Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 337, June 2005

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 49. At its meeting in June 2004, the Committee made the following recommendations on questions that remained pending [see 334th Report, para. 274]:
   • (a) Regarding the failure to deduct from wages of non-unionized employees sums corresponding to the advantages derived from the collective agreements of 1999 and 2001, the Committee points out to the trade union of the Empresa Distribuidora de Industrias Nacionales S.A. that it rests with the union to lodge an official complaint with the labour courts for payment of said deductions, if it so desires; the Committee also calls upon the Government to clarify the discrepancies between its own statements regarding deductions and the enterprise’s communication on this subject, and to send it a copy of the decision handed down by the Labour Inspectorate to the effect that the enterprise has been fined, which the enterprise denies.
   • (b) Regarding the alleged dismissal of 102 workers of Distribuidora de Industrias Nacionales S.A. that had been brought before the Freedom of Association Office of the Labour Directorate, the Committee calls on the Government to keep it informed of any decision taken by the said Office.
   • (c) Regarding the alleged dismissal of all the workers of Andonaegui S.A., including the union officials, after the conclusion of the collective bargaining process, the Committee calls on the Government to keep it informed of the decision handed down by the judicial authority.
2. 50. In its communication of 10 February 2005, the Government states with regard to the company Distribuidora de Industrias Nacionales S.A. that the Labour Inspectorate confirmed a contravention of section 346 of the Labour Code and the company was fined the equivalent of 14 monthly units of taxation for failing to deduct trade union dues from wages, failing to deduct amounts equivalent to 75 per cent of those dues, and failing to hand over those sums to the union. As regards the dismissal of 102 workers, the company’s anti-union conduct was confirmed. Subsequently, through the offices of the Unit for the Defence of Freedom of Association, a complaint was made to the labour courts and was examined by the Eighth Labour Court of First Instance. As regards any judicial proceedings initiated by the trade union to challenge a decision of the Labour Directorate, the Government states that the workers’ trade union at the company has not initiated any such proceedings in the labour courts, as the decision in question is considered to be favourable to them.
3. 51. As regards the company Adonaegui S.A., the Government states that in the case examined by the Santiago First Labour Court of First Instance, a ruling handed down on 25 November 2003 imposed a fine equivalent to one monthly unit of taxation and ordered the reinstatement of the union officials in their normal posts, and cautioned the legal representative.
4. 52. The Committee takes note of the Government's information, and notes with interest that the administrative and judicial authorities have imposed penalties for the anti-union conduct of the companies Distribuidora de Industrias Nacionales S.A. and Adonaegui S.A. The Committee requests the Government to communicate the ruling handed down on the dismissal of the 102 workers at the company Distribuidora de Industrias Nacionales S.A.