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- 283. The Committee has examined this case on two occasions, most recently at
- its February-March 1989 Session. (See 262nd Report of the Committee on Freedom
- of Association, paras. 230-244, approved by the Governing Body at its 242nd
- Session.)
- 284. Since then the Government has sent communications dated 17 February and
- 14 April 1989 in reply to the allegations still pending in this case.
- 285. Brazil has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of
- the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), but it has ratified the Right
- to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).
A. Previous examination of the case
A. Previous examination of the case
- 286. The pending allegations on which this complaint is based referred to
- the Government's use of the military and police forces to prevent strikes in
- the ports and oil refineries based on wage claims (acting on the basis of
- Legislative Decree No. 1632 of 4 August 1978) and to the murder of Mauro
- Pires, leader of the Union of Vehicle Drivers and Allied Workers of San
- Andrés, on 4 September 1987, an attack perpetrated on trade union leader José
- Barbosa dos Santos by two individuals who shot at him from a car, and death
- threats made by telephone against union leader Paulo Pereira. More recent
- allegations made in December 1988 and January 1989 concerned the murder on 22
- December 1988 of Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, union leader of the rural
- workers of Xapuri, in the State of Acre, in the Amazon region, who was
- president of the rubber industry trade union (SERINGA) and national leader of
- the Workers' Central Organisation (CUT).
- 287. The Government had not replied to most of these allegations by the
- February-March 1989 Session. However, as regards the strikes held in March
- 1987 in the port, maritime and petroleum sectors, the Government had stated
- that the new Brazilian Constitution adopted on 5 October 1988 did not prohibit
- strikes in essential activities, but provided that legislation shall define
- essential services or activities and make provision for the pressing needs of
- the population.
- 288. At its February-March 1989 meeting, the Committee had adopted the
- following recommendations:
- a) The Committee deeply regrets the fact that the Government has failed to
- send all of the information on the pending allegations: the murder of trade
- union leaders Mauro Pires on 4 September 1987 and Francisco Alves Mendes Filho
- on 22 December 1988, the attack on trade union leader José Barbosa dos Santos
- and the death threats received by trade union leader Paulo Pereira, and urges
- the Government to furnish the missing information.
- b) While noting the provisions contained in the new Constitution concerning
- the right to strike and essential services, the Committee requests the
- Government to keep it informed of the adoption of any legislation defining or
- listing essential services and of any repeal or amendment of Legislative
- Decree No. 1632/78.
- B. The Government's replies
- 289. In its first reply dated 17 February 1989, which reached the Office
- after the end of the February-March session of the Committee, referring to the
- murder of Francisco Alves Mendes Filho on the night of 22 December 1988, the
- Government stated that, upon being informed of the threats received by this
- union leader, the Governor of the State of Acre had decided to appoint
- military police officers to protect the physical integrity of this person.
- Once this deplorable act had been perpetrated, the Secretariat for Public
- Security, which is the investigating body, entrusted a special delegate with
- the investigation and reinforced civil and military police contingents in
- order to elucidate the facts. This police delegate had conducted an inquiry on
- 23 December 1988. At the same time, the Ministry of Labour had also decided
- that the federal police should join the investigation in the State of Acre. A
- team of experts from Sao Paulo had been sent there in order to provide the
- investigators with reinforcements. The Medical Faculty of Sao Paulo had
- conducted investigations using material collected when the body was exhumed,
- which enabled it to identify several suspects. Following the police
- investigation, the case had been referred to the local judiciary. The Public
- Prosecutor's Office had decided to prosecute Darcy Alves Pereira, Darly Alves
- da Silva and Jardey Pereira. The first two had already been arrested and had
- confessed to their crime, while the third was in hiding. The Government
- affirmed that the Secretariat for Security was making every effort to capture
- the fugitive and that it had taken all the necessary measures to elucidate the
- crime in order to punish the guilty parties.
- 290. In a subsequent reply dated 14 April 1989, referring to the
- intervention of the armed forces in the strikes held in the ports and oil
- refineries in March 1987, the Government states that strikes in these
- activities were prohibited at the time, since such activities were considered
- as essential in so far as they involved the supply of fuel and food and in
- view of the public security nature of maritime and port activities. The
- purpose of the army's presence in Petrobrás was to protect the public property
- of a semi-public enterprise belonging to the public administration and to
- secure free access to work for the persons concerned. According to the
- Government, there had been no incidents involving striking workers and/or
- union leaders. To conclude, as regards the seamen, the Government stated that
- in accordance with isolated agreements with certain enterprises the navy had
- been called in as reinforcements to secure free access to work and to protect
- port installations. There had been no acts of violence but the strike had been
- declared illegal by the labour courts.
