Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 395, June 2021

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

1. 20. The Committee last examined this case at its meeting in June 2015, and on that occasion made the following recommendations on the matters still pending [see 375th Report, June 2015, para. 101]:
   • (a) The Committee considers that the internal conflict within the SNTE has been definitively settled by the courts and requests the Government to accept all the consequences of this, in compliance with the principles of non-interference by the authorities and with the right of professional organizations freely to elect their representatives.
   • (b) The Committee expects that, following the judicial decisions, the issue of SNTE representation must henceforth be clearly acknowledged by the Ministry of Education, and requests the Government to communicate any developments regarding the events reported in the complaint, in line with its stated intention, especially as regards the representation of the SNTE and its involvement in social dialogue in the education sector.
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in reply to the allegations that, almost a year after the April 2014 election meeting held in the presence of a bailiff duly mandated by the presiding judge following a court decision which finally settled the question of the SNTE representation, a congress was organized in March 2015 by the opposing faction in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education.
   • (d) If this allegation is confirmed, the Committee firmly expects the Government to immediately cease all reprisals against the SNTE on the basis that a complaint was filed with the Committee.
2. 21. In its communications dated 2 October 2015 and 14 March 2016, the complainant organization alleges that the Government is deliberately ignoring the Committee’s recommendations by continuing to deal with the opposing faction, as evidenced by the secondment authorizations granted by the Ministry of Education in September 2015 to members of that faction. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the complainant organization denounces the misuse of the judicial system, in particular an ambivalent decision of the Supreme Court of 10 December 2015 in favour of the opposing faction, in blatant contradiction with the successive court decisions that have endorsed the representation of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE).
3. 22. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government between January 2016 and June 2019 on the present case, in which the Government reports that conciliation meetings between the different parties resulted in the setting up of a committee to arrange a conciliation congress, which was held on 22 and 23 February 2015, following which a new leadership was elected, including members of the two previously opposing factions, with Mr Boudjenah as General Secretary. Currently, according to the Government, the SNTE has a unified leadership and participates in dialogue forums on national education. With regard to the latest allegations by the complainant organization, the Government denounces the attempt to draw out the dispute despite the Supreme Court ruling of 10 December 2015 overturning the ruling of 17 June 2013 by the Algiers Court of Appeal, which had invalided the election of Mr Boudjenah by the congress of June 2003. Lastly, the Committee notes the indication that Ms Bennoui, President of the SNTE, left her position in December 2015 upon her retirement.
4. 23. Furthermore, the Committee takes note of the report of the high-level mission that visited Algiers in May 2019 following the June 2018 conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference concerning the application by Algeria of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87). On that occasion, the high-level mission gathered information on this case. The Committee notes in particular that the Ministry of Education informed the mission that the administration maintains relations with the SNTE led by Mr Boudjenah, but that an appeal is pending before the Supreme Court to settle the question of the legitimate leadership of the trade union. The representative of the Ministry of Education furthermore informed the mission that he also engages, in a personal and unofficial capacity, with the other faction of the SNTE led by Mr Cheboutti, in a spirit of openness towards all stakeholders in the sector. However, the Ministry of Labour, taking into account the results of the March 2015 conciliation congress and the Supreme Court ruling of December 2015, has concluded that Mr Boudjenah is the leader of the SNTE, which has 101,002 members.
5. 24. In the absence of any additional information from the complainant organization or the Government on any decision by the Supreme Court concerning the representation of the SNTE subsequent to its ruling of 10 December 2015, it is not clear to the Committee that the dispute has been settled. In these circumstances, the Committee expects the Government to accept the consequences of any final decision of the Supreme Court on this issue, in compliance with the principles of non-interference by the authorities and with the right of professional organizations freely to elect their representatives, and to continue to ensure the participation of the SNTE in social dialogue in the national education sector. In the light of the foregoing, the Committee considers this case closed and will not pursue its examination.