Interim Report - Report No 56, 1961

Case No 192 (Argentina) - Complaint date: 16-JAN-59 - Closed

1. 107. The original complaint of the W.F.T.U consisted of two communications dated 16 January and 28 February 1959 respectively; it contained allegations concerning the strike of railway workers in November 1958 and the breaking of that strike and the strike in the national refrigeration plant in January 1959-subsequently developing into a general strike and the manner in which it was put down.
2. 108. When the Committee examined the case at its 22nd Session (May 1959) it had before it a communication from the Government dated 8 April 1959 containing observations on the railwaymen's strike and another communication dated 12 May 1959 which constituted a partial reply to the allegations concerning the strike in the refrigeration plant and in which the Government announced that it would forward its observations at a later date.
3. 109. The Committee submitted its recommendations to the Governing Body on the allegations relating to the railwaymen's strike in November 1958 and to its repression in paragraphs 116 (a), (b) and (c) of its 36th Report. These recommendations were approved by the Governing Body at its 142nd Session (May-June 1959) and there will therefore be no further reference in this document to the allegations concerning this aspect of the case.
4. 110. The Committee adjourned its consideration of the allegations relating to the strike of workers in the refrigeration plant pending a full reply from the Government. The W.F.T.U in its letters of 3 and 24 November 1959 furnished further material in support of these allegations and presented new allegations, while the Permanent Liaison Committee of the Unified Workers' Movement of Argentina lodged a further complaint on this matter. In its communication dated 22 June 1960 the Government added to the observations it had made in its letter of 12 May 1959.
5. 111. When the case was examined again at its 26th Session (November 1960) the Committee submitted its final recommendation to the Governing Body concerning some of the allegations which had remained in abeyance, namely the allegations relating to the strike of workers in the national refrigeration plant and the allegations relating to the mobilisation of petroleum workers, railwaymen and transport workers. These recommendations, which appeared in paragraph 189 (a) and (b) of the Committee's 49th Report, were approved by the Governing Body at its 147th Session (November 1960); these matters will not be reopened in the present document, which deals only with the allegations which are still outstanding.
6. 112. 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).

Allegations relating to the Strike of Banking and Insurance Employees

1. 113. In its communication dated 3 July 1959 the W.F.T.U, after accusing the Government of having mobilised workers, arrested trade unionists and interfered in the affairs of trade unions, stated that all these methods were employed after the strike of banking and insurance employees. According to the complainants the history of the strike was as follows. As a result of the increase in the cost of living the Banking Employees' Union demanded a salary increase. On 10 April 1959, after several months of fruitless negotiations, the Minister of Labour notified the leaders of the union of his intention to repeal section 31 of Decree No. 3133/58, which made statutory provision for review of bank employees' salaries scales, and stated at the same time that there would be neither a collective agreement nor a salary increase. In view of this attitude the Banking Employees' Union called a 24-hour strike on 14 April 1959 and a general strike if there was no settlement of the dispute. The Ministry of Labour thereupon decided to place the union under government control; its premises were occupied by the police on 14 April and 20 members of the Union were arrested. The strike was declared illegal and employees who did not report for work were threatened with dismissal. Since that time the banking employees have been on strike and have been subject to victimisation and repressive measures. On 22 May 1959 the Minister of Labour announced that all banking employees on strike were automatically dismissed, a measure which affected over 40,000 persons in all. The last-mentioned example, the complainants concluded, is merely a further confirmation of the various methods employed by the Argentine Government to infringe trade union rights.
2. 114. In the various replies from the Government which the Committee had before it at its 26th Session (November 1960) the Government had refrained from commenting on the allegations referred to above. Under these circumstances the Committee instructed the Director-General to request the Government to be good enough to furnish its observations on the allegations relating to the strike of banking and insurance employees and in particular to provide information concerning its grounds for declaring that strike illegal. A request to this effect was sent to the Government in a letter dated 24 November 1960.
3. 115. In its reply dated 24 February 1961 the Government again refrained from commenting on this aspect of the case. Under these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body itself to reiterate the request for information which has already been sent to the Government by the Director-General on the Committee's behalf.
