committee insists on the importance of carrying out investigations into complaints of discriminatory practice in order to redress any wrongs if their anti-union nature is proven and to apply the sanctions provided in the legislation.