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Informe definitivo - Informe núm. 259, Noviembre 1988

Caso núm. 1423 (Côte d'Ivoire) - Fecha de presentación de la queja:: 20-AGO-87 - Cerrado

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  1. 100. The Committee examined this case at its meeting in May 1988 and
    • submitted an interim report to the Governing Body (see 256th Report, paras.
  2. 383-400). The Government subsequently sent its observations in communications
  3. of 25 May, 30 May, 3 June, 2 August and 13 September 1988.
  4. 101. The Committee was also informed that the Director-General, accompanied
    • by Mr. Gernigon, Chief of the Freedom of Association Branch, paid a visit to
    • Côte d'Ivoire from 27 to 29 July 1988 in order to examine the questions raised
    • in the present case with the government authorities.
  5. 102. Côte d'Ivoire 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

A. Previous examination of the case
  1. 103. The World Federation Of Teachers' Unions (FISE) alleged that the
    • congress of the National Union of Secondary School Teachers of Côte d'Ivoire
    • (SYNESCI) had been suspended; that certain non-paid up elements had gone ahead
    • with an illegal creation of an executive, which had occupied the union's
    • headquarters with the help of the national police; and that SYNESCI's bank
    • accounts had been frozen by order of the Minister for National Education in
    • favour of the unlawful executive committee.
  2. 104. The FISE also alleged that three SYNESCI leaders, including the
    • Secretary-General, Mr. Laurent Akoun, had been arrested and subsequently
    • sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from four to six months for
    • "misappropriation of union funds". It added that 13 other unionists had been
    • detained in the Séguéla military camp, 18 had had their salaries suspended and
    • six had been suspended from duties.
  3. 105. In the light of information available at its meeting in May 1988, the
    • Committee submitted the following interim conclusions to the Governing Body:
      • - Given the seriousness of the numerous allegations in this case, the
    • Committee would like to hope that the Government will do its utmost to ensure
    • that respect for trade union rights of teachers is guaranteed in Côte
    • d'Ivoire.
      • - The Committee asks that the National Union of Secondary School Teachers
    • (SYNESCI), which has challenged the unlawful executive purporting to represent
    • secondary school teachers, will have its case soon heard before the courts and
    • requests the Government to inform it of the outcome of the case.
      • - The Committee requests the Government to supply copies of the December
    • 1987 judgement sentencing three SYNESCI leaders to prison terms for
    • misappropriation of union funds and urges the Government to release or to
    • inform it of the charges brought against the 13 trade union leaders who have
    • apparently been detained without charge or trial in the Séguéla military camp
    • since 31 October 1987 and of their current situation.
      • - As regards the acts of anti-union discrimination taken by the authorities
    • against SYNESCI activists over the last six months, the Committee requests the
    • Government to inform it of the current situation of those teachers who have
    • been suspended or transferred or have had salaries suspended because of their
    • trade union activities or functions.
    • B. The Government's reply
  4. 106. In its communication of 25 May 1988, the Government explains that prior
    • to its congress the SYNESCI had encountered internal difficulties. There was
    • general disenchantment among the activists, with the exception of a hard core,
    • itself deeply divided. The members were reluctant to pay their contributions.
    • The national executive was glaringly inefficient and its management
    • disastrous. The congress was crucial, since the leadership wanted to maintain
    • its position by all possible means, whereas the vast majority of secondary
    • school teachers wanted a change of leadership if SYNESCI was to be
    • revitalised. Already on the opening day of the congress, two groups clashed
    • and the group supporting the retiring executive left the hall. The other group
    • elected an executive for the duration of the congress and continued its work.
    • The outgoing leadership was summoned to appear and account for its management
    • over the preceding term. On its refusal to do so, a censure motion was passed
    • against it. Four commissions were set up and the congress carried on its work
    • until the end. Mr. Djanwet Kouakou was elected Secretary-General by an
    • absolute majority. The new Secretary-General took possession of the SYNESCI
    • premises on 24 July, accompanied by a bailiff.
