Rapport intérimaire - Rapport No. 309, Mars 1998

Allegations: Arrests, dismissals and suspensions of trade unionists following strike action, closure of trade union premises

• Allegations: Arrests, dismissals and suspensions of trade unionists following strike action, closure of trade union premises
  224. 224 The Committee examined Case No. 1851 on two previous occasions, at its June 1996 and June 1997 meetings. (See the Reports of the Committee approved by the Governing Body at its 266th and 269th Sessions in May-June 1996 and 1997 respectively, during the course of which it formulated interim conclusions: 304th Report, paras. 255 to 286; and 307th Report, paras. 253 to 272.)
  225. 225 Case No. 1922 presented by Education International (EI), the Secondary Teachers' Union (SYNESED) and the Primary Teachers' Union (SEP) is contained in a communication dated 4 April 1997.
  226. 226 In view of the gravity of the allegations presented in these two cases, the Committee on Freedom of Association requested the Government to accept a direct contacts mission to the country. (See 307th Report, para. 272.)
  227. 227 The Government agreed to such a mission in August 1997, thus allowing the mission to take place in early 1998, and arrangements were made to that effect. The Director-General appointed Professor Jean-Maurice Verdier, a member of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, as his Representative on the mission which took place in Djibouti from 11 to 18 January 1998. During this direct contacts mission, the Director-General's Representative was accompanied by Ms. A.-J. Pouyat, a senior official of the Freedom of Association Branch, Ms. M. Guilio, Programme Officer, and Mr. C. Kompier, Associate Expert for international labour standards. Both Ms. Guilio and Mr. Kompier are based at the ILO Office in Addis Ababa. This office had established the contacts needed to ensure the success of the mission. The mission report is reproduced in the Annex at the end of the present report.
  228. 228 Djibouti has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Situation preceding the mission

1. 229. The allegations in Case No. 1851 related to arrests, mass dismissals and suspensions of trade union activists and officials in many sectors (railways, airport, electricity, post office and telecommunications, health care, water and education) following a strike that began in September 1995 in protest against legislation which seriously jeopardized workers' living standards. Subsequently, other strikes by teachers during 1996 in protest against delays in the payment of wages were again followed by arrests and mass dismissals of a very large number of teachers (400 teachers are said to have been suspended by a memorandum from the Minister of Education and 180 teachers are said to have been dismissed on 28 January 1996 for participating in strike action), and by the suspension and dismissal of officials of the Secondary Teachers' Union (SYNESED) and new arrests following a solidarity demonstration by teachers against the dismissal of their striking colleagues. While this was going on, a Government-sponsored trade union, the Djibouti Labour Congress (CODJITRA), was set up and, in May 1996, the premises of the General Union of Djibouti Workers (UGTD) were closed by security forces. In addition, trade union dues for the Post Office and Telecommunications Workers' Trade Union (OPT) and the Electricity Workers' Trade Union (SEED) were frozen, and the lawyer acting for the Djibouti Inter-Trade Union Association/General Union of Djibouti Workers (UDT/UGTD), Mr. Mohamed Aref, was suspended and charged.
2. 230. Case No. 1922 presented by Education International (EI), the Secondary Teachers' Union (SYNESED) and the Primary Teachers' Union (SEP) also related to anti-union measures directed against teachers during the events of 1995, 1996 and 1997.
3. 231. At its most recent examination of Case No. 1851, the Committee had expressed regret that the Government had not provided any specific and detailed response to the allegations, especially given that the repressive measures imposed on union activists and officials had not been lifted but, on the contrary, had worsened. The Committee had urged the Government to free the trade unionists arrested for striking in August and September 1995 who were said to be still in detention, and whose names had been listed in Annex I of its report, to keep it informed of the fate of the trade unionists still subject to judicial proceedings and to communicate the text of any legal decision handed down on the matter. It had also requested the Government to provide information on the dismissals and suspensions in 1995, 1996 and 1997 of strikers whose names had been listed in Annex II of the report, and had urged it to take steps to lift the sanctions against the strikers and reinstate them in their posts. It had in addition requested the Government to reinstate the trade union officials in their office, to end the closure of the UGTD premises by the police, which in its view constitutes a serious interference with the exercise of trade union rights, and to lift the freeze on the OPT and SEED trade union contributions. In addition, it had requested the Government to send its comments on the allegation that it set up a trade union organization supporting its cause called the Djibouti Labour Congress, and on the alleged dismissal in February 1997 of five officials of a teachers' union, the internment of 500 persons in a camp following a demonstration, and the suspension of the lawyer acting for the Inter-Trade Union Association/General Union of Djibouti Workers (UDT/UGTD), Mr. Mohamed Aref.

B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 232. Bearing in mind that the information received by the representative of the Director-General during the direct contacts mission is given in the Annex to the present report, the Committee proposes to pass directly to its conclusions on the various aspects of the cases relating to Djibouti currently under consideration.
2. 233. First, the Committee considers that the detailed report produced by the Representative of the Director-General demonstrates the usefulness of such missions for an in-depth and objective examination of complaints.
3. 234. The Committee notes with interest the spirit of cooperation shown by the Government in this matter and the facilities that were made available to the mission without reservation, and expresses the hope that the Government will continue to act in the same spirit. In particular, the Committee notes with satisfaction that the mission was able to obtain all the information it required and was able to meet all the people it needed to interview in order to accomplish its task.
4. 235. As regards the substance of the matter under consideration, in particular with regard to the arrests and detentions of trade unionists, the Committee notes with interest that there are currently no people held in detention for activities relating to the exercise of freedom of association or the right to strike, nor are any judicial proceedings currently under way for these reasons, with the exception of an appeal by the deputy secretary-general of the UGTD against a three-month prison sentence and a 60,000 franc fine for breaking the law. Because of the appeal, the individual in question has not served the sentence. As regards the judicial proceedings against the officials of the secondary schoolteachers' union SYNESED, they have now been dropped. This does not alter the fact that many people were held in custody for 72 hours at the Nagad detention centre following strike action or solidarity demonstrations in 1995, 1996 and 1997, allegedly (according to government authorities) for public order offences, that in many cases they were released only following the personal intervention of the Minister of Education, and that a trade union official was sentenced to three months' imprisonment and a fine for breaking the law after the first strike in 1995, although he has not served the sentence.
5. 236. Under these circumstances, the Committee recalls the importance which it attaches to the right to strike, which is inextricably bound up with the freedom of association protected by Convention No. 87. The Committee emphasizes that the arrest or detention of trade union leaders and trade unionists for exercising legitimate trade union activities constitutes a violation of the principles of freedom of association (see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th (revised) edition, 1996 para. 70) and that the sentences imposed on trade union leaders for the mere fact of having called on their members to take legitimate strike action are not compatible with respect to freedom of association. The Committee requests the Government in future to respect those principles.
