Interim Report - Report No 357, June 2010

Case No 2713 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) - Complaint date: 20-APR-09 - Closed

Allegations: Various acts of harassment against the General Secretary of the union and interruption of the union’s national congress by the police

1. 1088. The complaint is contained in a communication dated 20 April 2009 from the National Union of Teachers in Registered Schools (SYNECAT).
2. 1089. As the Government has not replied, the Committee has been obliged to adjourn its examination of this case on two occasions. At its March 2010 meeting [see the Committee’s 356th Report, para. 5], the Committee made an urgent appeal to the Government indicating that, in accordance with the procedural rules set out in paragraph 17 of its 127th Report (1972), approved by the Governing Body, it could present a report on the substance of the case at its next meeting if the observations or information requested had not been received in due time. To date, the Government has not sent any information.
3. 1090. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and the Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135).

A. The complainant’s allegations

1. 1091. In a communication dated 20 April 2009, SYNECAT alleges that its national congress on 14 April 2009 was interrupted by police sent by the Governor of Kinshasa City and Province. According to the complainant, the congress had been organized with the assistance of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and had been opened by the delegate of the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security. At the time of the interference, a summons was handed to the General Secretary of SYNECAT, Mr Jean Bosco Puna.
2. 1092. According to the complainant, there is a private dispute between the General Secretary of SYNECAT and the former President of the union, Mr André Malasi, who was disowned when he was appointed to political office (Assistant District Commissioner of Kikwit, Bandundu Province). SYNECAT held an extraordinary general meeting on 8 March 2008 and passed a vote of no confidence against him, as a result of which he was no longer authorized to make any commitments on the union’s behalf until the next congress. According to the complainant, the abrupt stoppage of the SYNECAT national congress can be explained by the fact that the Governor of Kinshasa City and Province is a relation of Mr Malasi.
3. 1093. The complainant also alleges harassment of the union’s General Secretary, Mr Puna, who was unlawfully suspended following a teachers’ strike from September to November 2008, has received no salary for the period from March 2008 to 2009 despite the fact that he was reinstated, and has been summoned to appear before the Gombe higher court in connection with an issue that should be settled democratically within the union.
4. 1094. SYNECAT demands the restoration of its rights and, referring to a press release by the African Association for Human Rights (ASADHO), denounces the violations of trade union rights and threats of arbitrary arrest made against the union’s General Secretary, demands that protection be given to the latter and to all union officials who have been subjected to harassment after demanding better working and living conditions, without being manipulated by the authorities.

B. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 1095. The Committee regrets that, despite the time that has passed since the complaint was presented, the Government has not replied to the complainant’s allegations, although it has been invited to do so on a number of occasions, including by means of an urgent appeal. The Committee urges the Government to be more cooperative in the future.
2. 1096. Under these circumstances and in accordance with the applicable rules of procedure [see 127th Report, para. 17, approved by the Governing Body in its 184th Session (1972)], the Committee finds itself obliged to present a report on the substance of the case without the benefit of the information which it had expected to receive from the Government.
3. 1097. The Committee recalls that the purpose of the whole procedure established by the International Labour Organization for the examination of allegations of violations of freedom of association is to promote respect for this freedom in law and in fact. The Committee remains confident that, if the procedure protects governments from unreasonable accusations, governments on their side will recognize the importance of formulating, for objective examination, detailed replies concerning allegations made against them [see the Committee’s first Report, para. 31].
4. 1098. The Committee notes that the present case concerns the interruption of the SYNECAT national congress by the police on 14 April 2009 and the harassment of the union’s General Secretary. In this regard, the Committee notes that according to the documentation supplied by the complainant, SYNECAT held an extraordinary meeting on 8 March 2008 and passed a vote of no confidence against its President, Mr Malasi, thereby depriving him of all authority to undertake any commitments on the union’s behalf until the next general congress. The Committee also takes note of the communication from the Governor of Kinshasa City and Province dated 8 April 2009 addressed to Mr Puna in his capacity as SYNECAT General Secretary, in which he states that Mr Malasi had informed him of his intention to file a complaint with the Gombe higher court regarding the dispute within SYNECAT and that, in the light of this dispute, he would not authorize a meeting by SYNECAT. The Committee notes that SYNECAT nevertheless went ahead with its national congress on 14 April 2009 as planned, and that the congress was interrupted by the police. The Committee notes that a summons against Mr Puna was issued by the Kinshasa/Gombe prosecution authorities. The Committee also notes that according to the press release from ASADHO of 16 April 2009 (a copy of which is supplied by the complainant), the police also broke into the premises of SYNECAT on 15 April 2009 in their search for Mr Puna on the grounds that he had gone ahead with the congress.
5. 1099. The Committee, noting that the difficulties encountered by the complainant originated in a dispute between the union’s General Secretary, Mr Puna, and its President, Mr Malasi, recalls that conflicts within a trade union lie outside the competence of the Committee and should be resolved by the parties themselves or by recourse to the judicial authority or an independent arbitrator [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, fifth edition, 2006, para. 1123]. Similarly, the Committee has had occasion in the past to recall that, in cases of trade union internal conflict, judicial intervention may contribute to clarifying a situation from a legal point of view and help to normalize the management and representation of the trade union organization concerned.
6. 1100. As regards the forcible entry by police of SYNECAT premises, the Committee maintains that the inviolability of trade union premises is a civil liberty which is essential to the exercise of trade union rights, and that the right of the inviolability of the premises of organizations of workers and employers also necessarily implies that the public authorities may not insist on entering such premises without prior authorization or without having obtained a legal warrant to do so [see Digest, op. cit., paras 178 and 180]. In the absence of any reply from the Government, the Committee requests the latter to provide its observations on these allegations and to indicate whether the action taken by the police was based on a judicial warrant.
7. 1101. The Committee also notes with concern the allegations that the General Secretary of SYNECAT has been subjected to harassment. The Committee notes that the complainant refers to the General Secretary’s suspension following a strike by teachers, retention of his salary for a period of 12 months ordered at ministerial level, and his summons by the judicial authority. The Committee recalls that the right to strike is one of the essential means through which workers and their organizations may promote and defend their economic and social interests [Digest, op cit., para. 522] and it is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that this principle is respected. The Committee urges the Government to investigate these allegations without delay, to communicate the outcome thereof and, if it is found that the union official in question was suspended from his functions for carrying out legitimate trade union activities, to ensure the wages owed to him are paid.
8. 1102. As regards the acts of harassment of trade unionists in general, the Committee recalls that the rights of workers’ and employers’ organizations can only be exercised in a climate that is free from violence, pressure or threats of any kind against the leaders and members of these organizations, and it is for governments to ensure that this principle is respected [see Digest, op. cit., para. 44]. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations on the allegations of harassment of the General Secretary of SYNECAT without delay and to report on the current situation and on the action taken on the matter referred to the Gombe higher court in connection with which the General Secretary has been summoned.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 1103. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee regrets that the Government has not replied to the complainant’s allegations, despite having been invited on a number of occasions, including by means of an urgent appeal, to present its comments and observations on this case. The Committee urges the Government to be more cooperative in the future.
   • (b) The Committee, recalling the principle of the inviolability of trade union premises and property, and in the absence of any reply from the Government, requests the latter to provide its observations on the allegations relating to the forcible entry by the police of SYNECAT premises, and to indicate whether the action taken by the police was based on a judicial warrant.
   • (c) The Committee urges the Government to investigate without delay the allegations concerning the suspension of the SYNECAT General Secretary from his teaching functions following a strike and the retention of his salary for a period of 12 months, to communicate the outcome of the investigations and, if it is found that the union official in question was suspended for having carried out his legitimate trade union activities, to ensure that the salary arrears owed to him are paid.
   • (d) The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations on the allegations of harassment of the SYNECAT General Secretary without delay, to report on the current situation and on the action taken on the matter referred to the Gombe higher court in connection with which he received a summons.