Seguimiento dado a las recomendaciones del Comité y del Consejo de Administración - Informe núm. 342, Junio 2006

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

1. 78. The Committee last examined this case at its meeting in November 2005 [see 338th Report, paras. 116-128]. On that occasion the Committee made the following recommendations on the matters that were still pending.
2. 79. With regard to the allegations relating to the dismissal of officials of SINTREBENEFICENCIAS for having formed a trade union organization in the Cundinamarca District, the Committee had taken note of the information provided by the Government according to which the dismissal of officials of SINTRABENEFICENCIAS was carried out in breach of the provisions of the Labour Code and requested that the Government take the necessary measures to reinstate these officials without any loss of wages. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government to the effect that for the officials to be reinstated a judgement has to be handed down. The Committee asks the Government to inform it whether the workers are still entitled to resort to the appropriate judicial channels to obtain their reinstatement.
3. 80. The Committee had requested that the Government provide information on the outcome of the proceedings pending before the Council of State concerning the legality of Decree No. 1919, which suspended certain advantages in respect of wages and benefits that were provided for in collective agreements. In a communication dated 23 January 2006, the Government stated that no ruling had yet been handed down. The Committee takes note of this information and requests that the Government keep it informed of any rulings handed down.
4. 81. The Committee notes the new communication from the Union of Workers of the Social Welfare Fund of Cundinamarca (SINDECAPRECUNDI) dated 10 March 2006, according to which the Social Welfare Fund denied Jorge Eliécer Carrillo Espinosa, president of the union, the right to lodge an appeal, basing its refusal on an earlier decision of the administrative disputes court denying the official the right to reinstatement and to the corresponding compensation, on the grounds that he had been dismissed without his trade union immunity being waived. The Committee observes that sections 405 and 408 of the Labour Code interpret the guarantee of trade union immunity as a right not to be dismissed or subjected to less favourable working conditions and not to be transferred to other establishments within the same enterprise or to another municipality, without just cause having previously been verified by the labour court; and that they further stipulate that, in the event of a worker being dismissed in defiance of the rules and regulations governing trade union immunity, he or she shall be reinstated and, by way of compensation, the employer shall be sentenced to pay him or her any wages not paid because of the dismissal. The Committee requests the Government to take whatever measures are within its power to resolve the case of Jorge Eliécer Carrillo Espinosa in accordance with the provisions of sections 405 and 408 of the national legislation.
5. 82. The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) sent new allegations, in a communication dated 9 March 2006, concerning the Government’s failure to comply with the Committee’s recommendations with respect to the dismissal of members of the executive board of the Union of Official Workers of Cundinamarca (SINTRACUNDI) without their trade union immunity having been waived. The complainant organization alleges that the dismissed officials have exhausted the judicial channels that are available to them to have the legislation enforced. The Committee observes that these allegations are similar in effect to those dealt with in the previous paragraph. Therefore, with respect to the workers of SINTRACUNDI also, the Committee requests the Government to take whatever measures are within its power to resolve their situation in accordance with sections 405 and 408 of the Labour Code.