6. 237. With regard to the mass dismissals of workers in education, the Committee also notes from the mission report that the 400 teachers barred from work as alleged by the ICFTU and the Djibouti Inter-Trade Union Association of Labour/General Union of Djibouti Workers (UDT/UGTD) were in fact unemployed workers used as temporary replacements for striking teachers,recruited during the strike to look after their children and were not kept in employment. It further notes that the majority of the 180 striking teachers who had been dismissed following strike action, as well as strikers in other sectors, have been reinstated to the satisfaction of the trade union organizations concerned. The Committee notes, however, that according to workers' representatives, these reinstatements, especially in the education sector, took place after the individuals involved had been obliged to give a written undertaking not to join a trade union, although the Ministry of Education has categorically denied this. With regard to this final point, the Committee emphasizes the importance it attaches to the principle that declarations of loyalty or other similar commitment should not be imposed as a condition for reinstatement and it urges the Government to annul these declarations.
7. 238. The Committee furthermore notes with profound regret that, according to information obtained by the mission, all the senior officials of the Inter-Trade Union Association of Labour/General Union of Djibouti Workers (UDT/UGTD) and a number of senior officials of SYNESED and SEP have still not been reinstated and indeed five of the individuals in question have been excluded from the public service following strike action and peaceful demonstrations in 1995, 1996 and 1997. In addition, the Committee notes that the Civil Service Ministry informed the mission that only teachers in the public service who are actively employed could belong to the two teaching unions (SYNESED and SEP). This inevitably means that the trade union officials who were dismissed from education and the teachers who were barred from the public service, as well as striking railway, airport, electricity and postal workers, are no longer recognized by the authorities as elected trade union officials who can defend and promote the interests of their members. In this connection, the Committee recalls that the loss of a person's trade union status as a result of dismissal for strike activities is contrary to the principles of freedom of association. (See Case No. 1266, Burkina Faso, 246th Report, para. 164.)
8. 239. The Committee notes that the Government has stated that some of the striking teachers had left the country, but has further indicated that it is not opposed to taking back the barred teachers as employees if they request it.
9. 240. The Committee expresses the hope that the Government will implement the timetable of meetings, the beginning of which was fixed at the meeting with the trade union organizations, which took place during the direct contacts mission at the Ministry of Labour with a view to examining the measures required to revoke the dismissals of the trade unionists concerned and ensure their reinstatement in their posts and office as soon as possible. This includes in particular the following persons: Ahmed Djama Egueh and Aden Mohamed Abdou (president and secretary-general respectively of the UDT); Kamil Diraneh Hared and Mohamad Doubad Wais, secretary-general of the UGTD; Habib Ahmed Doualleh, secretary-general of the Electricity Workers' Trade Union; Abdillahi Aden Ali, leader of the Inter-Trade Union Association; and three railway trade unionists, Houssein Direih Gouled, Ahmed Elmi Fod and Moussa Wais Ibrahim. All these trade unionists were dismissed after September 1995 following a protest strike two and a half years ago against the Government's economic and social policy. The Committee also calls on the Government to make every effort to ensure that the five secondary schoolteachers excluded from the public service in February 1997 and the two primary schoolteachers dismissed in 1996, who have been named by the complainant, are reinstated in their posts if they request it.
10. 241. With regard to the freezing of trade union contributions, the Committee notes with interest that the banks which withheld the assets of the Post Office and Telecommunications Workers' Trade Union (OPT) and the Djibouti Electricity Workers' Trade Union (SEED) have restored the union dues to the officials of these unions.
11. 242. As regards the creation of a trade union organization dedicated to supporting the Government's cause, namely, the Djibouti Labour Congress (CODJITRA), the Committee notes that the Credentials Committee of the International Labour Conference in June 1997 unanimously proposed the invalidation of the credentials of the Workers' delegate of Djibouti (Mr. Mohamoud Ali Boulaleh, secretary-general of the Djibouti Labour Congress), who had been designated by Government Decree No. 97/086/CAB as Workers' delegate of Djibouti to the International Labour Conference in June 1997. The Committee stated that: "... the evidence indicated that the Workers' delegate had been chosen from the organization that was closely linked to the Government, in preference to the Workers' organization that appeared to be indisputably the most representative in Djibouti, in clear violation of article 3, paragraph 5, of the ILO Constitution. (Record of Proceedings, International Labour Conference, 85th Session, Geneva 1997 (7 Rev.)." In the case in which there was at the very least a close relationship between a trade union and the public authorities, the Committee emphasized the importance it attaches to the resolution of 1952 concerning the independence of the trade union movement and urged the Government to refrain from showing favouritism towards, or discriminating against, any given trade union, and requested it to adopt a neutral attitude in its dealings with all workers' and employers' organizations, so that they are all placed on an equal footing. (See Digest, op. cit., para. 305.)
12. 243. With regard to the closure by the police of the UGTD premises on 7 May 1996, the Committee notes with satisfaction that during the meeting that took place in the office the Minister of Labour with representatives of the trade union organizations concerned in the presence of the mission, the Minister of Labour ordered the return of the keys to the spokesman of UDT/UGTD and that this was done on the same day, 15 January 1998.
13. 244. Nevertheless, the Committee notes with concern that, according to information received by the mission from Workers' representatives, a bailiff and uniformed police officers on 7 July 1997 broke into the home of the UDT president, Mr. Egueh, who is also secretary-general of the Airport Employees' trade union, and removed union archives, although Mr. Egueh had obtained a court ruling protecting his home from such action.
14. 245. The Committee recalls the importance of the principle of the inviolability of trade union property. Accordingly, it draws the attention of the Government to the fact that any search of trade union premises, or of unionists' homes, without a court order constitutes an extremely serious infringement of freedom of association. (See Digest, op. cit., para. 177). The Committee calls on the Government to return the trade union archives of the UDT as quickly as possible and to keep it informed of any measures taken in this regard.
15. 246. With regard to the suspension of Mr. Aref, the lawyer acting for the trade union organizations, the Committee notes that some elements in the testimony of the complainants contradict that of the Government. According to the information received by the mission, the Government considers that Mr. Aref was suspended for reasons unconnected with his defence of trade unionists. It is claimed that he was prosecuted for acting as advocate both for a law firm in Djibouti and a British law firm which was the opposing party in the same proceedings. His case is expected to be heard in March 1998. In the meantime, the Djibouti Bar Association has temporarily suspended him from practice. Mr. Ali Dimi, the President of the Djibouti Association of Lawyers, has also indicated that these are the reasons for the proceedings. However, the Workers' representatives contest this version of events. They believe that Mr. Aref is being subjected to sanctions for having defended them and that no Djibouti lawyer will now dare to take up the defence of the trade unionists, especially since no action has been taken on the complaints lodged by the trade unionists with the Ministry. According to a report produced by a human rights organization and sent by Mr. Aref to the mission, one claim of a purely disciplinary nature was filed by a London law firm in March 1995 but no action was taken for more than a year, after Mr. Aref had offered explanations to the President of the Association of Lawyers and to the London law firm in question. Mr. Aref was charged with fraud on 23 January 1997 and summoned to appear before the criminal court on 6 October 1997, although he was unable to obtain any details of the charges against him. During this time, the Council of the Djibouti Association of Lawyers imposed an interim ban on his practising as a lawyer with effect from February 1997, two years after the complaint made by the British law firm. Mr. Aref has lodged an appeal before the Appeal Court against the interim ban, as well as an application to the Supreme Court to quash the criminal proceedings against him. The criminal and disciplinary proceedings initiated against him are said to have been conducted in a manner contrary to the presumption of innocence and respect for the rights of the defence and to be aimed at preventing him from practising as a lawyer.
