Interim Report - Report No 376, October 2015

Case No 3068 (Dominican Republic) - Complaint date: 24-MAR-14 - Closed

Allegations: Pressure to give up trade union membership, suppression of a peaceful trade union march, legal action brought by the firms TEGRA and Pollo Cibao to have the complainant union’s registration annulled, refusal of the firms to bargain collectively and other anti-union acts

1. 352. The complaint is contained in a communication from the Union of Freight Handling Workers of the firm Terminal Granelera del Caribe SA (TEGRA) and the Jarabacoa Poultry and Livestock Corporation (Pollo Cibao), dated 24 March 2014.
2. 353. The Government sent its observations in a communication dated 20 March 2015.
3. 354. The Dominican Republic 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. The complainant’s allegations

1. 355. In their communication of 24 March 2014, the Union of Freight Handling Workers of the firm Terminal Granelera del Caribe SA (TEGRA) and the Jarabacoa Poultry and Livestock Corporation (Pollo Cibao), affiliated to the General Confederation of Workers of the Dominican Republic (CGTRD), allege that the workers of both firms have been the victims of very serious violations of labour laws (failure to pay wages and to enrol such workers in the social security scheme, inhuman transport, refusal of means to guarantee occupational health and safety with large numbers of accidents, etc.) and that since they set up the trade union in 2012, the security forces have not allowed trade union leaders or members – the majority of whom are Haitians – to enter the premises where ships are unloaded, nor do they receive their wages, etc. The complainant union explains that the lists of workers are communicated by the firm to the Directorate General of Customs, the Dominican Port Authority and the Haina International Terminals company which are, after all, those which allow (or do not allow) workers to enter ships to unload goods. According to the allegations, the mediation meetings requested by the union with the Ministry of Labour in 2012 were not attended by the representatives of the firms.
2. 356. The complainant union states that a peaceful march protesting against the alleged facts by members of the trade union in the Port of Río Haina was put down with tear gas and gun cartridges.
3. 357. Furthermore, according to the allegations, the firms in question have refused to negotiate the preliminary draft collective agreement presented by the trade union since 2012, as is made clear from the documents sent by the complainant union. The mediation undertaken by the representatives of the Ministry of Labour has not produced any results either.
4. 358. The complainant union states that it has reminded the firms in writing that the workers protected by trade union immunity must be paid their wages and allowed to continue performing their regular duties; an official request for such payment has been made by the trade union (which sent the corresponding document).
5. 359. Finally, the complaint states that the firms have submitted to the courts a request to annul the registration of the complainant union.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 360. In its communication of 20 March 2015, the Government states that the case submitted by the complainant has been settled and refers to a communication dated 24 October 2014, which, according to the Government, was sent to the International Labour Standards Department. The Government adds that the National Confederation of Trade Union Unity indicated, in a written submission of 25 July 2014 (the Government encloses the submission), that the case in question was settled by the national courts in relation to the firm Pollo Cibao.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 361. The Committee notes the seriousness of the allegations presented by the claimant union, which refer to pressure placed on union members to give up their union membership, or lose their jobs, the refusal to allow them to enter or work in the ship unloading facilities (controlled by security guards), failure to pay wages to the union activists (protected by trade union immunity), refusal by the firms to bargain collectively and to attend the mediation hearings of the Ministry of Labour, violent suppression of a peaceful march on 5 March 2014 and the bringing of legal action by the firms to have the trade union’s registration annulled.
2. 362. The Committee observes that the Government and a national trade union confederation state that this case has been settled by the national courts in relation to the firm Pollo Cibao. The Committee observes that the Government refers to a communication dated 24 October 2014, not received by the Office; the Committee is not therefore in possession of specific and detailed information on the different allegations or of proof of the Government’s statement that this case has been settled by the courts (this refers to a ruling or a possible agreed settlement between the parties before the judge). The Committee urges the Government to send said information and the communication of 24 October 2014, to which the Government refers in its reply. The Committee urges the Government to obtain the observations of the firms TEGRA and Pollo Cibao on the allegations through the national employers’ organization concerned and to communicate them without delay so that the Committee may examine the case on the basis of sufficient information.
3. 363. Pending receipt of the information from the Government, the Committee urges it to ensure the full exercise of trade union rights in both firms.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 364. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) While emphasizing the seriousness of the alleged facts, the Committee does not as yet have specific and detailed information concerning the different allegations or the proof that the present case – as indicated by the Government – has been settled by the courts. The Committee urges the Government to resend the communication dated 24 October 2014, referred to in the Government’s reply but not received by the Office.
   • (b) The Committee urges the Government to obtain, through the national employers’ organization concerned, the observations of the firms TEGRA and Pollo Cibao on the allegations and to communicate those observations without delay.
   • (c) Pending receipt of said information, the Committee urges the Government to ensure the full exercise of trade union rights in the above firms.