  5. 107. On 4 August 1987, the new Secretary-General submitted a complaint to
    • the Public Prosecutor of Abidjan against Messrs. Laurent Akoun, Traoré Yaya
    • and Adoukou Vanga, members of the outgoing SYNESCI executive, for breach of
    • trust and illegal possession of funds (14,700,000 CFA francs) and technical
    • equipment belonging to the union. Following this complaint, information was
    • obtained establishing that the technical equipment had been taken away while
    • the congress was meeting by Mr. Laurent Akoun. Furthermore, between 21 and 23
    • July 1987, the sum of 14,700,000 CFA francs had been withdrawn from three
    • different banks on cheques signed by the retiring Secretary-General and
    • countersigned by the retiring Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer.
  6. 108. When questioned, the accused admitted the facts, but explained that the
    • sums withdrawn from the banks were used to pay the salaries of Mr. Akoun's
    • office staff and various expenses arising from the congress and union
    • activities. As far as the equipment was concerned, they had intended to
    • deposit it in a safe place and restore it to its rightful owners after the
    • congress which they had envisaged calling. On 19 September 1987, appearing
    • before the examining magistrate, Mr. Laurent Akoun declared that he was ready
    • and able to hand over formally SYNESCI's technical equipment and the funds,
    • after deduction of expenses, amounting to 3,850,000 CFA francs (approximately
  7. 7,700 French francs) to pay for the union's operating costs. The other two
    • accused signified their agreement with these new statements by Mr. Laurent
    • Akoun. On 1 October 1987, lawyers acting for the accused handed over to the
    • examining magistrate the funds and the technical office equipment
    • misappropriated by their clients.
  8. 109. Mr. Laurent Akoun was remanded in custody on 5 September 1987 and the
    • two others on 11 September 1987, and all the accused appeared before the
    • Abidjan Criminal Court on charges of breach of trust and receiving stolen
    • goods. Before the Abidjan Criminal Court, and subsequently before the Appeal
    • Court, to which they had appealed at the same time as the Public Prosecutor,
    • the accused maintained that the restitution which they had made nullified
    • their indictment and that the congress had been dissolved on 21 July 1987 as a
    • result of the disturbances; this meant that Mr. Djanwet Kouakou had not been
    • properly elected and was therefore not qualified to represent SYNESCI.
  9. 110. The Abidjan Criminal Court and Appeal Court held that, in the absence
    • of any proof, the alleged election dispute was wholly illusory and that the
    • forced restitution carried out by the accused was no more than an act of
    • repentance which did not erase their fraudulent intent and, at best,
    • constituted extenuating circumstances. On these grounds both courts sentenced
    • Mr. Akoun and Mr. Traoré Yaya to six months' imprisonment without remission
    • and a 100,000 CFA francs' fine and Mr. Adoukou Vanga to four months'
    • imprisonment without remission and a 50,000 CFA francs' fine.
  10. 111. On 21 September 1987, Mr. Laurent Akoun and his supporters brought a
    • suit before the Labour Court, which was clearly not competent to deal with the
    • case and which rejected their complaint in a decision of 5 November 1987. The
    • parties then applied to the Abidjan Court of First Instance for the annulment
    • of the July 1987 elections. The Court held, in a judgement handed down on 6
    • April 1988 (a copy of which is supplied by the Government), that the opening
    • of the congress had the effect of dissolving all the union's management
    • bodies, automatically terminating their terms of office, and that Mr. Akoun
    • could not act as Secretary-General of SYNESCI since he had lost that position
    • and could only regain it as a result of re-election by the congress. His
    • complaint was therefore declared irreceivable.
  11. 112. The Government also states that after the arrest of Mr. Akoun, a
    • massive disinformation and indoctrination campaign was launched by his
    • supporters, with the circulation of seditious, defamatory, tendentious and
    • harmful tracts displaying exceptional violence against certain political
    • personalities, against the law, against the education administration and,
    • above all, against the President of the Republic.
