Definitive Report - Report No 302, March 1996

Case No 1842 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 11-MAY-95 - Closed

Allegations: Acts of anti-union discrimination and closure of a sugar mill in order to break up the trade union organization

1. 123. The complaint was presented in a communication from the National Sugar Industry Trade Union (San Francisco de Cusclatán Sugar Mill local union) (SINA) dated 11 May 1995. The Government replied in communications dated 1 November 1995 and 12 February 1996.
2. 124. El Salvador has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 125. The National Sugar Industry Trade Union (San Francisco de Cusclatán Sugar Mill local union) (SINA) alleges in its communication of 11 May 1995 that since May 1994 the San Francisco Sugar Mill has adopted a systematic anti-union policy, obliging workers to renounce their union membership and dismissing 41 union members in September 1994 and 18 in October 1994. Between November 1994 and May 1995, 77 members left the union as a result of pressure from the enterprise, acting mainly through five pro-management workers - one of whom went so far as to pay workers to leave the union.
2. 126. The complainant adds that in March 1995 it called for a review of the collective agreement. The enterprise replied that it was prepared to start negotiations from 1 May 1995, but when the workers went to work on 29 April 1995 they found the enterprise closed. According to the complainant, proper legal procedures were not observed and the closure violated the collective agreement and was designed to break up the trade union organization.

B. The Government's reply

1. 127. In its communication of 1 November 1995, the Government states that on 19 October 1995 the head of the International Relations Office of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare visited Industrias Agrícolas San Francisco S.A de C.V. to investigate the SINA's complaint. He was accompanied by the enterprise's attorney who, when informed of the purpose of the visit, stated:
   • - that as representative of Industrias Agrícolas San Francisco S.A de C.V. he considered the allegations to be malicious, in that the closure of the workplace was not directed against any workers' association, namely the SINA local union, but was due to the crisis in the national sugar industry (a number of press cuttings alluding to the seriousness of the problem were attached);
   • - the closure of Industrias Agrícolas San Francisco complied with all the requirements of the law, as evidenced by the settlement signed between the SINA and the enterprise (a copy of which was attached) stating that the SINA has no claim against the enterprise. The agreement between the parties, which was officially recorded in the administrative offices of Industrias Agrícolas San Francisco S.A de C.V., reads:
     • ... Industrias Agrícolas San Francisco S.A de C.V. owes no worker any money in respect of regular or exceptional wages or any other services; consequently we declare the enterprise free of any responsibility deriving from the collective agreement it entered into with the trade union and hereby conclude this final settlement with the company, which extends to all natural or legal persons that been involved in the contractual relationship that existed between the parties here present.
   • - the four union leaders who signed the complaint submitted to the Committee were also compensated in the manner and to the extent laid down in the Labour Code; furthermore, they submitted an irrevocable resignation from their duties in the sugar mill (a copy of these documents was attached);
   • - the enterprise considers that it has complied with the law throughout and that there is therefore no violation of freedom of association.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 128. The Committee observes that the complainant organization alleges: (1) acts of anti-trade union discrimination and interference in union affairs by Industrias Agrícolas San Francisco S.A de C.V., namely the dismissal of numerous trade unionists and the coercion of its workers to renounce their membership of the trade union; and (2) the illegal closure of the San Francisco Sugar Mill in order to break up the trade union organization.
2. 129. Regarding the alleged illegal and anti-union nature of the closure of the San Francisco Sugar Mill, the Committee observes that, according to the enterprise (whose point of view the Government reflects in its reply), the closure was due to the crisis in the national sugar industry, that it complied with legal requirements and that it was not directed against the trade union organization. Since the allegations and the point of view of the enterprise are contradictory, and noting that the parties reached an agreement after the closure of the sugar mill in which the trade union specifically declared the enterprise free of any responsibility under the collective agreement and that it owed no money in respect of wages or other services, the Committee concludes that the allegation regarding the closure of the San Francisco Sugar Mill does not call for further examination.
3. 130. Regarding the alleged anti-union dismissals and coercion of workers of the San Francisco Sugar Mill to renounce their membership of the union, the Committee regrets that the Government has not commented on this matter. Since the sugar mill has now been closed, the question of the reinstatement of the dismissed workers is no longer relevant, especially since - as indicated in the previous paragraph - the complainant organization has signed an agreement declaring that the enterprise owes nothing in respect of wages or other services. However, in so far as the Government has not denied the alleged anti-union dismissals which, according to the complainant, occurred months before the sugar mill was closed down, the Committee requests the Government to take steps to ensure that in future all denunciations of acts of anti-union discrimination and interference are investigated rapidly and, if the denunciations prove to be founded, that such acts are rapidly remedied.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 131. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendation:
   • The Committee calls on the Government to take steps to ensure that in future all denunciations of acts of anti-union discrimination and interference are investigated rapidly and, if the denunciations prove to be founded, that such acts are rapidly remedied.