- 291. As regards the murder of Mauro Pires in Diadema in 1987 and of
- Sebastiao Teixeira do Carmo in Mauá in July 1988, according to the Government,
- police investigations have been completed and the files have been handed to
- the judiciary.
- 292. As regards the alleged attacks on José Barbosa dos Santos, Paulo
- Pereira and Oswaldo Cruz, the Government states that the Union of Vehicle
- Drivers, of which these persons are members, issued a statement through its
- lawyer to the effect that, in the absence of evidence, no measures had been
- taken regarding the alleged threats. The Government adds that these events had
- not been entered in the police records.
- 293. Lastly, referring again to the murder of Francisco Alves Mendes, the
- Government states again that the joint action undertaken by the Governor of
- the State of Acre and the federal and military police have made it possible to
- elucidate the facts and punish the guilty parties. It then reiterates the
- detailed information previously given in this respect and adds that a further
- inquiry has been opened with a view to identifying other persons who
- participated directly or indirectly in this homicide.
C. The Committee's conclusions
C. The Committee's conclusions
- 294. Before broaching the substance of the case, the Committee welcomes the
- fact that, contrary to what has occurred before, the Government has replied
- specifically to the various allegations pending in this case.
- 295. The Committee regrets, however, as regards the intervention of the
- armed forces in order to put an end to strikes in the ports and oil
- refineries, that the Government merely states that such activities, involving
- as they do the supply of fuel and food, were essential in nature under the
- terms of the Brazilian law then in force, and that consequently the strike had
- been declared illegal.
- 296. In this respect, the Committee can only recall that it has always
- considered that a strike is one of the essential means through which workers
- and their organisations should be able to promote and defend their economic
- and social claims and that national legislation should not allow suspension or
- prohibition of the right to strike, except in cases in which interruption of
- work due to a strike would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the
- whole or part of the population.
- 297. As regards the allegations concerning alleged attempts on the physical
- integrity of members of the Union of Vehicle Drivers, the Committee notes
- that, according to the Government, no files have been opened by the police
- concerning these cases. In these conditions, the Committee considers that this
- aspect of the case does not call for further examination.
- 298. The Committee greatly deplores the murder of trade union leaders Mauro
- Pires in 1987 and Sebastiao Teixeira do Carmo and Francisco Alves Mendes Filho
- in 1988. While noting the information supplied by the Government, according to
- which police investigations led to the indictment of three persons, two of
- whom have been arrested while the third has gone into hiding, and that a
- further inquiry has been opened in order to identify all of the persons who
- might have participated directly or indirectly in the homicide of Francisco
- Alves Mendes Filho, and that the three cases are now pending before the
- courts, the Committee must emphasise the fact that it has stated on
- innumerable occasions that a climate of violence such as that surrounding the
- murder of trade union leaders constitutes a serious obstacle to the exercise
- of trade union rights and that such acts require severe measures to be taken
- by the authorities. (See Digest of Decisions and Principles of the Freedom of
- Association Committee of the Governing Body of the ILO, para. 76.)
- 299. The Committee therefore urges the Government to make every effort to
- guarantee the personal safety of trade union leaders. It also requests it to
- communicate the text of the verdicts handed down against the perpetrators of
- the acts referred to above.
The Committee's recommendations
The Committee's recommendations
- 300. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the
- Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
- a) The Committee welcomes the fact that, contrary to what has occurred
- before, the Government has furthered the procedure in this case by supplying
- detailed information in reply to the complainants' allegations.
- b) As regards the intervention of the armed forces in 1987 to disrupt
- strikes in the ports and oil refineries, the Committee deeply regrets this
- action by the Government which, in its opinion, is contrary to the principles
- of freedom of association. The Committee recalls that a strike is one of the
- essential means through which workers and their organisations should be able
- to promote and defend their economic and social claims and that the suspension
- of prohibition of the right to strike is only acceptable if the interruption
- of work due to a strike would endanger the life, personal safety or health of
- the whole or part of the population.
- c) As regards the murder of the three union leaders referred to by name by
- the complainants, Mauro Pires, Sebastiao Teixeira do Carmo and Francisco Alves
- Mendes Filho, the Committee greatly deplores the perpetration of such acts and
- firmly recalls that a climate of violence such as that surrounding the murder
- of trade union leaders constitutes a serious obstacle to the exercise of trade
- union rights. It therefore appeals to the Government to make every effort
- necessary to guarantee the personal safety of trade union leaders.
- d) The Committee also requests the Government to communicate the text of
- the verdicts handed down against the perpetrators of these acts.
