Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 329, November 2002

Case No 2131 (Argentina) - Complaint date: 30-MAY-01 - Closed

Allegations: The complainants allege that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Human Resources Training forced trade union organizations by a resolution to adopt new collective labour agreements at the company Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., and that the latter decided not to renew the employment contracts of 58 cabin crew employees.

1. 175. The complaints in the present case are contained in a communication dated 30 May 2001 from the Asociación Argentina de Aeronavegantes (AAA) and a communication of June 2001 from the General Confederation of Labour of the Argentine Republic (CGT). The Government sent its observations in a communication dated 29 May 2002.
2. 176. Argentina 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 complainants’ allegations

1. 177. In their respective communications of 30 May and June 2001, the Asociación Argentina de Aeronavegantes (AAA) and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) objected to resolution No. 30/2001, passed by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Human Resources Training under the terms of Act No. 24013, which required all trade unions and undertakings in the sector in question to form negotiating committees with a view to modifying the collective agreements in force; a framework agreement was proposed at the same time. According to the complainants, the authorities have forced the trade unions to accept new collective labour agreements while denying them the right to defend acquired rights.
2. 178. The Asociación Argentina de Aeronavegantes also states that, in view of its refusal to accept the new framework agreement, Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A. decided not to renew the employment contracts of 58 cabin crew employees. Lastly, the complainant states that the Ministry of Labour passed resolution No. 119/2001 requiring the company to regularize the situation of the employees in question (a copy of the resolution is supplied with the complaint).

B. The Government’s reply

1. 179. In its communication of 29 May 2002, the Government reiterates the observations which it made in the context of Case No. 2095 [see the Committee’s 327th Report, paras. 165-168] on resolution No. 30/2001 and Act No. 24013 to which the complainants have objected. To summarize, the Government emphasizes that: (1) given the fact that that the company had claimed to be in crisis, which meant that it could not continue to operate with the same number of employees as before, and since dismissals had begun in the sector, the Ministry of Labour did all that was legally in its power to revoke the dismissals that had taken place and to preserve jobs in the company; and (2) the authorities did not suspend or annul the existing agreement between the parties by decree or suspend contracts that had already been negotiated, nor did they cancel collective agreements and impose renegotiation; on the contrary, the procedure to which the complainants have objected is intended to harness and promote collective bargaining in crisis situations with a view to avoiding unilateral solutions that are detrimental to jobs. It should also be noted that at no time was the autonomy of the parties concerned compromised. If the parties fail to reach an agreement, the matters in dispute are not settled through compulsory arbitration by the labour authorities (unless the parties seek such arbitration by consensus).
2. 180. Lastly, the Government states that in December 2001, the company Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A. attended insolvency proceedings, and in this context collective talks began, a three-year collective agreement having been concluded by the Asociación Argentina de Aeronavegantes (AAA), among other sector unions.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 181. The Committee notes that in the present case, the complainants object to resolution No. 30/2001 of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Human Resources Training, which was passed under the terms of Act No. 24013, by which the Government, in view of the economic crisis facing Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., called on all the sector unions and the company in February 2001 to establish negotiating committees to modify the collective agreements in force, and also proposed a framework agreement. The Government notes that the complainant alleges that, since it did not accept the proposed framework agreement, the company Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A. in reprisal decided not to renew the employment contracts of 58 cabin crew employees.
2. 182. The Committee notes that, when it examined a previous complaint at its March 2002 meeting, it formulated certain comments on the ministerial resolution and the Act to which the complainants have objected. The Committee also notes that the Government reiterates the arguments which it put forward on that occasion. Under the circumstances, the Committee refers to its conclusions regarding the previous complaint in question [see 327th Report, Case No. 2095, para. 172]:
   • Moreover, the Committee considers that Act No. 24013 and resolution ST No. 30/2001 establish consultation machinery to achieve solutions by consensus to crisis situations and do not oblige the parties to renegotiate the terms of collective agreements. Therefore the Committee will not continue its examination of the allegations.
3. 183. As regards the allegation that the company decided not to renew the contracts of 58 cabin crew employees in reprisal for the refusal by one of the complainants (AAA) to accept a framework agreement, the Committee notes that the Government passed resolution No. 119/2001 which states that “the Ministry has an obligation to do its utmost to maintain social peace and protect employment, and must therefore adopt all necessary measures to resolve the present dispute”, and that “it is appropriate to require the employer to regularize the situation of the employees in question, in the conviction that this will help to remove the obstacles to agreements that would resolve their differences”. The Committee urges the Government to undertake an investigation of this matter and, if it is found that the non-renewal of the contracts of the 58 employees was linked to the exercise of trade union rights, to draw the necessary conclusions with a view to the possible renewal of those contacts. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this matter.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 184. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendation:
   • As regards the allegation regarding the decision not to renew the employment contracts of 58 cabin crew employees in reprisal for the refusal by one of the complainants, the Asociación Argentina de Aeronavegantes, to accept a framework agreement, the Committee urges the Government to undertake an investigation of this matter and, if it is found that the non-renewal of the contracts of the 58 employees was linked to the exercise of trade union rights, to draw the necessary conclusions with a view to the possible renewal of those contracts. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this matter.