Interim Report - Report No 278, June 1991

Case No 1510 (Paraguay) - Complaint date: 26-SEP-89 - Closed

364. The complaint in Case No. 1510 was submitted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in September 1989 and was examined by the Committee at its meeting of May 1990, when the Committee submitted an interim report to the Governing Body. (See 272nd Report, paras. 506-526, approved by the Governing Body at its 246th Session (May-June 1990).)

1. 364. The complaint in Case No. 1510 was submitted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in September 1989 and was examined by the Committee at its meeting of May 1990, when the Committee submitted an interim report to the Governing Body. (See 272nd Report, paras. 506-526, approved by the Governing Body at its 246th Session (May-June 1990).)
2. 365. The complaints in Case No. 1546 were submitted by the Paraguay Flight Attendants' Association (APAV) (27 July 1990), the International Flight Attendants' Association (IFAA) (28 August 1990) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) (13 September 1990). The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) supported the complaint submitted by the ICFTU in a communication of 25 October 1990.
3. 366. At its February 1991 meeting (see 277th Report, para. 11), the Committee observed that, despite the time which had elapsed since the presentation of the complaints (Cases Nos. 1510 and 1546), it had still not received the observations requested from the Government. The Committee thus drew the attention of the Government (as it had already done at its February 1990 meeting in connection with Case No. 1510) to the fact that, in accordance with the procedural rules set out in paragraph 17 of its 127th Report, the Committee would examine the substance of the complaints at its next meeting even if the observations or information requested from the Government were not received in due time. In spite of this new urgent appeal, the Committee has still not received information from the Government on these two cases.
4. 367. Paraguay 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 Case No. 1510

