Interim Report - Report No 139, 1974

395. The Committee decided to adjourn its examination of these cases at its 64th Session (29 May 1973), as stated in paragraph 7 of its 137th Report.

1. 395. The Committee decided to adjourn its examination of these cases at its 64th Session (29 May 1973), as stated in paragraph 7 of its 137th Report.
2. 396. The Committee notes the fact that in its observations on these three cases the Government refers in general terms to its position as described in its communications of 29 February and 13 May 1972 with respect to the various cases pending concerning Spain. In the first of these communications the Government, inter alia, raised objections to the effect that some of the complaints expressed support for clandestine organisations. In the second, the Government declared itself ready to co-operate with the ILO, but once again expressed reservations on certain points to which it had already referred in its communication of 29 February 1972. The Committee recalls that in the report which it submitted to the Governing Body at its 186th Session it stated that, while being unable to agree with the reservations of the Government on certain questions of principle raised in its letter of 13 May 1972, it noted with interest the Government's statement that it was prepared to extend its co-operation (paragraph 6 of the Committee's 131st Report, approved by the Governing Body at the above-stated session).
3. 397. The Government further states in its communications that it is supplying information subject to the reservation that, as repeatedly stated by the Committee on Freedom of Association, "the fact that a government replies to a request for information on a specific complaint does not imply that the government recognises the accuracy or - even less - the validity of the complaint but merely that it is co-operating with the Committee and with the Governing Body".
4. 398. Spain has not ratified either 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

• Case No. 735
  399. 399 On 8 November 1972 the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) addressed to the United Nations a communication which was referred to the ILO.
  400. 400 According to the complaining organisation, Mr. Roberto López de Echezareta was arrested by the police on 2 November 1972; six other workers, Messrs. José Sarasua, Juan Aizpurúa, José Alcibar, Ignacio Larrañaga, José Ugarteburu and Ignacio Bastida, had also been arrested a few days earlier. All seven were accused of belonging to the "Solidarity of Basque Workers" (an organisation affiliated to the WCL), and of having carried on clandestine trade union activities within this organisation. Furthermore, while these matters were being investigated by the police, some of the detainees were subjected to violence.
  401. 401 In a communication dated 8 May 1973, the Government states that the group that calls itself the "Solidarity of Basque Workers" is nothing more than a group of subversive separatists whose aim, according to their own statements, is the independence of what they describe as the Basque country. It is therefore a group whose ideology and actions are directed towards the splitting up of a nation, a so-called trade union body which in fact is nothing more than a subversive group whose interests are opposed to those of the State and which assumes the guise - to deceive foreign observers - of a defender of the occupational interests of the workers. This is an abuse, continues the Government, of a procedure established for the purpose of co-operation, and an attempt to involve ILO bodies in a manoeuvre of a purely political nature.
  402. 402 The Government adds that the persons referred to in the complaint were not arrested for having carried on clandestine trade union activities, but for illegal propaganda and association for subversive anti-state purposes. They were all brought immediately before a civil court with the exception of one, who, being on military service, was brought before a military court. Apart from the latter, all were provisionally released in the course of the last quarter of 1972.
  403. 403 Lastly, the Government rejects as "totally unjustified" the accusation to the effect that the prisoners were subjected to violence. The arrests and statements were made in absolutely normal conditions. Only one of the arrested men offered resistance, violently attacking the police, and he had to be forcibly restrained.
  404. 404 Since the persons arrested have been brought before the courts, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
       • (a) to note that the persons in question, with one exception, have been provisionally released;
       • (b) to request the Government to be good enough to forward the text of the judgements as and when pronounced, together with the grounds adduced therefor.
  405. Case No. 736
  405. 405 In a communication dated 24 January 1973, the WCL declares that there is a violation of freedom of association when an undertaking has recourse to the services of the police in order to prevent or render difficult a strike or any action connected with labour claims, and that this is precisely what happened on 16 December 1972 in Cornellá, near Barcelona, at the "Tornilleria Mata" factory, where the police arrested a workers' representative named Claudio Pérez. He was soon released, but in the opinion of the WCL this was nevertheless a very serious act since it constituted intimidation of a person entrusted by the workers themselves with the defence of their interests in connection with the negotiation of a collective agreement.
