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Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
- 30. The Committee examined this case at its November 1996 meeting (see 305th Report, paras. 254 to 272, approved by the Governing Body at its 267th Session (November 1996)) when it presented the following recommendations on the matters still outstanding (see 305th Report, para. 272):
- - The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to amend the legislation so that public officials, including hospital staff, might enjoy the rights of establishing organizations and freely belonging to these organizations. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the legislation into conformity with the principles of freedom of association and to keep it informed on any measures it adopts in this respect and reminds it that the ILO's technical assistance is at its disposal.
- - The Committee urges the Government to take steps to recognize the transformation of the Nursing Personnel Craft Union of El Salvador into an industrial trade union and to register immediately once again the board of management that was elected. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.
- - Stressing that one of the fundamental principles of freedom of association is that workers should enjoy adequate protection against all acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment and that no person should be dismissed or prejudiced in his or her employment by reason of trade union membership or legitimate trade union activities, the Committee urges the Government to take steps to reinstate in their original posts the trade union officials who were transferred from the Rosales Hospital and ensure that no worker is threatened with dismissal if he or she does not resign from the General Industrial Trade Union of Health Workers (SIGESAL). The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.
- 31. In its communications dated 21 April and 12 May 1997 the Government states that the workers at the Rosales Hospital are directly employed by the central Government and are governed by the Salaries and General Budget Act. Consequently, they are not protected by the Labour Code. The Government adds that the members of the Nursing Personnel Craft Union of El Salvador are supposed to be workers who look after sick people but that the latest membership lists consisted of other workers (watchmen, metalworkers, plumbers, etc.) and only a few nurses. Since this is a violation of section 209 of the Labour Code, the executive board was not authorized to take up office. The appeal against this decision was denied on 14 August 1996. The executive board may be elected once a meeting is held of people who meet the requirements of the law and of the union's statutes. As regards the transfer of union officials, the Government repeats its position that this is not a reprisal for joining the aforementioned union but in kee
- ping with the requirements of the service and that the transfers were ordered pursuant to section 37 of the Civil Service Act which states that officials or employees may be transferred to a similar post even without their consent at the convenience of the public or municipal administration, provided that the transfer is within the same locality.
- 32. The Committee notes the Government's observations which by and large reiterate its earlier statements. The Committee deeply regrets that the Government has not complied with its recommendations, stresses that the allegations relate to highly important issues such as the right to establish trade union organizations in the public sector and the right not to be subjected to anti-union discrimination, and finds itself obliged to repeat its previous recommendations. The Committee therefore urges the Government: (1) to take the necessary steps so that the legislation guarantees the right to establish trade union organizations in the public sector; (2) to recognize the transformation of the Nursing Personnel Craft Union of El Salvador into an industrial trade union; (3) to make reparation for the acts of anti-union discrimination committed in the Rosales Hospital.