1. 368. At its May 1990 meeting, the Committee formulated the following recommendations on the outstanding allegations (see 272nd Report, para. 526):
2. (a)The Committee deeply regrets the fact that the Government has not supplied its comments or observations on the serious allegations in this matter.
3. (b)As regards the allegation that 519 workers in different branches of activity and enterprises, identified by name, have been dismissed for having sought to organise or join a trade union, the Committee emphasises the importance which it attaches to the principles that workers should have the right to set up and join trade unions, and that workers should benefit from adequate protection against all acts of anti-union discrimination. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to take all measures which may be necessary to remedy the situation, and to keep it informed in this connection.
4. (c)As regards the allegations of the arrest of trade union leaders for legitimate trade union activities, the Committee recalls that preventive detention implies the risk of a serious interference in the activities of trade unions, and that it must be accompanied by appropriate judicial guarantees implemented within a reasonable period. The Committee therefore requests the Government to supply detailed information on the current legal status of the following trade union leaders: Efigenio Lisboa, a peasant trade union leader, Clandelino Benitez, a leader of the "Munich" brewery trade union, Carlos Filizzola and Silvio Ferreira, CUT trade union leaders, and Pedro Salceco, a leader of the CAPSA, who are alleged to have been arrested or restricted in their freedom of movement.
5. (d)As regards the allegations of the army's violent repression of a strike at the Itaïpu hydroelectric scheme, which resulted in two deaths and a dozen injuries on 12 December 1989, the Committee urges the Government to institute an independent judicial inquiry so as to clarify the facts, identify and punish the guilty parties, and prevent a repetition of such actions. It also requests to be kept informed of the results of any such inquiry.
6. 369. The ICFTU had stated that since the new Government took office, 519 workers had been dismissed for seeking to set up a trade union or to join it, as follows:
7. Trade unions Number of workers dismissed
8. Clothing and allied workers 26 Workers in commerce 40 Terminal, Ciudad del Este 2 Parawood, Ciudad del Este 11 Food 3 Galerías Guaraní, Ciudad del Este 1 Transport 16 Vargas Peña Enterprise 20 Heisecke 3 La Vendedora 4 Polifabril 20 Cerámica Santa Teresa 3 Cartón Box del Paraguay 7 Franco Spezzini 19 Incol 13 Tecno-Electric 166 Constructiva 84 Barrial Hermanos 30 Adolfo Domínguez 15 SGCC Enterprise 36
9. B. The complainants' allegations in Case No. 1546
10. 370. The complainants allege that in spite of the fact that the Ministry of Justice and Labour recognised the trade union status of the Paraguay Flight Attendants' Association (APAV) by means of a resolution dated 8 August 1989, the president of the Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas enterprise refuses to recognise this Association and has filed legal action against the Ministry of Justice and Labour requesting the invalidation of the above-mentioned resolution on the grounds that flight attendants are public servants and do not, therefore, enjoy the right to organise. The complainants add that on 5 December 1989 four of the 11 persons who make up the Association's executive committee, and specificially, the president, the vice-president, the treasurer and the secretary of the APAV (Messrs. Antonio García, Ralf Gehre, René Salomón and Francisco Montanaro, all flight supervisors with 12 or more years of service in the enterprise) were informed of their transfer to positions unrelated to their profession, namely to ground staff administrative positions which are totally incompatible with their positions as flight personnel, in violation of section 66 of the Labour Code. The complainants enclose the text of the resolution of the enterprise's manager which assigns the above-mentioned trade union leaders to the preparation of manuals, filing duties and the analysis of material used by in-flight staff with a view to its improvement.
11. 371. The complainants state that owing to the fact that these four trade union leaders strongly opposed their transfers and filed claims for reinstatement to their previous positions, they were informed on 26 December of their dismissal "for insubordination", without further explanation and without termination benefits.
12. 372. The complainants also allege that Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas has brought pressure to bear on other members of the Association, resorting to coercion and blackmail to compel them to resign from the Association.
13. 373. The complainants state that these allegations are related to APAV's ongoing denunciations of the enterprise, which refuses to receive the Association's requests and to respect the statutory conditions of work. According to the complainants, crews are not replaced on regular 14-hour flights, nor on unscheduled 40-hour flights, and there is no medical insurance, life insurance or collective agreement.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 374. Once again, the Committee deeply deplores the Government's failure to cooperate with the Committee's procedure and, specifically, the fact that it has sent none of the information requested on numerous occasions, including urgent appeals, concerning Cases Nos. 1510 and 1546. Owing to the time elapsed since the allegations were submitted (between ten and 20 months) the Committee has been forced into examining these cases without the benefit of the Government's reply.
2. 375. The Committee emphasises that on the occasion of its first examination of Case No. 1510 (May 1990), as well, it had no choice but to examine the case without the benefit of the Government's reply, and that in February 1991 it examined three other cases concerning Paraguay (Nos. 1435, 1446 and 1519) in the same circumstances.
3. 376. The Committee cannot accept this persistent attitude by the Government, especially in the light of the seriousness of the allegations contained in Cases Nos. 1510 and 1546, which refer to the arrest and dismissal of trade union leaders, the violent repression of a strike at the Itaïpu hydroelectric enterprise which resulted in two deaths and a dozen injured, the dismissal from several enterprises of 519 workers who were seeking to set up trade unions or to join them, and a number of other anti-union practices. Consequently, the Committee urges the Government in the future to send detailed replies to allegations without delay and cautions the Government that it reserves the right in the future to distribute and give the greatest publicity to its reports, as provided for in its procedural rules. (See Digest of decisions and principles of the Committee on Freedom of Association, 3rd edition, 1985, para. 64.)
4. 377. As regards Case No. 1546, the Committee notes that the complainants refer to and present documents as supporting evidence of anti-union measures concerning the transfer and subsequent dismissal of Messrs. Antonio García, Ralf Gehre, René Salomón and Francisco Montanaro, leaders of the Paraguay Flight Attendants' Association (APAV), each of whom had more than 12 years of service in the Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas enterprise: (1) the transfers (November 1989) and dismissals (December 1989) occurred only a few months after the Association was given legal personality (August 1989); (2) these transfers affect four of the 11 leaders of the APAV (including its president and vice-president), to the exclusion of other workers, leaving the four at a distinct disadvantage inasmuch as they were compelled to leave their positions as flight supervisors to work at adminstrative tasks in the preparation of manuals and basic filing; (3) the Association had been denouncing the labour practices of the enterprise, which had requested the courts to annul the decision of the Ministry of Justice and Labour to recognise the Association as a trade union, on the grounds that flight attendants were civil servants and therefore not entitled to form a union; (4) according to the complainants, other members of the Association have also been pressured to resign from the union.
5. 378. The Committee concludes that the transfer and subsequent dismissal of the four above-mentioned trade union leaders violates Article 1 of Convention No. 98, according to which "workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment". It emphasises the importance of providing remedies against such acts of anti-union discrimination and requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas will immediately reinstate the four dismissed trade union leaders.
6. 379. The Committee also emphasises that in accordance with Article 4 of Convention No. 98, workers' organisations (with the sole possible exception of civil servants engaged in the administration of the State referred to in Article 6 of Convention No. 98), and thus flight attendants' organisations as well, should have the right to regulate their conditions of employment through collective agreements with the employer or with an employers' organisation. The Committee thus requests the Government to take the measures necessary to guarantee the right of flight attendants' organisations to collective bargaining by means of collective agreements.
7. 380. As regards Case No. 1510, the Committee reiterates the conclusions and recommendations which it formulated at its May 1990 meeting (see the section above, entitled "Previous examination of Case No. 1510").