  406. 406 The WCL further alleges that on 19 December 1972 the Civil Guard entered the premises of the "Newpol" undertaking in Mollet de Vallés in order to evict workers who were peacefully demonstrating their solidarity with a co-worker who had been unjustly punished by the management of the undertaking. These workers later met in the parish church to discuss what they should do to show their solidarity with their co-worker; they arranged to meet in the church because it was legally impossible for them to meet anywhere else, even on the premises of the "official trade union". The Civil Guard evicted them from the church also.
  407. 407 In a communication dated 21 February 1973, the WCL adds that on 9 January 1973, again in Cornellá, the workers in the "Siemens", Soler Almirall" and "Tornilleria Mata" works organised a peaceful demonstration to draw attention to the "dramatic" nature of their situation concerning the exercise of freedom of association. The "authorities of the so-called trade unions" had refused to allow the workers to meet in the hall of the building of the "official trade unions" (to which all workers are compelled to belong), so the demonstration was held in the bar of that building. This demonstration was immediately broken up by the Civil Guard with the utmost brutality and the workers were forced to defend themselves. The WCL claims that this demonstration was used by the police as a pretext for arresting Mr. Jests Garrido Santiago of the "Siemens" works and Mr. Juan Sánchez Mora of the "Soler Almirall" works, who are both awaiting trial by a military court. The WCL concludes by declaring that it is the normal practice in Spain for the armed forces to intervene in order to safeguard the employers' interests and to suppress the workers' movement.
  408. 408 In a communication dated 8 May 1973 the Government states that the persons in question have not been placed at the disposal of a military court, but have appeared before the competent civil jurisdiction, and that all of them have been at liberty since 15 February 1973.
  409. 409 The Government has not supplied any information concerning the demonstrations alleged by the complainants to have been broken up by the police and the Civil Guard or concerning the refusal to allow a meeting to be held on trade union premises. Nor is it clear from the Government's reply what the situation is as regards court proceedings in respect of the persons arrested.
  410. 410 In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
       • (a) to request the Government to supply information concerning the breaking up of demonstrations by the police and the refusal to allow a meeting to be held on trade union premises, matters to which the complainant refers;
       • (b) to note that the persons arrested are now at liberty;
       • (c) to request the Government to be good enough to indicate whether charges have been preferred against these persons, and, if so, what these charges are and whether these persons have been brought to trial, requesting the Government in the latter case to furnish the text of the judgement pronounced together with the grounds adduced therefor.
  411. Case No. 750
  411. 411 The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) filed a complaint on 6 April 1973 alleging that on 3 April 1973, while the workers on the site of the thermal power station at San Adrián del Besós were holding a strike and demonstrating in defence of their legitimate claims and trade union rights, the police opened fire on them, killing Mr. Manuel Fernández Márquez and seriously wounding another worker.
  412. 412 By a communication dated 11 April 1973, the WCL filed a complaint in respect of the same incidents, stating that in the course of them Mr. Manuel Fernández Márquez lost his life and a number of other workers, including Mr. Serafín Villegas Gómez, were severely wounded.
  413. 413 According to the WCL, the employees of "Control y Aplicaciones", "Sade" and "Copisa", who work together at the San Adrián del Besós power station - a total of 1,080 workers - held a meeting on 27 March to discuss a series of claims based on essential points relating to wages and conditions of work. On the following day, a meeting of 800 workers gave its overwhelming approval to this series of claims, and 2 April was fixed as the deadline for the management to reply to these demands on 2 April, in view of the management's refusal to reply, the majority of the workers came out on strike; in the meantime a Committee elected from among the workers had had an interview with representatives of the management who refused to negotiate with them.
  414. 414 On 3 April, continues the WCL, upon arrival at work the workers found the doors locked and a notice posted up to the effect that they were laid off for five days. The police surrounded and occupied the premises, using violence to prevent the workers from entering; a few workers were wounded by the police. The workers responded and drove the police back to a railway line. When a train passed four workers were left alone on the side of the line where the police were, and they were arrested. Amid the tumult the train was brought to a halt, and the workers, realising that their comrades had been arrested, attempted to release them. The police opened fire with machine guns, killing Mr. Manuel Fernández Márquez and wounding Mr. Serafin Villegas Gómez in the neck. A number of other workers were also wounded.