16. 247. The Committee notes with concern that, according to the Workers' representatives encountered by the mission after these sanctions were imposed against Mr. Aref, no lawyer in Djibouti has ventured to take up the defence of the trade unionists and that no action has been taken with respect to their complaints. The Committee therefore emphasizes the importance of the principle that the safeguards of normal judicial procedure should not only be embodied in the law but also applied in practice. (See Digest, op. cit., para. 107.) The Committee requests the Government to exercise the greatest vigilance in promoting and defending freedom of association and to take any necessary measures to ensure that the complaints lodged by the trade union organizations or trade unionists concerned and those lodged by Mr. Aref are investigated, and to communicate the text of any judicial ruling on the disciplinary and penal situation of Mr. Aref, the trade unionists' lawyer.
17. 248. The Committee also observes that, according to information received by the mission, the revision of the Labour Code is currently under way in consultation with Employers' representatives. The Committee recalls the importance of consultation with all the social partners, including Workers' representatives, in formulating social legislation, and recalls that the ILO's technical assistance is available for the current revision process.
18. 249. The Committee has been informed that, since the return of the mission, a national tripartite seminar on the revision of the Labour Code has been held in Djibouti and that a representative of the ILO's Industrial Relations Branch was able to take part. The Committee notes this information with interest.
19. 250. In agreement with the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations in its observation of December 1997, the Committee expresses the hope that legislation consistent with the principles of freedom of association will be adopted and that the current revision of labour legislation will lead to amendments to the Decree of 10 September 1983 which will (a) restrict the wide-ranging powers available to the President of the Republic of requisitioning public servants considered to be indispensable to the life of the nation and to the operation of essential services to those cases which, in the opinion of the supervisory bodies, the restrictions of prohibitions of the exercise of the right to strike are admissible, namely with regard to public servants who exercise authority in the name of the State or are employed in the essential services in the strict sense of the term, that is, those services whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population or in the event of an acute national crisis; and (b) lift the restrictions on trade union elections contained in section 6 of the Labour Code, which limits the holding of trade union office to Djibouti nationals, in order to allow foreigners to hold trade union office, at least after a reasonable period of residence in the country thus ensuring compliance with Article 3 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87).

Annex

1. Report on a direct contacts mission to Djibouti
2. (11-18 January 1998)
3. In communications dated 19 September and 9 December 1995, and 28 January and
4. 12 March 1996, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU),
5. the Inter-Trade Union Association of the Djibouti Labour Union/the General
6. Union of Djibouti Workers (UDT/UGTD) and the Organization of African Trade
7. Union Unity (OATUU) submitted complaints of violation of freedom of
8. association against the Government of Djibouti (Case No. 1851).
9. Basing itself on the complaints in Case No. 1851, supplementary information
10. sent by the complainant organizations in March 1997 and written replies
11. provided by the Government in February 1996 and May 1997, the Committee on
12. Freedom of Association has twice examined this case (in May/June 1996 and
13. May/June 1997) and has handed down interim conclusions at each of its meetings
14. (see 304th Report, paras. 255-286 and 307th Report, paras. 253-272, approved
15. by the Governing Body at its 266th and 269th Sessions respectively). In
16. addition, Education International (EI) submitted a further complaint of
17. violation of freedom of association against the Government of Djibouti in a
18. communication dated 4 April 1997 (Case No. 1922).
19. At its May-June 1997 Session, the Committee on Freedom of Association
20. requested the Government to accept a direct contacts mission to the country
21. (see 307th Report, para. 272).
22. In a communication dated 30 August 1997, the Government stated that it would
23. like the direct contacts mission relating to Cases Nos. 1851 and 1922 to take
24. place at the beginning of 1998. On 10 December 1997, the Minister of Labour
25. and Vocational Training sent the Director-General of the ILO a communication
26. accepting a direct contacts mission to the country with respect to the cases
27. pending before the Committee.
28. The Director-General appointed Professor Jean-Maurice Verdier, a member of the
29. Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, to
30. carry out this mission which took place from 11 to 18 January 1998. Professor
31. Verdier was accompanied by Mrs. Pouyat, a senior official from the Freedom of
32. Association Branch, and two officials from the ILO Office in Addis Ababa --
33. Mrs. Martine Guilio, programme coordinator, and Mr. Coen Kompier, associate
34. expert for international labour standards -- who had made the necessary
35. contacts to prepare for the mission and ensure its successful outcome.
36. The progress of the mission
37. During its time in Djibouti, the mission met with, among others, the Minister
38. of Labour and Vocational Training, Mr. Mohamed Ali Mohamed, senior officials
39. from the Ministries of Labour, Justice, National Education and the Public
40. Service, senior officials representing the workers of the Inter-Trade Union
41. Coordination Group of the Djibouti Labour Union/the General Union of Djibouti
42. Workers (UDT/UGTD), the Secondary Schoolteachers' Trade Union (SYNESED) and
43. the Primary Schoolteachers' Trade Union (SEP), and also with senior officials
44. from the Inter-Enterprise Trade Union Association (USIE) and the President of
45. the Bar of Djibouti, Mr. Ali Dini.
46. The mission wishes to state that it had the full cooperation of all those
47. involved. Work was able to be carried out freely and independently and the
48. Government of Djibouti provided the facilities necessary for the optimum
49. outcome of the mission.
50. Status of the cases pending before the Committee on Freedom of Association
51. With reference to Case No. 1851, the Committee had noted that the substantive
52. allegations related first of all to the fact that the two trade union
53. federations in Djibouti, grouped together in an Inter-Trade Union Association,
54. UDT/UGTD, had called a strike in September 1995 to protest against draft
55. financial legislation which, according to the complainants, had had disastrous
56. repercussions on workers' living standards, and against the Government's
57. refusal to discuss the drafting of this legislation with the trade unions. The
58. strike had allegedly lasted two days and had been followed in many branches of
59. activity. It had allegedly resulted in the arrest and sentencing of many trade
60. union officials and activists, as well as wide-scale dismissals, suspensions
61. and disqualifications, particularly in the sectors of education (400 teachers,
62. for instance), the Djibouti-Ethiopian railway system, the airport,
63. electricity, post and telecommunications, health and water. Subsequently,
64. another strike called by teachers in January 1996 to protest against the delay
65. in the payment of salary arrears was allegedly followed by the arrest of 230
66. teachers, 217 of which were released shortly afterwards, and the dismissal of
67. 180 substitute primary schoolteachers. Thirteen of the arrested teachers were
68. allegedly ordered to appear before a court, and were later released following
69. the intervention of their lawyers. At the same time, a trade union
70. organization supporting the cause of the Government, the Djibouti Labour
71. Congress (CODJITRA), was allegedly set up, the premises of the UGTD closed by
72. security forces, trade union leaders dismissed from their duties, union
73. contributions from primary trade unions (post and telecommunications and
74. electricity) allegedly frozen and the lawyer of the Inter-Trade Union
75. Association UDT/UGTD (Mr. Mohamed Aref) allegedly suspended from his duties
76. and charged.
