Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 214, March 1982

1. 291. The Committee examined this complaint presented by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) at its November 1981 session when it submitted an interim report to the Governing Body. Subsequently, the Government has supplied supplementary observations in a communication dated 17 December 1981 and 29 January 1982.
2. 292. India has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), nor the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 293. The allegations referred to arrests and dismissals of a large number of members of the loco Running Staff Association, who were employees of the Government-run Indian Railways, after a peaceful two-day strike in January 1981 and similar agitation in February 1981. The Government stated that the strike was illegal and violent and that the arrests and dismissals were carried out legally under the relevant legislation in force. It described the railways as a strategic sector.
2. 294. The Committee stressed that restrictions on the right to strike should be limited to essential services in the strict sense of the term, i.e. services whose interruption would endanger the existence or well-being of the whole or part of the population, and where a total or prolonged stoppage of railway services throughout the country might lead to such a situation, the maintenance of a minimum service should be restricted to operations strictly necessary to avoid a national emergency and should be defined with the participation of workers' organisations. As the period of industrial action was relatively short in this case, the Committee drew the Government's attention to the principle that arrests and dismissals on a large scale, after situations such as a strike by railway workers, involve serious danger of abuse and place freedom of association in jeopardy. Lastly, the Committee requested the Government to supply information on the present situation of the arrested and dismissed members of the loco Running Staff Association, giving details in particular as to whether any persons remain under arrest, how many persons were tried and sentenced to fines or imprisonment and whether any appeals have been lodged or reinstatements occurred.

B. The Government's reply

1. 295. In its communication of 17 December 1981, the Government states that 699 staff were arrested, 588 were dismissed or removed from service and 603 prematurely retired. It claims that these figures show that only minimal action was taken against strikers in the interests of the railways as a whole as it is the lifeline of the Indian nation. It reiterates that the strike did not follow the procedures provided for in the Industrial Disputes Act and that the industrial agitation could not be considered as short in an undertaking such as the railways on which the entire nation's economy depends. While stressing that freedom of association has not been curtailed in India, the Government points out that continuous contact with the two recognised unions in the railway sector continued throughout the troubled period in question.
2. 296. According to the Government, 327 of the 588 dismissal cases have appeals pending and 338 employees have gone to the courts against their dismissals. The courts have upheld the dismissals in one area of the country. As regards the 603 compulsory retirement cases, 279 preferred appeals and the railways have reinstated 155 persons; 344 employees have gone to the courts where their cases are pending.
3. 297. In its letter of 29 January 1982, the Government supplies more up-to-date figures: 21 of the 588 dismissed employees have been reinstated as a result of court rulings; in another 96 cases, the courts have stayed the order of dismissal and suitable action is being taken by the railways authorities; 221 cases are either pending before the courts or under government consideration. Of the 603 compulsory retirement cases, 192 persons have been taken back and the remaining cases are either pending before the courts or are still under consideration of the Government. It states that all but one of the arrested persons have been released.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 298. The Committee notes the Government's comments on the outstanding issues of this case, in particular, the information as to the number of appeals lodged - both administrative and judicial - and reinstatements gained by the members of the Loco Running Staff Association who had been arrested and dismissed after industrial action in January/February 1981. It notes in particular that all but one of the arrested persons have been released. The Committee observes however that the figures supplied do not appear to cover the totality of persons who, according to the Government, were affected by such measures. Accordingly, it would request the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of the further appeals against dismissals or compulsory retirement which are either pending before the courts or under government consideration.
2. 299. It also notes that the Government reiterates its argument that the railways constitute a service vital to India's economy and that strikes in this sector must follow the procedure in force or the Government will have to react as it did in the present case. The Committee would nevertheless point out, as it did in its previous examination of this case, that while recognising that prohibition of strikes in essential services may be acceptable in certain circumstances, arrests and dismissals of strikers (over 1,000 employees were affected according to the Government's figures) after a period of industrial action involve serious dangers of abuse and place freedom of association in grave jeopardy.