  12. 113. Notwithstanding the extreme gravity of these deeds and actions, which
    • were contrary to the Côte d'Ivoire Public Service Act, their authors, although
    • public servants, were merely questioned and, having admitted their
    • involvement, incurred no greater penalty than assignment to other posts in
    • Côte d'Ivoire. Some had their deferment of military service lifted and, like
    • all citizens of Côte d'Ivoire, were simply sent to serve their legal term at,
    • among others, the Séguéla camp. Finally, those who resigned their posts out of
    • solidarity with their comrades before the courts naturally lost their salaries
    • for the time not worked, while others who had refused to accept their new
    • assignment also, quite legitimately, had their salaries suspended.
  13. 114. As regards the SYNESCI congress, the Government considers that the
    • changes in the union leadership are not the responsibility of the Government.
    • In the Government's opinion, it is a result of the rift between the activists
    • and their known opponents before and during the congress, which had been
    • universally anticipated as a chance to change the national leadership which
    • was inefficient in trade union matters, unnecessarily rigid and lacking in any
    • distinct policy. This explains why, before the congress, Mr. Akoun had altered
    • article 24 - which became article 26 of the union's regulations - and
    • furthermore added a new article 3, whereby the means of scrutinising the
    • election of a Secretary-General was changed. Only 82 people would have the
    • legal right to choose the Secretary-General, 82 sure supporters since they
    • were all officials of subsections established by the existing executive.
    • Moreover, profiting from the widespread disenchantment and the refusal of
    • almost all the teaching profession to pay up their union subscriptions (out of
    • a membership of 7,000, only 150 were fully paid up), Mr. Akoun served his own
    • interests by opposing the last-minute move to regularise the situation on the
    • part of all those who he knew had decided to oust him and his team from the
    • leadership of the union. As dedicated teachers, the majority were dissatisfied
    • with the running of their trade union organisation and disgusted by their
    • inability to make their voices heard at their own congress; after exhausting
    • all other avenues of peaceful dialogue, which had led nowhere for several
    • years, they finally imposed their will by weight of numbers.
  14. 115. The Government adds that, confident in their capacity and numbers, the
    • members of the congress did not feel concerned by a sine die adjournment of
    • the XVth Congress by a minority whose sole interest was in preserving the
    • status quo. In this matter, the Government confined itself to preventing
    • disorder. The other aspect - the decision as to the legality or illegality of
    • the congress proceedings - is, in this country which respects the separation
    • of powers, the responsibility of the judiciary and a submission to declare the
    • proceedings of the XVth Congress invalid has in fact come before the courts.
    • If the Government had acted differently, not only would the cry of
    • inadmissible interference have gone up, but the Government would actually have
    • been usurping the position of the judiciary. This is an additional reason why,
    • on their request for an audience, the Head of State received the new
    • executive, as he had always done for the outgoing executive.
  15. 116. As regards the criminal action taken against the former officials of
    • SYNESCI, the Government states that it was neither based on mere assumption
    • nor was in any sense a political trial. It was a matter of common law, treated
    • as such, with scrupulous respect for the law in force, attended at all times
    • by three representatives of the Paris and Abidjan bars; the plaintiff was Mr.
    • Djanwet Kouakou, the new Secretary-General, whose right to defend the
    • interests of SYNESCI was all the greater since there has been no judicial
    • decision to invalidate his election. Moreover, every citizen has the right to
    • denounce criminal acts and the Public Prosecutor acted on his complaint. In
    • conclusion on this point, the Government declares that in any case it had no
    • hand in the sentences imposed and that, even if it could give orders to a
    • representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office, it would by no means be able
    • to influence the verdict of a court.
  16. 117. Finally, the Government considers that the administrative decisions on
    • military service, reassignment and suspension of salaries are trifling in
    • relation to the misdemeanours committed, which all involved violations of the
    • Public Service Act. Section 14 of the Act states that an official is free to
    • hold his own philosophical, political and religious opinions. The expression
    • of such opinions, however, may not challenge the principles laid down in the
    • Constitution of the State. It is not permissible except off duty and may only
    • be indulged with the discretion appropriate to the official's position. It may
    • not be circulated in writing without the authorisation of the minister
    • responsible. No charge has been taken up, or even laid, against the accused in
    • relation to the insults and libels against the Head of State himself, all the
    • attacks on his public and private life and the insults directed at the public
    • authorities, which come under sections 174 and 243 ff. of the Penal Code.