77. In its written reply, the Government had assured the Committee of its
78. commitment to the trade unions and to democracy, but had denounced the serious
79. social upheavals that had destabilized the country and made it necessary for
80. the Government to call on the police to restore order. It had emphasized the
81. fact that the President of the Republic had not suspended the Constitution and
82. that it had preferred conciliation, mediation and arbitration as peaceful
83. means of settling disputes, the Constitution recognizing the right to organize
84. and the right to strike. Nevertheless, the dismissals that had taken place
85. were the result of absence from work, violations of the freedom to work and
86. the pursuance of purely political activities. Concerning the trade unions'
87. headquarters, the Government had explained that the premises belonged to the
88. State, and that the UGTD had refused to share them or to sign an agreement
89. with the UDT on the conditions and modalities relating to their use as per the
90. Government's request.
91. During its last examination of Case No. 1851 in May-June 1997, the Committee
92. on Freedom of Association had requested the Government to release the trade
93. unionists arrested for strike action, to keep it informed of the fate of the
94. trade unionists who were still subject to judicial proceedings and to
95. communicate the text of any legal decisions handed down in this connection. It
96. had also asked the Government to reinstate the dismissed trade union officials
97. and trade unionists who were suspended or disqualified for participating in
98. strikes in 1995, 1996 and 1997. It had stressed the need to reinstate the
99. suspended trade union officials in their office, to put an immediate end to
100. the closure of the UGTD premises and to the freeze on the trade union
101. contributions of the Post Office and Telecommunications Workers' Trade Union
102. (OPT) and the Djibouti Electricity Workers' Trade Union (SEED). Lastly, it had
103. requested the Government to send its comments on the complainants' most recent
104. allegations concerning the setting up of a trade union organization supporting
105. its cause called the Djibouti Labour Congress; the disqualification on 16
106. February 1997 of five officials of the Secondary Schoolteachers' Trade Union
107. (SYNESED); the deportation and internment of 500 persons in a police camp 10
108. km from the capital following a peaceful demonstration organized to protest
109. against the disqualification of the five union officials in question; and the
110. suspension of the lawyer of the Inter-Trade Union Association UDT/UGTD, Mr.
111. Mohamed Aref.
112. As regards Case No. 1922, Education International (EI), the Secondary
113. Schoolteachers' Trade Union (SYNESED) and the Primary Schoolteachers' Trade
114. Union (SEP), in a communication dated 4 April 1997, criticized the trade union
115. situation in the education sphere in the light of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98,
116. both ratified by Djibouti. They explained that these two trade unions,
117. established in 1994 and 1995 respectively, had on 9 June 1996 concluded an
118. agreement with the Government concerning teachers' salary arrears; these had
119. been paid only partially and irregularly for a period of two years, following
120. both threats of and actual strike action on several occasions, with the unions
121. always remaining open to negotiations with the Government. On that very day,
122. in fact, the Minister of National Education had promised the secretary-general
123. of the Djibouti Labour Union (UDT), to which the two trade unions are
124. affiliated, to respond to their demands following the lifting of the boycott,
125. and the trade unions had taken him at his word. The teachers' claims also
126. related to the request for the payment of four months of salary arrears, the
127. withdrawal of a decree to abolish the right to housing for teachers and the
128. reinstatement in their posts of trade union officials and trade unionists. The
129. Government, however, allegedly did not honour the agreement and, once classes
130. had resumed on 14 and 15 September 1996, the strike began again. Repressive
131. measures were allegedly intensified and peaceful demonstrations violently
132. suppressed. On 16 September 1996, the Minister of National Education allegedly
133. punished the SEP and SYNESED trade union leaders and sent them to remote
134. regions of the country. A number of teachers were allegedly dismissed. On 5
135. October, a peaceful demonstration organized by the SYNESED to mark World
136. Teachers' Day was allegedly violently put down by the police. Several people
137. were allegedly injured, one seriously. Sixty teachers were allegedly arrested
138. and sent to the Nagad detention centre. On 17 November, memorandum No.
139. 185/96/DGEN prohibited suspended teachers access to educational establishments
140. and from organizing meetings. From 4 December 1996 onwards, teachers called
141. staggered two-day strikes followed by two days of classes, all the while
142. asking the Minister of National Education to renew talks with the SEP and the
143. SYNESED. On 16 February 1997, the Public Service Disciplinary Council
144. dismissed five teachers who had been suspended, all SYNESED officials, which
145. led to a further demonstration of solidarity which was put down with force.
146. Hundreds of teachers were allegedly sent to the Nagad detention camp and then
147. released in the desert with neither food nor water at the beginning of March
148. 1997. The Minister of National Education then allegedly set up, as from 4
149. March 1997, a committee made up of two non-union teachers per establishment to
150. address difficulties. The complainants state that Mr. Mohammed Aref, the
151. lawyer of the unionist teachers, was allegedly suspended from his duties. They
152. request the lifting of sanctions, the application of the collective agreements
153. concluded in June 1996 and the payment of salary arrears.
154. Information collected during the mission
155. Political and economic situation
156. The Republic of Djibouti is a country with an area of 23,000 km2, a population
157. estimated at 600,000 inhabitants and a natural growth rate of 3 per cent per
158. year. Two-thirds of the inhabitants are concentrated in the capital, Djibouti.
159. The semi-desert hinterland offers very little arable land, and as a result
160. agriculture faces serious restrictions in terms of both soil and water. The
161. economy is largely based on services centred around the port, the railway, the
162. public service and the French military garrison, which account for 76 per cent
163. of the gross domestic product (GDP). Between 1983 and 1987 the country was
164. affected by severe drought. Huge losses of livestock, the main resource of the
165. nomadic peoples, led to an influx of refugees in urban areas where
166. unemployment was already high. Lastly, the economy was seriously disrupted
167. between 1991 and 1994 as the result of the civil war opposing the Government
168. and the forces of the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD),
169. representing the Afar rebellion.
170. The conflict ended in December 1994, when the Government of Djibouti signed a
171. peace agreement with some of the constituents of the FRUD.
172. In September 1992, a referendum to amend the Constitution introduced the
173. multi-party system. In April 1997 the FRUD held its first congress. During
174. this congress it transformed itself into a legal political party, thus
175. becoming the fourth political force in the country.
176. Djibouti is one of the world's least developed countries (LDC) and is ranked
177. 164th (out of 174) in the classification established by the United Nations
178. Development Programme (UNDP) in accordance with the human development index
179. (HDI).
180. The literacy rate is among the lowest in the world (44 per cent). Formal
181. education is primarily available in urban centres. There are no universities
182. and very little vocational training. All economic sectors suffer from a
183. shortage of qualified manpower.
184. In 1993 life expectancy was estimated at 48 years, with an infant mortality
185. rate of 114 per 1,000.
