Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 268, November 1989

1. 266. The complaint was submitted by the Trade Union of Employees and Workers in Commerce (SEOC) and the Workers' Trade Union Movement (MIT) in two communications dated 7 November 1988 and 12 January 1989 respectively. The Government furnished its observations on 17 January and 6 March 1989. The Government sent a further communication on 5 September 1989.
2. 267. Paraguay has ratified the Freedom of Assocation 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. 268. The allegations outstanding in this case since its last examination, in May 1989 (see 265th Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 243rd Session), refer to the refusal by the Ministry of Justice and Labour to grant members of the executive committee of the SEOC credentials enabling them to undertake trade union functions vis-à-vis the employers in labour disputes, and to the refusal of the Labour Directorate to acknowledge and register the application concerning the amendment of the by-laws of the SEOC. They also refer to the dismissal, for reasons related to trade union activities, of Mr. Milcíades Paredes, leader of the National Union of Workers in the Metal and Allied Trades (SINOMA) in December 1988, and of trade unionists Gilberto Melo García, José Garcete, Gilberto Moreno, Victoriano Fleitas, Oscar Gómez, Alcíades Soria and Vicente Segovia.
2. 269. The Committee, at its meeting in May 1989, invited the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee requests the Government to promote the necessary procedures to obtain the reinstatement of the eight trade unionists dismissed by the Transporte Fénix S.A. enterprise, and emphasises that in accordance with Article 1 of Convention No. 98: "Workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment."
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to provide quickly information on the allegations presented by the Trade Union of Employees and Workers in Commerce.

B. The Government's reply

1. 270. In a communication dated 5 September 1989 the Government states that in accordance with resolution No. 180, issued on 17 March 1989 by the Labour Directorate, the Trade Union of Employees and Workers in Commerce (SEOC) was duly registered and has full freedom as regards its union activities.
2. 271. As regards the dismissal of Mr. Milcíades Paredes, leader of the National Union of Workers in the Metal and Allied Trades (SINOMA) and other workers, the Government states that cases of dismissal, on whatever grounds, do not come within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice and Labour. The compulsory reinstatement of the dismissed union leader is a matter for the judicial authorities, in accordance with section 3 of Act No. 1172/85. Nevertheless, it is the policy of the Ministry of Labour to act as an intermediary in disputes of this kind entailing a certain degree of gravity. The Government adds that the case relating to the dismissal of Mr. Paredes, entitled "Milcíades Paredes and others versus Fénix S.A., No. 39 Public Transport Route: reinstatement", is at the stage of producing evidence before the Labour Court of First Instance (Second Session), secretariat No. 3. It adds that as soon as the decision is handed down a copy will be forwarded.
3. 272. The Government concludes by reaffirming that the new Government has an attitude of total respect towards freedom of association. Proof of this can be seen in the increasing number of new trade unions registered with the Labour Directorate, especially within the last four months (the Government attaches figures concerning the 118 trade unions that have been recognised by the Labour Directorate since 17 March 1989 and lists the 190 trade union organisations which, according to the register, were active on 3 February 1989).

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 273. As regards the allegation concerning the refusal to grant credentials enabling the executive of the SEOC to carry out trade union functions, the Committee, while noting the Government's information that the said union was registered on 17 March 1989 and is now totally free to carry out its trade union activities, cannot but recall that the conditions for registering a trade union should not amount to the requirement of prior authorisation by the authorities for a trade union to be set up or to function.
2. 274. As regards the dismissal of Mr. Milcíades Paredes, leader of the National Union of Workers in the Metal and Allied Trades, and of trade unionists Gilberto Melo García, José Garcete, Gilberto Moreno, Victoriano Fleitas, Oscar Gómez, Alcíades Soria and Vicente Segovia, the Committee notes the Government's information that the application for reinstatement of these persons is now at the stage of producing evidence. In this connection, the Committee wishes to inform the Government that the existence of basic legislative provisions prohibiting acts of anti-union discrimination is not sufficient unless these provisions are accompanied by effective procedures ensuring their application in practice. Thus, for example, it may often be difficult - if not impossible - for a worker to furnish proof of an act of anti-union discrimination of which he has been the victim. This shows the full importance of Article 3 of Convention No. 98, which provides that machinery appropriate to national conditions shall be established, where necessary, to ensure respect for the right to organise. This means that besides preventive machinery to forestall anti-union dismissals (such as, for example, the obtaining of prior authorisation from the labour inspectorate before carrying out the dismissal of a trade union leader), a further means of ensuring effective protection could be to make it compulsory for employers to prove that the motive for their decision to dismiss a worker has no connection with the latter's trade union activities. (See Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, third edition, 1985, paras. 567 and 569.)
3. 275. The Committee can only request the Government to strengthen the machinery to enable trade unionists dismissed on account of their trade union activity to obtain reinstatement.