Interim Report - Report No 147, 1975

1. 349. The complaint was submitted by the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in a communication dated 2 October 1973. The Government furnished its observations in a letter dated 26 August 1974.
2. 350. Yemen has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 351. The WFTU declares firstly that four years ago the authorities forbad the Workers' Federation of Yemen (FYTU), affiliated to the WFTU, closed its central headquarters and those of the branch federations, confiscated the property of the unions and imprisoned and even executed the trade union leaders. In spite of this the determination of the workers to maintain their organisation enabled the trade unions to operate, to ensure their existence and to prevent the establishment of a puppet central trade union organisation which was to serve the interests of the Government.
2. 352. The WFTU alleges that the year 1973 was marked by increased repression against trade union leaders with the intention of eliminating them. It also states that the authorities are holding numerous trade unionists in prison without any normal proceedings and without the courts having pronounced any sentence. The authorities even carry out collective executions in three secret camps, one of which is situated at Salla (City of Taiz). Three militant trade unionists lost their lives in this manner in June 1973: Abdul Gavar Abdul Hameed, Anwer Ahmed Galeb and Mohamed Ad-Dahbali. Another militant trade unionist, Ali Kassim Saif, was also executed in June 1973.
3. 353. Still in June 1973, adds the complainant, the authorities arrested all the leaders of the drivers' trade union and required them to resign and give up any trade union activity, threatening them with reprisals in case of refusal. Faced with the firm attitude of these trade unionists the authorities executed one of them, Ahmed Said Murchid, without trial. They have also executed one of the leaders of the fuel trade union, Kassim Saif.
4. 354. The WFTU goes on to declare that it has serious fears for the lives of other militant trade unionists who are at present in prison and subjected to inhuman tortures. It alleges also that arrests are continuing to take place and in particular that the following have been arrested: the majority of the directorate of the FYTU, including Ahmad Abduh Ganim; the members, and in particular the presidents, of the administrative Committees of the Aviation Trade Union, the Transport Workers' Union, the Electric Workers' Trade Union and the Textile Workers' and Spinners' Union.
5. 355. The WFTU concludes by requesting that there be an end to executions of trade unionists, that all imprisoned trade unionists be immediately freed and that the authorities should stop their attacks on freedom of association and respect the right of workers to organise themselves in unions. It also requests that the Government ratify and apply immediately ILO Conventions Nos. 87 and 98.
6. 356. In its communication of 26 August 1974, the Government begins by recalling that the progressive and democratic republican regime observed by the Government since 26 September 1962 was instituted in the pursuit of an ideal - namely, the guaranteeing of freedom and social justice - as a result of which every citizen is assured of the right to a decent, free life with respect for law and order. Furthermore, the recent Constitution of the Yemen proclaims the rights to which every human being is entitled and guarantees absolute protection for these sacred rights. Article 19 of the Permanent Constitution provides that "Yemenites have equal rights and equal obligations towards the community". This provision was moreover reproduced in the Constitutional proclamation promulgated recently.
7. 357. The Government adds that 9 October 1970 was the date on which Yemen's first Labour Code was adopted. It is based, both in its form and in its substance, upon the principles and concepts embodied in the Constitution and numerous provisions of the Code are designed to ensure the application and observance of the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the ILO.
8. 358. This being so, the Government gives its assurance that trade union rights and freedom of association are guaranteed, firstly, on the basis of sound national principles in conformity with the conditions and standards prescribed by law, and secondly, by the Labour Code. The Government adds that in the Yemen Arab Republic it is absolutely impossible for measures to be taken in breach of the provisions of the Constitution or of the law of the land. In these circumstances, it goes on, any allegation whatsoever made by the WFTU concerning the rights of trade unions in the Yemen Arab Republic may be deemed to be false or tendentious or based on reports which have been invented or falsified.
9. 359. As regards the complaint presented by the WFTU on 2 October 1973, the Government gives an assurance that the persons named, who have been imprisoned and brought to trial, are common criminals. Their trial was held in public and was impartial. They were imprisoned and received heavy sentences because they were guilty of criminal acts and not because they were trade unionists.
10. 360. From the information available it is apparent that a number of trade unionists were arrested and some of them were executed. According to the complainants these measures were taken within the framework of anti-union repression aimed in particular at the FYTU. The Government denies that it violated the rights of trade unions and it points out inter alia, that the right to form trade unions in full freedom on the basis of sound national principles is guaranteed by its Constitution, in conformity with the conditions and standards prescribed by national law. The Government also points out that the persons named by the complainants were brought to trial and found guilty of common-law criminal acts.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 361. The Committee has emphasised on many occasions the importance it attaches in all cases, including those where trade unionists are accused of political offences or common-law crimes that the Government considers to be unconnected with their trade union duties, to the principle that the persons concerned should be tried at the earliest possible moment by an impartial and independent judicial authority. The Committee has also pointed out in many cases that where allegations that trade union leaders or workers have been arrested or sentenced on account of trade union activities have been met by governments with statements that the arrests or detentions 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 information as precise as possible concerning the alleged measures, and in particular concerning the judicial proceedings taken, and to supply the text of the sentences pronounced, together with the statement of the reasons.
2. 362. Furthermore, in cases involving the arrest, detention or sentencing of militant trade unionists, the Committee has taken the view that it was incumbent upon the Government to show that the measures it had taken were in no way occasioned by the trade union activities of the persons concerned, but were solely occasioned by activities outside the trade union sphere which were either prejudicial to public order or of a political nature.