Interim Report - Report No 377, March 2016

Case No 2923 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 13-JAN-12 - Active

Allegation: Murder of a trade union leader

1. 299. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2015 meeting, when it presented an interim report to the Governing Body [see 375th Report, paras 268–282, approved by the Governing Body at its 324th Session (June 2015)].
2. 300. The Government sent new observations in a communication dated 29 September 2015.
3. 301. El Salvador has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135), and the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 302. In its previous examination of the case in June 2015, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 375th Report, para. 282]:
   • – The Committee, deeply deploring and condemning the murder of union leader Mr Victoriano Abel Vega, once again requests the Government to provide information on the criminal proceedings initiated and to take all measures at its disposal to ensure that investigations are intensified to clarify the facts, identify the guilty parties and impose commensurate punishment in accordance with the law, with a view to preventing such types of criminal offences. The Committee requests the Government and the competent authorities to take all available measures in accordance with the law to identify the perpetrators of this murder and to investigate further into its alleged anti-union motives.
   • – In this connection, as the complainant organizations have linked the murder of the union leader to his union activities, and in particular to his advocacy for the establishment of a union in the municipal services of San Sebastián (allegedly impeded through dismissals of the union’s founding members and the silence of the labour administration concerning the trade union complaints), the Committee urges the Government to carry out an investigation in this regard and to keep it informed.
   • – Lastly, the Committee once again draws the Governing Body’s attention to the extremely serious and urgent nature of this case.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 303. In its communication of 29 September 2015, the Government states that the murder of Mr Victoriano Abel Vega has been repeatedly condemned in El Salvador, that it respects and guarantees freedom of association, and that the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the National Civil Police are still investigating the case. Although, on account of the separation of powers, the prosecution service has complete operational independence, in the interests of speeding up the investigation and complying with the Committee’s recommendations, the Government notified the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the present complaint, emphasizing its seriousness and placing the highest priority on its resolution, and again requested information on the progress of the investigation. In a note of 12 May 2015, the Chief Public Prosecutor reported on the investigative work carried out, including various expert opinions and interviews with witnesses, stating however that the perpetrators of the offence had not yet been identified and that the investigation was still ongoing, with requests having been made to the Central Investigation Department of the National Civil Police for new investigations, the results of which are still pending. In that regard, in July 2015, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare met with the Chief Public Prosecutor to emphasize the extremely serious and urgent nature of the case and the importance of moving ahead with and concluding the investigation. Consequently, the Chief Public Prosecutor expressed his wish that the investigation should be expedited. The Government states that it will keep the Committee informed of any developments in this regard.
2. 304. As to the complainants’ allegations linking the murder of the union leader to his union activities, and in particular to his advocacy for the establishment of a union in the municipal services of San Sebastián Salitrillo, the Government again states that such allegations are unsubstantiated given that, according to the records of the National Department of Social Organizations, the creation of the Union of Municipal Workers of San Sebastián Salitrillo was registered on 18 November 2010 and that, to date, the union and its executive committee remain active.
3. 305. As to the alleged silence of the labour administration referred to by the complainants in their complaint, the Government states that it has not found any processed files in the relevant Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare archive. Indeed, the Labour Code does not cover municipal administrative careers, the municipal commissions having the power to hear any complaints filed by municipal officials or employees concerning violations of the rights enshrined in the relevant legislation (the Municipal Administrative Careers Act). The Government states that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare does not have the right to deal with requests for inspections into violations of labour rights within municipal services. Lastly, the Government reports that there are a number of other bodies competent to deal with the complaints of municipal service workers – namely, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman and the Office of the Public Prosecutor.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 306. The Committee recalls that the allegations in the present case refer to the murder, on 16 January 2010, in the city of Santa Ana, of Mr Victoriano Abel Vega (general secretary of the Union of Municipal Workers of Santa Ana (SITRAMSA)). He died from multiple gunshot wounds received as he was leaving the City Sanitation Services office, where he had gone to submit a letter requesting permission to attend a union meeting of the Autonomous Confederation of Salvadorian Workers (CATS). The complainant organizations highlighted that, upon leaving the office, Mr Victoriano Abel Vega, who had already received death threats for his union activities, was killed by five persons who were waiting for him, and who fled in a vehicle that was waiting for them. In its last examination of the case, the Committee took note of the Government’s statement to the effect that it had not yet been possible to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators and that the investigation remained open and the Central Investigation Department continued to search for sources to enable it to identify the perpetrators of the crime.