The Committee's recommendations

1. 381. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a)The Committee once more deeply deplores the Government's total failure to cooperate with the Committee's procedure, and regrets that it has been obliged to examine the cases without the benefit of the Government's reply.
   • (b)The Committee cannot accept the Government's persistent attitude, especially in the light of the seriousness of the allegations. The Committee therefore urges the Government in the future to send without delay detailed replies to allegations, and draws its attention to the fact that the Committee reserves the right to distribute and give wide publicity to its reports in accordance with its procedural rules.
   • (c)As regards Case No. 1546, the Committee considers that the transfers and subsequent dismissals of Messrs. Antonio García, Ralf Gehre, René Salomón and Francisco Montanaro (leaders of the Paraguay Flight Attendants' Association) violate Article 1 of Convention No. 98, and requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas will immediately reinstate these four trade union leaders, and to keep the Committee informed in this connection.
   • (d)The Committee requests the Government to take the measures necessary to guarantee that flight attendants' organisations enjoy the right to bargain collectively by means of collective agreements.
   • (e)As regards Case No. 1510, the Committee reiterates the recommendations which it formulated at its May 1990 meeting, which are as follows:
     • - As regards the allegation that 519 workers in different branches of activity and enterprises, identified by name, have been dismissed for having sought to organise or join a trade union, the Committee emphasises the importance which it attaches to the principles that workers should have the right to set up and join trade unions, and that workers should benefit from adequate protection against all acts of anti-union discrimination. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to take all measures which may be necessary to remedy the situation, and to keep it informed in this connection.
     • - As regards the allegations of the arrest of trade union leaders for legitimate trade union activities, the Committee recalls that preventive detention implies the risk of a serious interference in the activities of trade unions, and that it must be accompanied by appropriate judicial guarantees implemented within a reasonable period. The Committee therefore requests the Government to supply detailed information on the current legal status of the following trade union leaders: Efigenio Lisboa, a peasant trade union leader, Clandelino Benitez, a leader of the "Munich" brewery trade union, Carlos Filizzola and Silvio Ferreira, CUT trade union leaders, and Pedro Salceco, a leader of the CAPSA, who are alleged to have been arrested or restricted in their freedom of movement.
     • - As regards the allegations of the army's violent repression of a strike at the Itaïpu hydroelectric scheme, which resulted in two deaths and a dozen injuries on 12 December 1989, the Committee urges the Government to institute an independent judicial inquiry so as to clarify the facts, identify and punish the guilty parties, and prevent a repetition of such actions. It also requests to be kept informed of the results of any such inquiry.