186. Djibouti's development prospects depend largely on its ability to become a
187. centre for services and the transit of goods for the subregion.
188. Article 15 of the Constitution of 4 September 1992, gives workers the right to
189. establish trade unions and to strike.
190. Four political parties are authorized. These are the People's Progress
191. Assembly (RPP), currently in power, the National Democratic Party (PND), the
192. Party of Democratic Renewal (PRD), recently divided in two, one of which is
193. not legal according to the governmental authorities, given that the principal
194. officials have been removed from their posts, and although complaints have
195. been lodged they are still pending action, and the Front for the Restoration
196. of Unity and Democracy (FRUD). Lastly, again in the view of the governmental
197. authorities, the Group for Democracy and the Republic (GDR) is an illegal
198. political grouping to which Mr. Ismael Guedi Hared, a former cabinet director
199. of the President of the Republic, belongs. For many years he worked in the
200. service of the President of the Republic, but has since been deposed, having
201. been branded a political opponent.
202. Sixty-five deputies were elected on 19 December 1997 to the Legislative
203. Assembly, and on 28 December 1997 there was a cabinet reshuffle. The Minister
204. of Labour and Vocational Training, Mr. Osman Robleh Daach, in office during
205. the events which are the subject of complaint, has been called to other
206. ministerial duties. The current Minister of Labour and Vocational Training,
207. Mr. Mohamed Ali Mohamed, who was Minister of Finance and Economy and the
208. Minister behind the Finance Act contested by the complainant workers'
209. organizations in 1995, was only appointed to his new position on 28 December
210. 1997.
211. According to the workers' representatives met by the mission, the amended
212. Finance Act of 1995, the object of the initial complaint, was declared
213. unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council three months after its
214. adoption.
215. Arrests, detentions, judicial proceedings
216. When the mission arrived in Djibouti, the governmental authorities and the
217. workers' representatives confirmed that no trade unionist was currently being
218. detained and that practically no judicial proceedings were pending for trade
219. union officials or trade unionists. Only Mr. Mohamed Doubad Wais, deputy
220. secretary- general of the UGTD and secretary-general of the Post Office and
221. Telecommunications Workers' Trade Union (OPT) was sentenced on 14 September
222. 1995 by the Court of First Instance of Djibouti, in a flagrante delicto
223. hearing, for an affront to the Minister of Labour, to three months'
224. imprisonment and a fine of 60,000 Djibouti francs. However, as the party
225. concerned has lodged an appeal, the sentence has not yet been enforced. The
226. judicial proceedings brought against the secondary schoolteachers who are
227. SYNESED officials have effectively been dropped.
228. On the subject of the massive number of arrests of trade union officials and
229. trade unionists in recent years on the occasion of various labour disputes and
230. demonstrations, the governmental authorities of the Ministry of Justice
231. explained that the Minister of Justice was now the person responsible for
232. human rights. The cases that have come before the courts concerning
233. disturbances to law and order did not result in any sentences. The arrests
234. that occurred never went beyond the legal duration of police custody, which is
235. 72 hours in Djibouti and which can be extended to eight days outside the town.
236. As regards the Nagad detention centre, the governmental authorities explained
237. that it is a centre where people illegally in the country are provisionally
238. detained before being deported. They did, however, acknowledge that the centre
239. may at times have been used for other purposes. The governmental authorities
240. from the Ministry of National Education acknowledged that people had been
241. arrested for disturbances to law and order, but indicated that the problems
242. had been settled within 72 hours following the personal intervention of the
243. Minister for National Education.
244. With regard to alleged searches without the appropriate warrant, the
245. governmental authorities from the Ministry of Justice pointed to a general
246. lack of knowledge and explained that the judicial authorities can themselves
247. decide to hear cases involving such violations. In any case, they noted, the
248. alleged victims must lodge complaints. They explained that the rule of law
249. must be learned. During the colonial period public opinion held that the
250. criminal judge played an eminently repressive role. Litigants should now be
251. aware that the criminal judge plays a part in the protection of citizens. On
252. this point, the workers' representatives emphasized that citizens, and in
253. particular the members of trade unions, were not encouraged to trust the
254. justice system, no action being taken on complaints lodged by them.
255. On a general note, the governmental authorities of the Ministry of Justice
256. recalled that the Constitution, the Labour Code and civil service regulations
257. recognized the right to organize and the right to strike for workers and
258. public officials, but that problems arise as to the application of the
259. instruments, notably due to the lack of dialogue. After 1977, the date of
260. independence, the trade union movement and the political movement were not
261. independent. An independent trade union movement emerged following the
262. adoption of the new Constitution in 1992, but the authorities did not change.
263. Trade union officials were formerly appointed by the public authorities. Thus,
264. the secretary-general of the UGTD was a Member of Parliament and had no
265. independence vis-à-vis the Government. The public authorities had trouble
266. understanding that the trade unions could rise up against them. The
267. authorities must be tolerant of trade union action, but trade unions must also
268. learn to abide by the law.
269. Dismissals, transfers, penalties, disqualifications for strike action
270. The workers' representatives presented the mission with a list of trade union
271. officials who remained dismissed or disqualified following the protest strikes
272. against the Government's economic and social policy held in 1995, 1996 and
273. 1997. The list included the senior management of the Inter-Trade Union
274. Coordination Group UDT/UGTD Coordination Group, the secretary-general of the
275. Electricity Workers' Trade Union, the secretary-general of the Secondary
276. Schoolteachers' Trade Union and several trade union officials and trade
277. unionists from the railway, primary and secondary education sectors. They
278. recalled that the two trade union federations UDT/UGTD had called a legal
279. strike to protest the contents of a corrective Finance Act from 6 to 23
280. September 1995, in accordance with provisions relating to the right to strike,
281. as guaranteed in the Constitution of 4 September 1992, and that all necessary
282. measures had been taken to ensure the operation of minimum services as
283. stipulated in the regulations governing the various sectors of economic
284. activity. They explained that on 14 September 1995, an order to return to work
285. was imposed by the highest state authority and that, from 12 September onwards
286. at the post office and the airport and from 16 September in the railway
287. sector, trade union officials were issued with dismissals on the grounds of
288. having abandoned their posts.
289. Trade union officials of the Inter-Trade Union Association UDT/UGTD dismissed
290. since September 1995
291. 1. Mr. Ahmed Djama Egueh, president of the UDT and joint president of the
292. Inter-Trade Union Association.
293. 2. Mr. Aden Mohamed Abdou, secretary-general of the UDT and spokesman of the
294. Inter-Trade Union Association.
295. 3. Mr. Kamil Diraneh Hared, secretary-general of the UGTD and joint president
296. of the Inter-Trade Union Association.
297. 4. Mr. Mohamed Doubad Wais, second secretary-general of the UGTD and
298. secretary-general of the OPT trade union.