  415. 415 The workers, continues the WCL, retreated, but a group of 700 workers was quickly formed and marched to the railway station, where the passengers aboard two trains which had been stopped sided with them and joined in the demonstration. At midday, on 3 April 1973, San Adrian and a neighbouring village were occupied by troops.
  416. 416 The WCL goes on to state that on the morning of 4 April the press published a communication from the Permanent Committee of the "Official Trade Union Congress" expressing its regret that some workers had been made use of by subversive groups from outside labour circles without any claim having been made through the established channels, "i.e. the Official Trade Union". The Civil Governor of Barcelona expressed a concurrent view in an official statement. In the opinion of the WCL the workers, who have submitted clear, categorical and extremely specific claims, refuse to consider themselves represented by this union.
  417. 417 The WCL further alleges that on 4 April the Archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Jubany, wrote a note which the press refused to publish on the instructions of the Civil Government of Barcelona. This note, an amended version of which was published on 6 April, stated that "what has happened is serious and is an eloquent demonstration that social relations, especially in the labour field, are still not sufficiently founded on truth, justice, love and freedom".
  418. 418 The WCL declares that the cause of these incidents and of those "which are constantly recurring in all parts of Spain" lies in the non-existence of a trade union "created by the workers for the workers", i.e. in "the total non-existence of freedom of association". The WCL concludes that "violence has become an institution which of necessity breeds further violence".
  419. 419 In a communication dated 8 May 1973, the Government states that the competent authorities immediately opened an objective and impartial inquiry in order to ascertain what had happened and determine who bore the responsibility for what had occurred, and that in the light of that inquiry and any other action taken in pursuance of the law it will be possible in due course to provide more accurate information.
  420. 420 The Government appends to its reply the text of a note published by the Civil Governor of Barcelona on the day the incidents occurred, which reads as follows:
• This morning, when the workers of the undertakings "Copisa", "Sade" and "Control y Aplicaciones" who are engaged in the construction, installation and assembly of the new power station at San Adrián del Besós arrived at their places of work, they were informed by means of the appropriate notice that they had been disciplined by their respective undertakings, which imposed upon them five days' suspension of employment and pay in connection with grave labour incidents which had occurred some days previously.
• Between eight and eight-thirty, some 1,500 workers began concentrating around the workplace and the police force, which had been advised, ordered them to disperse. Urged on by a small number, the workers moved towards the railway where they detained a passenger train, No. 3113, a semi-direct train to Massanet, which they stoned when it began to move, breaking several windows; these actions were repeated a few moments later, when train No. 3112 passed in the opposite direction.
• Subsequently, they turned on the forces of public order, whom they attacked violently and a crisis situation was reached, which compelled the said forces to fire several times in the air to avoid a confrontation, but even so they did not succeed and so were forced to repel the attack, as a result of which a 27-pear-old worker, Manuel Fernández Márquez, was hit by a shot and died soon afterwards. In the same way another worker, Serafín Villegas Jiménez, was wounded, who is receiving proper treatment. Two sergeants, two corporals and six armed police sustained injuries of varying gravity and importance. Several arrests were made.
• Once more, while deploring what occurred, we repudiate those acts of aggression, incited by persons who seek a confrontation with the forces of public order regardless of any labour improvement or claim.
  421. 421 Baring in mind the detailed information supplied by the complainants, according to which, on the occasion of a strike in support of labour claims, a worker was killed and several others wounded by the police, while four others were arrested, and bearing in mind also the Government's statements to the effect that an objective and impartial inquiry is now going on, and that the Committee will be informed of its findings, the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
       • (a) to request the Government to be good enough to supply details of the findings of the inquiry, once these are made known;
       • (b) to request the Government to be good enough to indicate whether the workers arrested are still in custody, and, if so, to furnish information with regard to any legal proceedings brought against these persons and their outcome, furnishing in this connection the text of the judgement pronounced, together with the grounds adduced therefor.