Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 377, March 2016

Case No 2987 (Argentina) - Complaint date: 22-AUG-12 - Follow-up

Allegations: The complainant organizations challenge the decision of the administrative labour authority of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires to summon to compulsory conciliation proceedings the parties to a dispute in the subway sector and the imposition of a fine on AGTSyP for failing to respond to the summons

1. 119. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2014 meeting when it presented an interim report to the Governing Body [see 371st Report, paras 154–170, approved by the Governing Body at its 320th Session (March 2014)].
2. 120. The Government sent new observations in communications dated 3 November 2014, 28 May 2015 and 10 March 2016.
3. 121. 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. Previous examination of the case

1. 122. In its previous examination of the case in October 2014, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 371st Report, para. 170]:
   • (a) The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the action for reconsideration with a subsidiary appeal which, according to the complainants, was brought against Administrative Decision No. 1015/SSTR/2012 ordering compulsory conciliation proceedings in a dispute in the Buenos Aires subway sector;
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether Administrative Decision No. 1016/SSTR/2012 of 11 August 2012 imposing the fine on the AGTSyP has been withdrawn;
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to send its observations without delay regarding the allegations that prosecutors (representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office) have filed complaints in relation to this dispute, which are ongoing, and that the Government City of Buenos Aires has applied to the National Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security and the National Labour Court for the withdrawal of the legal personality of the AGTSyP.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 123. In its communications dated 3 November 2014 and 28 May 2015, the Government reports that it consulted the Office of the Undersecretary of Labour, Industry and Trade of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, which indicated that no new claims had been made by the interested parties and that the problem had been resolved through new agreements.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 124. The Committee recalls that this case concerns a dispute in the context of the negotiation of certain working conditions and a salary adjustment for workers in the subway sector of the City of Buenos Aires. The Committee notes the indications by the Government that the problem has been resolved through new agreements. As regards Administrative Decisions Nos 1015/SSTR/2012 (ordering compulsory conciliation proceedings) and 1016/SSTR/2012 (imposing a fine on the AGTSyP and which, according to the Government, has not been served) the Committee requests the complainant organizations and the Government to indicate whether they are awaiting any administrative or court decisions in relation to these decisions and, if this is the case, to keep it informed of their outcomes. As regards the allegations that certain prosecutors had filed complaints in relation to this dispute and that the Government of the City of Buenos Aires is applying for the withdrawal of the legal personality of the AGTSyP, in view of the indications by the Government, unless the complainant organizations provide additional information in this regard, the Committee will not pursue the examination of these allegations.

The Committee’s recommendation

1. 125. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendation:
   • As regards Administrative Decisions Nos 1015/SSTR/2012 (ordering compulsory conciliation proceedings in the context of a dispute in the subway sector of Buenos Aires) and 1016/SSTR/2012 (imposing a fine on the AGTSyP and which, according to the Government, has not been served) the Committee requests the complainant organizations and the Government to indicate whether they are awaiting any administrative or court decisions in relation to these decisions and, if this is the case, to keep it informed of their outcomes.