299. 5. Mr. Habib Ahmed Doualleh, secretary-general of the Djibouti Electricity
300. Workers' Trade Union.
301. 6. Mr. Abdillahi Aden Ali, trade union official of the Inter-Trade Union
302. Association.
303. Secondary schoolteachers suspended since August 1996, then disqualified from
304. the public service on 16 February 1997
305. 1. Mr. Souleman Ahmed Mohamed, deputy secretary-general of the UDT and former
306. secretary-general of the SYNESED.
307. 2. Mr. Mohamed Ali Djama, deputy secretary-general of the SYNESED.
308. 3. Mrs. Mariam Hassan Ali, former secretary-general of the SYNESED.
309. 4. Mr. Kamil Hassan, information secretary of the SYNESED.
310. 5. Miss Mallyoun Benoit Frumence, documentation secretary of the SYNESED.
311. Primary schoolteachers dismissed in 19961. Mr. Abdoulfatah Hassan Ibrahim,
312. secretary-general of the SEP.
313. 2. Mr. Ahmed Ali Sultan, trade union official of the SEP.
314. Members of the Djibouti-Ethiopia Railway Workers' Trade Union, dismissed by
315. decision of the railway management on 23 September 1995 for physical
316. aggression against an official
317. 1. Mr. Houssein Dirieh Gouled.
318. 2. Mr. Ahmed Elni Fod.
319. 3. Mr. Moussa Wais Ibrahim.
320. According to the workers' representatives met by the mission, Mr. Kamil
321. Diraneh Hared, secretary-general of the UGTD, had been dismissed on 16
322. September 1995 by the Djibouti railway management for absence from his post.
323. He was reinstated by way of memorandum No. 37/97 dated 15 April 1997 from the
324. director-general of the railways. This memorandum was cancelled by a further
325. written memorandum from the president and vice-president of the board of
326. directors of the railways, the Transport Ministers of Djibouti and Ethiopia
327. respectively, on 21 April 1997. Thus the dismissal remains in force. The other
328. trade unionists listed are included in Annex II to the 307th Report of the
329. Committee on Freedom of Association. They are not mentioned as being among the
330. trade union officials who remain dismissed, given that they have either been
331. reinstated or are living in exile in France or Canada.
332. With respect to Case No. 1922, the governmental authorities of the Ministry of
333. Labour indicated to the mission that they had not received a copy of the
334. complaint submitted by Education International (EI) and the two teachers'
335. trade unions (SYNESED and SEP) which are the complainants in this case. The
336. mission thus personally presented the Ministry's officials with a copy of the
337. complaint.
338. The mission also met the workers' representatives and the governmental
339. authorities of the Ministries of National Education and the Public Service in
340. connection with this case. These authorities stated that the majority of the
341. contractual primary and secondary schoolteachers have been reinstated in their
342. jobs. They acknowledge that five public service teachers, named by the
343. complainant, have been disqualified from the public service.
344. The workers' representatives provided memorandum No. 13861/95/MEN dated 12
345. September 1995 relating to the disqualification of all the substitute primary
346. schoolteachers who had not returned to their posts on 9 September 1995 and
347. who, as a result, were disqualified from their duties on 13 September 1995.
348. This memo is signed by the Minister of National Education, Mr. Ahmed Guirreh
349. Waberi. They also explained that one of the disqualified officials, Mrs.
350. Hassan Ali, secretary-general of the SYNESED, who was suspended from her
351. duties on 15 August 1996 and then, in the same way as the other public
352. officials, disqualified from the public service on 16 February 1997, has had
353. to exile herself in France where she joined her spouse, a French teacher
354. serving on voluntary service overseas whose employment contract in Djibouti
355. was not renewed.
356. According to the governmental authorities, the employment contract of this
357. teacher on voluntary service overseas had previously been renewed and expired
358. in the normal fashion, VSO workers never remaining employed in a country for
359. more than six years.
360. The workers' representatives also indicated that a contractual teacher, Miss
361. Khadija Aboulkader Abeba, had had to leave the country for Canada, that one
362. teacher, Mr. Abdourachid Ali Abdo, had changed job and that Mr. Farah
363. Abdillahi, secretary-general of the SYNESED, transferred to a post far from
364. the capital, had returned to Djibouti at the start of the new school year in
365. October 1997, having had to produce a medical certificate to prove an
366. occupational accident, notably a foot injury.
367. As regards the alleged disqualification of 400 teachers by way of a memorandum
368. from the Ministry of National Education, the governmental authorities of the
369. Ministry of National Education denied that this had occurred. They explained
370. that following wildcat strikes held in 1996, approximately 400 unemployed
371. persons were mobilized to replace the tenured and contractual teachers
372. involved in strike action for the duration of the strike, in order to ensure
373. the care of the children. However, to the trade unions' satisfaction, once the
374. strikes were over the primary and secondary schoolteachers, both tenured and
375. contractual, were reinstated in their posts, and the 400 unemployed persons
376. who had been called upon to replace them were no longer kept in employment. On
377. the whole, the workers' representatives confirmed this version of the facts,
378. adding nevertheless that the teachers who were reinstated in their posts had
379. to undertake in writing that they would not belong to a trade union, something
380. the governmental authorities of the Ministry of National Education denied.
381. Concerning the alleged non-renewal of 180 teachers and assistant teachers, the
382. governmental authorities of the Ministry of National Education stated that
383. those teachers were reinstated following three weeks of strikes after
384. negotiations with the Secondary Schoolteachers' Trade Union (SYNESED).
385. However, they explained that given the fact that 1,000 teachers are involved
386. in primary education, including 400 substitute assistant teachers, discussions
387. were held with the Primary Schoolteachers' Trade Union (SEP) concerning, in
388. particular, the granting of tenure to the substitute teachers and the
389. particularly considerable salary arrears owed to substitute teachers. The
390. governmentalal authorities of the Ministry of National Education acknowledged
391. that some substitute teachers had not had their contracts renewed. This was
392. not, they said, due to strike action, but because the authorities would like
393. the recruitment of teachers to adhere to the usual procedure for the training
394. of teachers, namely qualifying at teachers' training college.
395. The workers' representatives stated that following the strikes a number of
396. assistant teachers in service for some years, in some cases for many years,
397. who did not comply with the authorities' request to return to work, received
398. notification of the severance of their employment contracts; they provided the
399. memorandum dated 12 September 1995 in support of their claims. With respect to
400. the granting of tenure to primary schoolteachers, the representatives of the
401. primary schoolteachers did not contest the manner of recruitment in this
402. sector, and for years have been calling for suitable training for such
403. teachers, with no result.
404. On a general note, the governmental authorities of the Ministry of National
405. Education explained that the educational system works, but that the delays in
406. the payment of salaries constitute a financial problem affecting all those who
407. come under the state budget, including public officials and contractual
408. workers in the public and para-public sectors. The Minister of Labour even
409. told the mission, in support of this point, that the wage bill for public
410. expenditure was 17 billion Djibouti francs, while revenue amounts to only 12
411. or 13 billion Djibouti francs. As a result teachers, who represent the third
412. budgetary item after national defence and the interior, receive their salary
413. late. At present they are awaiting two months of salary arrears for 1995 and
414. three months of salary arrears for 1997. The governmental authorities of the
415. Ministry of National Education told the mission that these salary arrears do
416. not come under the Ministry of National Education, that the Ministry is doing
417. all it can to ensure the teachers are paid and that it hopes to be able to
418. rely on strong trade unions, particularly vis-à-vis the Ministry of Finance.