4. Allegations relating to the Arrest and Imprisonment of Trade Unionists
5. 116. In their communication of 3 July 1959 the complainants declared that trade union leaders had again been arrested. On 12 February 1959, for instance, Mr. Rubens Iscaro, the General Secretary of the Federation of Building Workers, an officer of the Movement for Trade Union Unity and Co-ordination and a member of the Executive Committee of the W.F.T.U, was said to have been jailed although he had previously been released as a result of the unanimous protests made by the organisations to which he belonged. Under similar circumstances Mr. Arturo Vázquez and Mr. Vicente Marischi, General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary respectively of the Federation of Workers in the Timber and Allied Trades, had been arrested and were still in prison, and the same was true of Mr. Andrés Framini, the Secretary of the Textile Workers' Association. It was alleged that the imprisoned workers were being maltreated; the railway, tramway and petroleum workers detained in Magdalena Prison for having taken part in the strike had been compelled to work for the authorities without pay, although forced labour was expressly prohibited by the prison regulations. Those who refused to work, it was alleged, were punished and were put in solitary confinement and deprived of recreation, visits and correspondence. The prison governor was alleged to have employed the detainees on paving jobs for a private undertaking.
6. 117. The Permanent Liaison Committee of the Union Workers' Movement of Argentina, in its complaint dated 3 November 1959, endorsed the above allegations and stated that it is now the current practice of the Argentine Government to encroach on the privacy of the home at all hours of the night and to take trade union leaders and members into custody. These persons were then, for no sound reason and without trial or any explanation by the public authorities as to the offences they were alleged to have committed, held at the disposal of the executive authorities and imprisoned either in the capital or in the interior. According to the complainants approximately 100 trade union leaders were in jail, including Mr. Andrés Framini, General Secretary of the Textile Workers' Association, Mr. Rubens Iscaro, General Secretary of the Union of Building Workers, Messrs. Luis Panni, José Rucci and Luis Hinojosa, of the Metal Workers' Union, and many others. A number of these persons were said to have been detained in concentration camps which had been reopened in Patagonia, such as those of Viedma and Esquel.
7. 118. The W.F.T.U in its communication of 24 November 1959 made new allegations of a similar nature. It stated that, using the state of emergency as a pretext, the authorities had arrested many trade union members and leaders. As a result of the 48-hour strike organised on the 23 and 24 September by the unions affiliated to the Union Workers' Movement, large numbers of arrests were said to have been made; more than 100 trade union leaders and militants were stated to have been imprisoned and interned in inhospitable areas in the southern part of the country and detained during the pleasure of the government authorities, though no court of law had ever issued a warrant for their arrest. Among these detainees the complainants mentioned Messrs. Rubens Iscaro, General Secretary of the Union of Building Workers and a member of the Executive Committee of the W.F.T.U, Andrés Framini, General Secretary of the Textile Workers' Association, and Luis Trossi, Organising Secretary of the Union of Building Workers. Attached to the communication from the W.F.T.U was a list of active trade unionists in custody on 5 October 1959. The W.F.T.U added that, during November, various arrested trade union leaders had been exiled to places remote from Buenos Aires where their families lived, and went on to give the names of ten persons " deported to Viedma " and of three others sent to the prison of Santa Rosa in the province of La Pampa. In addition the complainants alleged that the police arrested Mr. José Miguel Zárate, Deputy Secretary of the Federation of Building Workers and a member of the Executive of the Unified Workers' Movement on 7 November 1959, while the first National Plenary Association of the Unified Workers' Movement was being held.
8. 119. The Government replied to the above allegations in a communication dated 22 June 1959, stating that, in view of a series of acts of terrorism which had been perpetrated in various parts of the country and which had had disastrous consequences and caused enormous damage, it had been compelled to bring into force the State Security Plan known as the Conintes Plan, the text of which is appended to its communication. The intervention of the military under this plan brought the situation back to normal and inquiries were undertaken in every place where such outrages had been committed; it was essential at the time to arrest all those involved, including the persons listed by the complainants in the annex to their complaint; since that time all had been released, however, with the exception of three who are being held at the disposal of the Executive. The Government states in conclusion that, as regards the judicial appeal proceedings based on habeas corpus (amparo), the manner in which the cases had been heard demonstrates the proper functioning of the traditional institutions characteristic of any law-abiding State in which the workers may avail themselves of all channels of appeal in defence of their rights.
