Rapport intérimaire - Rapport No. 58, 1962

1. 482. In a letter dated 14 December 1959 the Textile, Clothing, Leather and Fur Workers' Trade Unions International (a trade secretariat of the W.F.T.U.) lodged a complaint with the I.L.O against the Argentine Government concerning a breach of freedom of association. The W.F.T.U in a letter dated 26 February 1960 stated that it wished to submit this complaint on its own behalf.
2. 483. In two letters dated 14 March 1960 the complaint was forwarded to the Government for its observations and the W.F.T.U was informed of its right to submit further information in substantiation of its complaint within a period of one month. The Government replied by a letter dated 5 September 1960.
3. 484. When the case came before the Committee at its 26th Session (November 1960), the Committee submitted an interim report to the Governing Body, which was approved by the Governing Body at its 147th Session (November 1960); this report contained a number of requests to the Government for additional information.
4. 485. The Argentine Government was informed of the Committee's interim conclusions, as approved by the Governing Body, in a letter from the Director-General dated 24 November 1960 and made its reply to the Office in a letter dated 24 February 1961, which arrived too late for it to be examined by the Committee at its 27th Session (February 1961).
5. 486. When the case again came before it at its 28th Session (May 1961), the Committee made an interim report to the Governing Body containing its final recommendations on certain allegations relating to the arrest of Mr. Andrés Framini, General Secretary of the Argentine Association of Textile Workers, leaving outstanding only the allegations relating to the strike of textile workers and to measures taken against the strikers. This report by the Committee was approved by the Governing Body at its 149th Session (June 1961). The following paragraphs deal only with the allegations still outstanding.

A. A. The complainants' allegations

• Allegations relating to the Textile Workers' Strike and to Measures Taken against the Strikers
  487. 487 The complainants allege that after 100 days of unsuccessful negotiations, during which the employers refused to grant better working conditions, the 200,000 workers in the textile industry were forced to come out on strike; as a result, many union leaders and textile workers were sent to concentration camps in the south of the country where they were subjected to ill-treatment.
  488. 488 In its reply dated 24 February 1961 the Government denies the existence of concentration camps in the southern part of Argentina. It states that this region only contains penal establishments where individuals who have been sentenced by the appropriate courts are sent to serve their term of exile. In a telegraphic addendum to its reply, the Government states that the Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Orders of the Chamber of Deputies is engaged in drawing up a report " which will be forwarded to the Committee on Freedom of Association in due course ", dealing with accusations relating to alleged concentration camps and the ill-treatment endured by imprisoned workers.
  489. 489 In these circumstances the Committee, considering that the additional information mentioned by the Government might be of assistance to the Committee in reaching its conclusions, decided at its meeting in May 1961 to postpone examination of this aspect of the case pending receipt of the said information.
  490. 490 In a communication dated 17 October 1961 the Government begins by stating that the report of the Committee mentioned in paragraph 488 above has not yet been published. In any event, however, the Government declares once more that there are no concentration camps in Argentina but only penal establishments which conform to the standards laid down in the Criminal Code and in which conditions comply with the safeguards embodied in the National Constitution (article 18). It adds that the Committee mentioned earlier inspected a number of establishments and its report makes it clear that the allegations submitted by the complainants are entirely without foundation. Nevertheless, as a result of this report a number of improvements have been made in the prisoners' conditions, and by an Act of Congress one state prison in Tierra del Fuego has been closed down owing to the unduly harsh climate.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 491. While thanking the Government for the information it has been kind enough to supply on this aspect of the complaint, the Committee feels that it would be advisable to wait for the fuller information which the Government appears to intend to supply before making any recommendations on this aspect of the case to the Governing Body.