419. They explained that in Djibouti the work of teachers is noble and respected,
420. but that it is true that teachers do work in difficult conditions. There had
421. been no transfers for the sake of punishment, the Ministry had simply been
422. seeking to distribute teachers throughout the whole of the territory.
423. Moreover, the secretary-general of the SYNESED, Mr. Farah Abdillali, who had
424. been transferred to a distant province, returned in October 1997 to Djibouti
425. after having submitted a medical certificate showing he had suffered an
426. occupational accident. The Ministry of National Education does not put into
427. question the teaching ability of dismissed or disqualified teachers; on the
428. contrary, it is doing its best to reinstate them. It is in this spirit that
429. the contractual teachers have been reinstated. Two of the five disqualified
430. teachers have asked to be reinstated. Their case is currently under
431. examination.
432. The governmental authorities of the Ministry of National Education gave the
433. mission a written communication that this Ministry had sent to Education
434. International (EI) on 6 April 1997 in response to the complaint that the
435. Organization had submitted to both the ILO and to the Ministry of National
436. Education in Djibouti, i.e. two days after EI submitted the complaint to the
437. ILO. According to the communication, which partly responds to the complaint
438. contained in Case No. 1922, but which had not been brought to the attention of
439. the Committee on Freedom of Association, talks had been resumed with the SEP
440. and several meetings had allowed negotiations to advance. After two weeks of
441. strikes teachers returned to their classes. Teachers who had been punished for
442. abandoning their posts were taken back and even reinstated in the public
443. service.
444. As regards dialogue with the SYNESED, the Minister of National Education
445. personally went to teaching establishments to discuss a return to work with
446. the teachers. Upon the suggestion of a delegation of striking teachers from
447. the Djibouti State Secondary School, a meeting between the members of a
448. teachers' committee (appointed by the trade union) and the general directorate
449. of National Education was held on 8 March 1997. Six points were raised during
450. that meeting:
451. -- the reinstatement of contractual teachers whose contract has not been
452. renewed;
453. the three teachers were reinstated on 11 March 1997 in public establishments;
454. -- the reinstatement of five state-employed teachers dismissed following a
455. decision by the Disciplinary Council on 16 February 1997;
456. the decision of this Council being a sovereign one, their reinstatement does
457. not fall within the competence of the Ministry of Education therefore the
458. trade union must, if it so wishes, have recourse to the legal channels
459. available in the country;
460. -- salaries and housing allowances;
461. the structural adjustment imposed by the International Monetary Fund to
462. stabilize the economy has forced the Ministry of Finance to separate salaries
463. and allowances under two separate headings. Salaries and allowances have
464. therefore been paid separately, but at the same time;
465. -- the salaries of newly recruited teachers;
466. the salaries of the majority of new teachers have been paid and some decisions
467. are currently being settled;
468. -- salary stoppages due to the strike;
469. the union refuses any salary stoppages; these stoppages are related to absence
470. from work, in accordance with prevailing texts. However, it was proposed to
471. the trade unions that they should either work out a schedule to make up the
472. classes in order to complete the programme at all levels prior to a
473. re-examination of the application of the stoppages, or to stagger the
474. stoppages, an alternative currently under consideration;
475. -- the right to move around within establishments;
476. this right has been restricted in the following situations: lack of respect of
477. the 15 days' notice to be given prior to calling a strike; the unacceptable
478. behaviour of certain representatives, for example when the head of the
479. establishment is not informed in advance of the posting of notices or the
480. visits of outside representatives, or when non-strikers complain of
481. provocation from strikers in the staff room. Strikers have the right to
482. strike, but non-strikers also have right not to strike. Lastly, the incitement
483. of students to show solidarity with teachers and to strike, both inside and
484. outside establishments, has forced the administration to take action.
485. In addition, the written communication indicates that the Minister of National
486. Education had called for continued dialogue and added that the secondary
487. schoolteachers had returned to work after four weeks of strikes. He confirmed
488. that some teachers were arrested outside teaching establishments following
489. disturbances to law and order, and were later released following his
490. intervention. He recalled that the maintenance of law and order did not come
491. under the competence of his Ministry. Lastly, he stated that a further meeting
492. between national education officials and trade unionists was held on 25 March
493. 1997 and considered rejecting decisions not to renew the contracts of certain
494. trainees. Other issues considered during the meeting included housing, the
495. salaries of dismissed persons, freedom of association (in particular the free
496. movement of representatives within establishments), salary stoppages and the
497. reinstatement of dismissed workers.
498. It appears to the mission that this meeting did not culminate in a
499. reconciliation report on all the points under examination, as witnessed by the
500. indications provided by the workers' representatives and corroborated by the
501. governmental authorities.
502. On the question of disqualifications, the governmental authorities of the
503. Ministry of the Public Service explained that all state officials had salary
504. arrears, and that the mediation committees, made up of representatives of the
505. Ministries of Labour, Education and the Public Service, had met with the
506. teachers, and acceded to their requests except for that relating to the salary
507. arrears, something which was affecting all public and para-public sector
508. officials and employees. Whilst the reconciliation reports testify to this,
509. the trade unions had been giving false information. The 15 days' notice
510. required by law to call a strike in the public service had not always been
511. respected. The governmental authorities of the Ministry of the Public Service
512. recalled that officials were bound to a duty to preserve secrecy. They had
513. nevertheless placed trade union statements in opposition newspapers and urged
514. boycotts and corrections of examinations. This action resulted in suspensions
515. in August 1996 and the appearance of five state-employed teachers before the
516. Public Service Disciplinary Council, the decisions of which were handed down
517. in February 1997. The Disciplinary Council, made up of six members and chaired
518. by the Minister of the Public Service, had heard the rapporteur appointed by
519. the two parties and had handed down, in secret, decisions adopted by a
520. majority of votes in the five cases, proposing that the President of the
521. Republic disquality the persons concerned. In at least one case, the decision
522. had been adopted on the basis of the Chairman's casting vote following a tie
523. in the voting. The disqualification was therefore announced by the President
524. of the Republic in February 1997. Appeals to the Administrative Court are no
525. longer possible, given that the three-month limitation period for appeals is
526. over. Whilst the governmental authorities of the Ministry of the Public
527. Service indicated that they would not oppose the reinstatement of the
528. disqualified teachers as contractual workers if this were requested of them,
529. they did rule out the possibility of reinstating the persons concerned as
530. public servants which, in their view, will mean that they will not be able to
531. be re-elected as trade union officials of the SYNESED, the union of
532. state-employed teachers.
533. On this point, the workers' representatives of the teachers belonging to the
534. SYNESED indicated to the mission that the disciplinary councils that had
535. disqualified them did not include any teachers and that they had not received
536. any formal notification of their disqualification, which is why they had been
537. unable to lodge an appeal on these disqualifications with the Administrative
538. Court. Furthermore, they indicated the statutes of the SEP and the SYNESED, of
539. which they gave the mission a copy, permit all primary and secondary
540. schoolteachers in Djibouti, whether they are public officials or not, to
541. belong to these trade unions.