9. 120. At its 26th Session (November 1960) the Committee noted that the list of persons appended to the W.F.T.U complaint (militants held in five different prisons), of which the Government stated that all but three had been liberated after having been arrested during the investigation into the disturbances, included the names of Messrs. Rubens Iscaro, Luis Panni and José Rucci (whose cases are referred to in paragraph 117 above), and Mr. Luis Trossi (see paragraph 118 above). The Committee took the view, however, that the position was not clear as regards Messrs. Arturo Vásquez and Vicente Marischi, General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary of the Federation of Building Workers respectively, or as regards the workers alleged to have been deported to Viedma, Esquel and Santa Rosa. The Committee also noted that the Government refrained from replying to the allegations concerning the maltreatment of workers in Magdalena Prison (which is not one of the five prisons mentioned in the annex to the W.F.T.U complaint).
10. 121. Under these circumstances the Committee requested the Government to be good enough to provide additional information as a matter of urgency on these particular aspects of the case. The Government's reply is contained in a communication dated 24 February
11. 122. In its reply the Government gives the following information. Mr. Arturo Vázquez was placed at the disposal of the Executive by a detention Decree No. 12859 of 16 October 1959 for political agitation unconnected with trade union activities. The procedure was in accordance with the Constitutional standards which are operative in the event of a state of emergency being declared. As he was in hiding, Mr. Vázquez could not be taken into custody. When the state of emergency came to an end on 27 March 1960 the detention, decree automatically lapsed. On 28 March 1960 a new decree for this person's arrest was again issued, but again he could not be traced. Under a Decree dated 5 June 1960 the preceding decree was rescinded. Accordingly, the Government states, Mr. Vázquez was never in custody and no order for his arrest is now in force.
12. 123. A Decree No. 3158 issued at the request of the Federal Police ordered the arrest of Mr. Vicente Marischi and his detention at the disposal of the Executive, in accordance with the Constitutional provisions governing a state of emergency. Mr. Marischi was charged with political agitation unconnected with trade union activities. As he was in hiding, Mr. Marischi could not be taken into custody. A Decree of 25 January 1961 annulled the decree for his arrest. Accordingly, the Government states, Mr. Marischi has never been in custody and no order for his arrest is now in force.
13. 124. A Decree No. 12859 of 16 October 1959 ordered the arrest of Mr. José Miguel Zárate and his detention at the disposal of the Executive. As the person concerned was in hiding, it was not possible at that time to arrest him. On 7 November 1959 Mr. Zárate was taken into custody for political agitation unconnected with any trade union activities. As the prisoner did not avail himself of the option allowed him under article 23 of the National Constitution (the right to leave Argentine territory), he was sent to the penal establishments of Viedma and Santa Rosa. Mr. Zárate was released under a Decree of 20 July 1960.
14. 125. It would appear from the detailed information supplied by the Government that the action taken against the persons mentioned above was in conformity with the national Constitutional provisions governing a state of emergency, such a state of emergency having been decreed as the result of a wave of terrorist attacks which had swept over the country. It would further appear that these measures were promoted by political activities by the persons concerned that were unconnected with their trade union activities proper. However this may be, since the steps originally intended could not be carried into effect in two of the cases under review and since they had now been rescinded in all three cases-the three persons concerned being now at liberty and in order with the authorities-the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that it would serve no useful purpose to give further consideration to this aspect of the case.
15. 126. As regards the allegation of maltreatment of persons detained in Magdalena Prison, the Government says that the Division of Police Co-ordination of the Ministry of the Interior has no knowledge of any such occurrence. The Government adds that no facts of this kind were brought to light by the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Chamber of Deputies.