  17. 118. The Government considers that, contrary to the allegations of the
    • complainant, there has been no infringement on its part of the relevant
    • provisions of Convention No. 87, Convention No. 98 and Convention No. 151.
  18. 119. In its communication of 3 June 1988, the Government states that the
    • three SYNESCI leaders have served their sentences for breach of trust and
    • receiving stolen goods. When released from prison, they proceeded to Séguéla
    • camp to fulfil their legal term of military service. The Government therefore
    • considers that their presence at Séguéla is due not to their lawful exercise
    • of trade union activities, but to reprehensible actions committed in violation
    • of section 14 of the General Public Service Act of Côte d'Ivoire.
  19. 120. In a communication of 2 August 1988, sent to the ILO after the
    • Director-General had returned from his mission, the Government points out that
    • the incidents that occurred during the last SYNESCI congress were the outcome
    • of an internal dispute within the organisation between the various trade union
    • factions. These factions had had the opportunity to put forward their views
    • within the organisation and the Government in no way interfered in this
    • internal matter of the SYNESCI. Only the judiciary had had to intervene in a
    • civil trial and in a criminal trial initiated by both factions. The court, to
    • whom the cases were referred by the parties concerned, ruled, on the one hand,
    • on the validity of the elections held during the aforementioned congress and,
    • on the other hand, on the criminal charges brought against the three former
    • SYNESCI officials.
  20. 121. As regards the situation of persons who had been called to do their
    • military service in military camps, the Government states that these persons
    • had taken up their civilian teaching activities once again within their legal
    • term of military service. Furthermore, measures are at present being studied
    • so that the suspended salaries might be fully restored to the teachers
    • concerned. Finally, the Government assures the Committee on Freedom of
    • Association that the persons in question were never excluded from Ivorian
    • society since there had been direct contacts with members of the Government on
    • their situation.
  21. 122. In a further communication dated 13 September 1988, the Government
    • states that this matter has reached its conclusion with Mr. Akoun and his
    • colleagues regaining unconditionally the positions they had held in the
    • administration before the incidents which gave rise to the present case before
    • the Committee; their salaries have been restored as from July 1988 and the
    • arrears in salary going back to the date of their suspension will be paid. The
    • Government adds that only the results of the XVth SYNESCI Congress remain in
    • place since this was a purely trade union problem in which the Government
    • should not interfere.

C. The Committee's conclusions

C. The Committee's conclusions
  1. 123. The Committee notes that in the present case the complainant has
    • submitted allegations concerning interference by the Government in the
    • internal affairs of the National Union of Secondary School Teachers of Côte
    • d'Ivoire (SYNESCI), the sentencing of three officials from this organisation
    • to terms of imprisonment, the internment of other trade unionists in military
    • camps and discriminatory measures taken against teachers, such as transfers or
    • suspensions of salaries.
  2. 124. On the first point, the Committee notes that the matter can be traced
    • back to the disputes that broke out between opposing groups during the SYNESCI
    • congress. After the outgoing leadership had left the deliberations, the
    • congress elected a new trade union executive which took over the premises and
    • funds of the organisation. These elections were contested by the former
    • leadership before the courts which rejected the complaint.
  3. 125. The Committee has always considered that it was not competent to make
    • recommendations on internal dissensions within a trade union organisation, so
    • long as the Government did not intervene in a manner which might affect the
    • exercise of trade union rights and the normal functioning of an organisation.
    • (See, for example, 217th Report, Case No. 1086 (Greece), para. 93.) In cases
    • of this nature when there have been internal dissensions, the Committee has
    • also pointed out that judicial intervention would permit a clarification of
    • the situation from the legal point of view for the purpose of settling the
    • question of the leadership and representation of the organisation concerned.
