Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 378, June 2016

Case No 2753 (Djibouti) - Complaint date: 29-DEC-09 - Follow-up

Allegations: The complainant denounces the closure of its premises and the confiscation of the key to its letter box by order of the authorities, the intervention of the police at a trade union meeting, the arrest and questioning of trade union officials and the general ban on trade unions from holding any meetings

1. 213. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2015 meeting [see 375th Report, paras 171–181, approved by the Governing Body at its 324th Session].
2. 214. The Government sent its observations in a communication of 25 August 2015.
3. 215. Djibouti 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 the case

1. 216. At its June 2015 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 375th Report, para. 181]:
   • (a) The Committee urges the Government to conduct an investigation into the three-month detention of the protesting dockworkers in 2011 and to inform it of the outcome.
   • (b) The Committee expects the Djibouti Labour Union (UDT) to be able to participate effectively in the work of all national and international advisory bodies, together with all the other organizations representing employers and workers in the country.
   • (c) The Committee expects the Government to give priority to promoting and defending freedom of association by allowing the development of free and independent trade unionism and maintaining a social climate free of acts of anti-union interference and harassment, in particular against the UDT.
   • (d) The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the outstanding issues for examination at its next meeting in October/November 2015 and expects significant progress in this regard.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 217. In a communication of 25 August 2015, the Government reiterates its previous replies concerning the allegations of the Djibouti Labour Union (UDT) in relation to the arrest and detention of dockworkers in 2011, following a peaceful demonstration. The Government considers that the allegations have no grounds in that, despite its research, it has not been able to find any information regarding these events. To support its statement, the Government transmits an exchange of correspondence in August 2015 between the Ministry of Labour and the management of the Dockworkers’ Office (BMOD) regarding the allegations in question. In its reply, the management of the BMOD indicates that it does not have any information concerning the arrest of dockworkers in January 2011, or of their three-month detention. The BMOD adds that the arrest of 62 dockworkers would not have gone unnoticed and would have had an impact on the effective functioning of the port.
2. 218. As regards the activities of the UDT, the Government states that its annual participation in the International Labour Conference is funded by the Government. Furthermore, at the national level, the UDT participates, together with all the other representative organizations of workers and employers, in consultations set up on the Government’s initiative.
3. 219. Lastly, the Government is committed to guaranteeing free and independent elections in national trade unions and indicates that it wishes to determine, together with the representatives thus elected, objective and transparent criteria for the appointment of worker representatives in national tripartite bodies and at the International Labour Conference.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 220. The Committee recalls that this case concerns allegations of interference by the authorities in trade union activities and acts of intimidation against the trade union officials of the UDT and that its latest recommendations concerned, generally, the need to allow the UDT to participate effectively in the work of all national and international advisory bodies, together with all the other organizations representing employers and workers in the country and, more specifically, the need for the Government to provide further information on allegations of acts of violence by the authorities against dockworker union members who were holding a peaceful demonstration.
2. 221. The Committee recalls that, according to the allegations of the UDT, presented for the first time in August 2011, 62 dockworkers, members of the dockworker union, were arrested during a demonstration held on 2 January 2011 in front of the Parliament and were kept in detention for three months. In its previous examination of the case, the Committee had noted with concern that the Government had taken almost three years to declare, in a communication of February 2014, that it had not received any complaint and that it had no information in that regard. The Committee observes that, to support its statement, in its last reply, the Government transmits an exchange of correspondence in August 2015 between the Ministry of Labour and the management of the BMOD, where it transpires that the BMOD does not have any other information regarding the arrests in January 2011, which, according to the BMOD, would have had consequences on the effective functioning of the port, given the number of dockworkers concerned.
3. 222. The Committee recalls that in cases where the complainants alleged that trade union leaders or workers had been arrested for trade union activities, and the governments’ replies amounted to general denials of the allegation or were simply to the effect that the arrests were made for subversive activities, for reasons of internal security or for common law crimes, the Committee has always followed the rule that the governments concerned should be requested to submit further and as precise information as possible concerning the arrests, particularly in connection with the legal or judicial proceedings instituted as a result thereof and the result of such proceedings, in order to be able to make a proper examination of the allegations [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, fifth (revised) edition, 2006, para. 111]. Given that these arrests can entail serious violations of trade union rights, it is important that governments cooperate promptly. In the present case, the Committee deeply regrets the lack of diligence by the Government. Therefore, the Committee regrets not having sufficient information which would allow it to pursue its examination of this matter, unless the complainant organization provides detailed information regarding its allegations without delay.
4. 223. As regards the guarantees provided by the Government regarding the participation of the UDT in national consultations and in the International Labour Conference, the Committee observes with concern that the issue of the Workers’ delegation of Djibouti to the International Labour Conference is still the subject of a complaint before the Credentials Committee of the International Labour Conference, which decided at the June 2015 session of the Conference to keep the situation under reinforced monitoring, requesting the Government to report on the situation [see Provisional Record No. 5C, para. 12, International Labour Conference, 104th Session, June 2015]. The Committee notes that, in its conclusions, the Credentials Committee observed that the information that was provided to it orally by the Government was both imprecise and contradictory. Lastly, the Committee said that it was very concerned by the confusion that continues to reign over the Djiboutian trade union movement [see Provisional Record, op. cit., para. 31]. Therefore, while hoping that the abovementioned difficulties will not reoccur before the Credentials Committee, the Committee can only deplore the fact that it is still not possible to talk about an independent Djiboutian trade union movement that is free to operate, or of harmonious industrial relations in Djibouti, despite the background to the case and the Office’s many actions to provide country-level assistance in relation to trade union affairs.
5. 224. In view of the above, the Committee is bound to reiterate its previous recommendations urging the Government once again to maintain a social climate free of acts of anti-union interference and harassment, in particular against the UDT, and to guarantee this organization the possibility of participating effectively in the work of all national and international advisory bodies, together with all the other organizations representing employers and workers in the country.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 225. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee regrets not having sufficient information which would allow it to pursue its examination of the allegations relating to the arrest of the dockworkers in January 2011 and their three-month detention, unless the complainant organization provides detailed information regarding its allegations without delay.
   • (b) The Committee urges the Government to guarantee the Djibouti Labour Union (UDT) the possibility of participating effectively in the work of all national and international advisory bodies, together with all the other organizations representing employers and workers in the country.
   • (c) The Committee hopes that the difficulties concerning the nomination of the Workers’ delegation of Djibouti will not reoccur before the Credentials Committee of the International Labour Conference.
   • (d) The Committee urges the Government to give priority to promoting and defending freedom of association by allowing the development of free and independent trade unionism and maintaining a social climate free of acts of anti-union interference and harassment, in particular against the UDT.