Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 368, June 2013

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

1. 124. The Committee last examined this case, concerning allegations of numerous violations of trade union rights, including physical attacks on trade union leaders, violations of freedom of opinion and expression, Government interference in trade union matters, refusal by the state authorities to register trade unions, acts of anti-union discrimination and absence of effective mechanisms to ensure protection against such acts, denial of facilities for workers’ representatives, violation of the right to bargain collectively and the failure of the State to investigate those violations, at its November 2012 meeting [see 365th Report, paras 1301–1401]. On that occasion, it made the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee expects that the joint KTR–FNPR proposal will be discussed by the RTK without delay with a view to resolving the issues raised in this case. It requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.
   • (b) Recognizing that the legislative matters in this case are also being addressed by other parts of the ILO supervisory mechanism, the Committee, noting its specific mandate, requests the Government to take steps to bring the legislation into conformity with the principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining and to keep it informed in this regard.
   • (c) The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures without delay in order to remove the trade union leaflets from the list of extremist literature and to ensure that this does not happen again. It requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.
   • (d) The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the allegation of anti-union persecution has been duly investigated by the relevant authorities and to provide details of such investigation, as well as all other relevant information, including judicial decisions in this case. If the allegation of anti-union persecution has not been examined, the Committee requests the Government to conduct an independent inquiry into this allegation without delay, and if the investigation reveals that anti-union motives were behind the arrest of Mr Urusov to take the necessary measures for his immediate release.
2. 125. By a communication dated 7 March 2013, the Government informs that the proposals for improving the legislation and enforcement procedures, as recommended by the Committee, will be considered, as a matter of priority, by the Russian Tripartite Commission (RTK) in April 2013.
3. 126. As regards the declaration of trade union leaflets circulated at the “Tsentrosvarmash” enterprise in Tver as extremist material, the Government indicates that the procedure for listing extremist literature is prescribed in the Law on Prevention of Extremist Activities (No. 114-FZ of 25 July 2002), which provides that the declaration of information material as extremist is made by a federal court; thereafter, the Ministry of Justice enters such information material on the list of extremist literature. The Government further indicates that despite the fact that pursuant to the legislation, an appeal may be lodged against a decision to enter information material on the federal list of extremist literature, in the present case, the possibility of filing a judicial appeal against the local court’s decision was not available as it was not established that the leaflets in question belonged to any trade union organization. In this connection, and in order to rule out such situations in the future, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Justice with a view to reconsidering the existing procedure.
4. 127. Finally, the Government informs that a second hearing in the case of Mr Urusov was held on 6 March 2013 and that the Khangalasskiy District Court of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) handed down a decision to release the trade union leader from detention and to sentence him to nine months and 11 days to corrective labour. The Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR) guaranteed job placement for Mr Urusov upon his release.
5. 128. The Committee takes note of the Government’s reply. It welcomes the release of Mr Urusov in March 2013.
6. 129. Noting the Government’s indication that the RTK intended to discuss proposals for improving the legislation and enforcement procedures as a matter of priority, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of these discussions. The Committee regrets that no information has been provided by the Government as to whether the “Proposals for the resolution of the issues raised in the complaint” have been discussed by the RTK. Recalling that the Government and its social partners agreed, in October 2011, to examine these proposals in the framework of the tripartite body, the Committee once again requests the Government to keep it informed of the developments in this respect.
7. 130. As regards the issue of trade union leaflets included, following a local court’s decision, in the list of extremist material, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government and, in particular, that the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Justice to reconsider the appeal procedure in such cases. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard. Furthermore, with reference to the previous examination of this case, the Committee understands that trade union leaflets containing such slogans as “let those who caused the crisis pay for it”, “fight substandard employment”, and “we demand our night shift pay” are still on the federal list of extremist material. The Committee considers that placing leaflets containing such or similar slogans on the list of extremist literature impedes considerably the right of trade unions to express their views and is an unacceptable restriction on trade union activities and, as such, a grave violation of freedom of association. The Committee recalls in this respect that the right to express opinions, including those criticizing the Government’s economic and social policy, is one of the essential elements of the rights of occupational organizations. It therefore once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures without delay in order to remove the trade union leaflets in question from the list of extremist literature and to ensure that this does not happen again. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.