    • The Government should recognise the leaders designated as legal
    • representatives of the organisation. (See, for example, 172nd Report, Case No.
  4. 865 (Ecuador), para. 75.)
  5. 126. In the present case, the Committee notes that the group supporting the
    • former trade union leadership left the deliberations of the congress of its
    • own free will and did not therefore take part in the elections of the
    • organisation's executive bodies. From the allegations, it does not appear that
    • the public authorities at any time intervened in the electoral process.
    • Furthermore, the complaint brought before the court by the former leadership
    • was rejected. The Committee therefore considers that this aspect of the case
    • does not call for further examination.
  6. 127. As regards the sentencing to terms of imprisonment of three former
    • SYNESCI officials, the Committee notes that the judicial procedures leading to
    • these sentences had been initiated after the new Secretary-General of the
    • organisation had submitted a complaint alleging breach of trust and receipt of
    • stolen goods. Furthermore, the Committee can merely state that from the
    • information provided by the Government, in particular the text of the ruling,
    • it would seem that those concerned benefited from normal judicial proceedings
    • and, in particular, from the right of defence and appeal before the appeal
    • courts.
  7. 128. As regards the internment of teachers in military camps - including the
    • three sentenced officials after they had served their term - the Committee
    • notes the Government's explanations that the parties concerned had had their
    • deferment of military service lifted and were sent to these camps to serve
    • their legal term of military service. According to the Government, these
    • measures were taken following a defamatory and harmful campaign which they had
    • led against certain personalities and, above all, against the President of the
    • Republic.
  8. 129. In this respect, the Committee feels bound to recall that the right to
    • express opinions publicly is one of the basic aspects of trade union rights.
    • However, the exercise of trade union activity or the holding of trade union
    • office does not provide immunity as regards the application of ordinary
    • criminal law and the Committee considers in particular that, when making
    • public statements, trade union officials should not exceed the admissible
    • limits of controversy and refrain from extravagances of language. (See, in
    • this respect, 218th Report, Case No. 1102 (Panama), para. 159.) In the present
    • case, the fact nevertheless remains that the measures taken by the authorities
    • to lift the trade unionists' deferment of military service were imposed
    • without, it would seem, any normal judicial or disciplinary proceedings.
    • Whilst noting that the parties concerned have now left the military camps and
    • been reinstated in their teaching posts, the Committee nevertheless feels
    • bound to draw the Government's attention to the importance it attaches to the
    • principle that trade unionists, like all citizens, should benefit from
    • proceedings guaranteeing full independence and impartiality when they are
    • charged with common law or political offences.
  9. 130. The Committee takes note of the most recent information supplied by the
    • Government to the effect that Mr. Akoun and his colleagues have regained the
    • positions they had held prior to the incidents which led to this case before
    • the Committee, in particular that their salaries have been restored as from
    • July 1988 and the arrears due since the date of their suspension will be paid
    • to them.
  10. 131. Finally, the Committee notes that an examination has being carried out
    • into the situation of teachers whose payments were suspended, with a view to
    • paying their salaries once again. It expresses the firm hope that the teachers
    • concerned may therefore have their rights fully restored.

The Committee's recommendations

The Committee's recommendations
  1. 132. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the
    • Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
      • a) The Committee, given that the complainant did not produce any evidence
    • that the public authorities interfered in the electoral process during the
    • SYNESCI congress, considers that this aspect of the case does not call for
    • further examination.
      • b) The Committee notes that the trade unionists called up to military camps
    • are now at liberty again and that they have been reinstated in their teaching
    • posts. It nevertheless recalls the importance it attaches to the principle
    • that trade unionists, like all citizens, should benefit from proceedings
    • guaranteeing full independence and impartiality when they are charged with
    • common law or political offences.
      • c) The Committee notes that an examination has been carried out into the
    • situation of those teachers whose salaries were suspended and that the arrears
    • in their salaries are going to be paid to them. It expresses the hope that the
    • teachers concerned will therefore have their rights fully restored.
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