16. 127. The Government categorically rejects the allegation concerning the existence of concentration camps in the southern part of the country. It declares that in this area there are only a number of penal establishments where persons sentenced to terms of exile by the appropriate courts are sent and where, in exceptional cases, persons held at the disposal of the Executive are also sent when they do not avail themselves of the right to leave the country.
17. 128. In a telegraphic addendum to its reply the Government states that the Illegal Proceedings Investigation Commission of the Chamber of Deputies is in the process of preparing a report which will be laid before the Committee on Freedom of Association in due course on the subject of the accusations concerning alleged concentration camps for workers in the southern part of the Republic and the allegations of maltreatment in Magdalena Prison.
18. 129. Under these circumstances the Committee, considering that the additional information promised by the Government may be such as to assist it to determine the facts, has adjourned its consideration of this aspect of the case until such information has been received.
19. Allegations relating to Government Interference with Trade Union Administration
20. 130. On this aspect of the case, which is dealt with in paragraphs 182 to 188 of its 49th Report, the Committee made the following recommendation to the Governing Body in paragraph 189 of that report, which approved it:
21. 189...the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
22. ......................................................................................................................................................
23. (c) to decide, with respect to the allegations relating to government interference with trade union administration:
24. (i) to draw the attention of the Government to the recommendations approved by the Governing Body when it adopted paragraph 116 (c) of the Committee's 36th Report and paragraph 60 (a) and (b) of the Committee's 47th Report, and to reaffirm the importance which it attaches to the principle, embodied in Article 3 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), ratified by the Argentine Republic, that workers' organisations should have the right to elect their representatives in full freedom and to organise their administration and activities and that the public authorities should refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof;
25. (ii) to note the reference in the Government's letter of 22 June 1960 to the statement by the President of the Republic of 1 December 1959 that the Executive had every intention of bringing all such " interventions " to an end as soon as possible, and to return the administration of the unions to their properly elected authorities;
26. (iii) to note further, however, that in its letter dated 22 June 1960 the Government does not refute the allegation that the " intervention " was still being maintained in the case of a number of important trade union organisations, including the General Confederation of Labour;
27. (iv) to request the Government to inform the Governing Body as to when it intends to permit all the trade unions, including the General Confederation of Labour, to resume their activities in freedom under the administration of their own fully elected officers and committees;
28. ......................................................................................................................................................
29. 131. In its reply dated 24 February 1961 the Government says that, in accordance with the words of the President of the Republic in his message to Congress on 1 December 1959, according to which the Government was determined to put an end to its control of unions at the earliest possible date, the Minister of Labour and Social Security publicly stated on 30 January 1961 that the General Confederation of Labour (C.G.T.) would be handed back to the workers on 1 March of this year. Earlier, the Government states, on 6 December 1960, the President of the Republic at a special audience for representatives of the " 20 trade union organisations " had stated that the Government did not wish to maintain its control over the C.G.T and was anxious to hand it back to the workers themselves. To that end recognition has been granted to these 20 organisations to enable them to take over the C.G.T, not only on account of their representative character but also because, not being affiliated to any non-trade union interests, their leaders are persons with a variety of political leanings.
30. 132. It would appear from the information supplied by the Government that the situation has returned to normal as regards government interference in the affairs of trade unions and that the trade unions-and particularly the C.G.T.-have been handed back to the workers themselves.
31. 133. Under these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body to decide that this aspect of the case does not call for further examination.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 134. As regards the case as a whole the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to decide, with regard to the allegations concerning the detention of trade union leaders, that, for the reasons given in paragraphs 116 to 125 above, it would serve no useful purpose to give further consideration to this aspect of the case;
   • (b) to decide that the allegations concerning interference by the public authorities with trade union administration do not, for the reasons indicated in paragraphs 130 to 133 above, call for further examination;
   • (c) with regard to the allegations concerning the strike of banking and insurance employees, to request the Government to be good enough to present its observations thereon, giving the grounds on which it declared the strike in question illegal;
   • (d) to take note of the present interim report with regard to allegations of maltreatment of certain workers in custody and the existence of concentration camps to which certain trade unionists are said to have been sent, it being understood that the Committee will report further on these aspects of the case when it has received the further information on the subject promised by the Government.