2. 307. The Committee wises to recall that [t]he killing, disappearance or serious injury of trade union leaders and trade unionists requires the institution of independent judicial inquiries in order to shed full light, at the earliest date, on the facts and the circumstances in which such actions occurred and in this way, to the extent possible, determine where responsibilities lie, punish the guilty parties and prevent the repetition of similar events [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, fifth (revised) edition, 2006, para. 48].
3. 308. The Committee takes note of the Government’s additional observations, according to which: (1) it has contacted the Office of the Public Prosecutor on various occasions to emphasize the serious and urgent nature of the case; and (2) despite the various steps taken, it has not been possible to identify the perpetrators, the investigation remains open and the Public Prosecutor has expressed the wish that the investigation be expedited.
4. 309. The Committee deeply regrets that, although the murder of union leader Mr Victoriano Abel Vega took place on 16 January 2010, more than six years later the authorities have not identified the perpetrators of, or parties to, this abject murder. Noting that, despite the steps taken, it seems that no tangible progress has been made regarding the investigation, the Committee firmly urges the Government and all the competent authorities to take without delay all possible steps to identify the perpetrators of the murder.
5. 310. The Committee again highlights the seriousness of the allegations, deeply deplores and condemns the murder of the trade union leader and again reiterates the recommendation made at its June 2014 meeting firmly urging the Government to provide information on the criminal proceedings initiated, and trusts that tangible progress will be made in the near future that will lead to clarification of the facts, identification of the guilty parties and the imposition of commensurate punishment in accordance with the law, with a view to preventing such types of criminal offences.
6. 311. As to the allegations linking the murder of the union leader to his union activities, and in particular to his advocacy for the establishment of a union in the municipal services of San Sebastián Salitrillo, the Committee noted, in its previous examination of the case, the Government’s statements to the effect that the Union of Municipal Workers of San Sebastián Salitrillo (SITMASSS) was created on 18 November 2010 and that both the trade union and its executive committee remain active. Taking into account the information provided by the complainant organizations relating to the union activities of Mr Victoriano Abel Vega, reflected in his request to attend a meeting of the CATS on the day he was killed, and to the fact that he had received death threats as a result of his union activities, the Committee considers that the subsequent creation of SITMASSS and the continued existence to date of its executive committee do not constitute sufficient grounds for rejecting the allegations linking the murder to union activities and, in particular, to advocacy for the establishment of SITMASSS. The Committee has already recalled in this regard that union official Mr Victoriano Abel Vega was murdered on 16 January 2010 and that, prior to his murder, he carried out advocacy relating to SITMASSS. Consequently, the Committee is bound to request the Government once again to ensure that the statements of the complainant organizations concerning the anti-union motives for the murder are examined in greater depth within the criminal investigations.
7. 312. As to the allegations of dismissal of the union’s founding members and the silence of the labour administration (the complainants alleged in their complaint that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare failed to follow up their requests for an inspection), the Committee notes the Government’s statement that there is no record of any files being processed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare because inspections at the municipal level are not the competence of the Ministry but rather of municipal bodies (the municipal commissions) and other state entities. However, the Committee regrets the fact that, apart from providing that information, the Government has not reported having taken any action to comply with the Committee’s recommendation that the allegations of the dismissal of the union’s founding members should be investigated, for example, by making inquiries with the competent bodies referred to in the Committee’s most recent observations. The Committee urges the Government to refer the allegations relating to the dismissal of the trade union founders to the competent authorities and, to this end, invites the complainant organizations to provide further information relating to the allegations and to any complaints filed in connection with them. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 313. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee, deeply deploring and condemning the murder of trade union leader Mr Victoriano Abel Vega, firmly urges the Government to provide information on the criminal proceedings initiated, and trusts that tangible progress will be made in the near future that will lead to clarification of the facts, identification of the guilty parties and the imposition of commensurate punishment in accordance with the law, with a view to preventing such types of criminal offences. The Committee firmly urges the Government and all the competent authorities to take without delay all possible steps in accordance with the law to identify the perpetrators of this murder and to ensure that the alleged anti-union motives behind it are investigated in greater depth.
   • (b) Accordingly, as the complainant organizations have linked the murder of the trade union leader to his union activities, and in particular to his advocacy for the establishment of a union in the municipal services of San Sebastián, the Committee urges the Government to refer the allegations relating to the dismissal of the union’s founding members to the competent authorities and, to this end, invites the complainant organizations to provide further information relating to the allegations and to any complaints filed in connection with them. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
   • (c) Lastly, the Committee once again draws the Governing Body’s attention to the extremely serious and urgent nature of this case.