542. Freeze on trade union contributions
543. The workers' representatives informed the mission that the private banks
544. holding the assets of the Post Office and Telecommunications Workers' Trade
545. Union (OPT) and of the Djibouti Electricity Workers' Trade Union (SEED)
546. returned the workers' contributions to the trade union leaders of these trade
547. unions.
548. Djibouti Labour Congress (CODJITRA)
549. The workers' representatives told the mission that this newly established
550. federation had no following within the country, that it represented just one
551. person -- the official who had established it and who was close to the
552. Government. They provided the mission with press releases from that federation
553. showing its support for the measures taken by the Government and showing the
554. appointment of its secretary-general, Mr. Mohamoud Ali Boulaleh, in Government
555. Order No. 97/086/CAB, as the Djibouti workers' representative to the June 1997
556. session of the International Labour Conference. They also provided the mission
557. with the decision from the Credentials Committee of the June 1997 session of
558. the International Labour Conference, which unanimously considered that the
559. credentials of the Djibouti Workers' delegate should be invalidated. The
560. Credentials Committee found that the evidence indicated the following:
561. ... that the Workers' delegate had been chosen from the organization that was
562. closely linked to the Government, in preference to the workers' organizations
563. that appeared to be indisputably the most representative in Djibouti, in clear
564. violation of article 3, paragraph 5, of the ILO Constitution (Record of
565. Proceedings, 85th Session, Geneva, 1997, Committee Reports, page 7/17).
566. The workers' representatives also gave the mission a further press release
567. from the CODJITRA which reads as follows:
568. The CODJITRA is a social, strong and democratic institution which shares the
569. same ideals as the current leaders, thus is close to the ruling party, in this
570. case the People's Progress Assembly (RPP).
571. The release concludes that "the content of the report of the Credentials
572. Committee of the 85th Session of the International Labour Conference and of
573. the 307th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association constitutes a
574. serious violation of Articles 2 and 3 of ILO Convention No. 87".
575. Trade union premises
576. The workers' representatives explained to the mission that the premises of the
577. UGTD were still closed. At first they had wanted to find separate premises for
578. the UDT, but subsequently the representatives of the UGTD and the UDT fully
579. agreed to share these premises which had been built in 1958 for seafarers by
580. the General Confederation of Labour -- Force Ouvrière (CGT-FO). The Government
581. had tried to impose unacceptable conditions concerning the use of the trade
582. union premises, including a number of prohibitions, on the UGTD and the UDT.
583. They said that they would like to have the seals unconditionally removed from
584. the trade union headquarters and to have the building returned to its original
585. condition. These measures would ensure that the Inter-Trade Union Coordination
586. Group UDT/UGTD could hold union meetings without having to ask authorization
587. from the Ministry of the Interior only to have it refused.
588. Furthermore, the workers' representatives explained that on 7 July 1997 a
589. judicial marshal accompanied by uniformed police officers forced the door of
590. the private residence of the president of the UDT (Mr. Egueh), the joint
591. president of the Inter-Trade Union Association, and the secretary-general of
592. the Airport Workers' Trade Union, removing the UDT trade union records. Mr.
593. Egueh subsequently won the case on the matter of his housing.
594. Judicial proceedings relating to the suspension of Mr. Aref, the lawyer
595. representing the trade union organizations
596. As regards the suspension of Mr. Mohamed Aref, the governmental authorities of
597. the Ministry of Justice told the mission that he had been suspended for
598. matters unrelated to the defence of trade unionists' interests. It has been
599. alleged that he is currently under criminal investigation for having defended
600. both a private company in Djibouti and the opposite party, a company coming
601. under British law, in the same lawsuit. The case was to be tried in January
602. 1998 but was postponed until March 1998. In the meantime, the Djibouti Bar has
603. temporarily prohibited Mr. Aref from practising as a lawyer. Mr. Ali Dini,
604. President of the Bar of Djibouti, imposed the prohibition on the same grounds
605. given for the carrying on of the criminal investigation.
606. The workers' representatives strongly contest this version of the facts. In
607. their view Mr. Aref is being punished for having defended them, and as a
608. result no lawyers in Djibouti dare defend trade unionists, especially
609. considering that the complaints lodged with the government procurator's office
610. have not been addressed.
611. Documents from the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (IFHR) and
612. from the National Federation of Unions of Young Lawyers (FNUJA) were sent by
613. Mr. Aref to the mission in support of the information supplied by the workers'
614. representatives.
615. A letter dated 26 January 1996 sent to the President of the Republic of
616. Djibouti, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (IFHR) provides
617. information concerning threats and administrative and police harassment
618. vis-à-vis Mr. Aref, aimed at intimidating him and forcing him to abandon
619. certain cases in progress. The letter also expresses concern at the paralysis
620. seen in the judicial system, given that the complaints lodged by Mr. Aref with
621. the government procurator have not given rise to any investigation into the
622. case.
623. The report drawn up by the judicial observation mission carried out in
624. Djibouti from 4 to 11 October 1997 by the National Federation of Unions of
625. Young Lawyers (FNUJA) mentions the initial difficulties of undertaking such a
626. project, which included the attempted exclusion of the lawyer conducting the
627. mission. The lawyer was subsequently able to meet numerous representatives of
628. political and social life in Djibouti, as well as several magistrates, and to
629. gather substantial information. Recounting multiple violations of human rights
630. and liberties in Djibouti, the report also refers to serious irregularities
631. and violations of elementary principles guaranteeing a fair trail committed
632. during trial. This applied in particular to trials concerning four Members of
633. Parliament and the President of the Constitutional Council who had been
634. removed from office after having chaired a sitting during which the Council
635. vitiated the procedure of the lifting of immunity from these Members of
636. Parliament. The Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Cairo in
637. September 1997 had expressed its deep concern that Mr. Aref had undertaken to
638. defend the parties in this matter.
639. According to the report, Mr. Aref himself, an active champion of human rights,
640. was charged with fraud on 23 January 1997. A disciplinary complaint had been
641. lodged by a London lawyers' firm in March 1995 but no further action had been
642. taken for over a year following the explanations Mr. Aref had given the
643. President of the Bar and the lawyers' firm. He was then summoned for attempted
644. fraud before the Criminal Court in a hearing on 6 October 1997, Mr. Aref had
645. been unable to obtain any details on the charges against him during the
646. hearing preceding his first appearance, following which no pre-trial
647. investigation measures were conducted by the examining magistrate. A Parisian
648. lawyer whom Mr. Aref requested to defend him was turned away and forced to
649. return to France immediately. During the trial the London firm and the
650. government procurator's office requested the postponement of the case, which
651. the court agreed to at once, despite opposition from Mr. Aref's defence
652. lawyers. The government procurator (on the intervention of a Paris lawyer)
653. subsequently informed the court that the case was postponed pending a decision
654. from the Supreme Court on an application for judicial review by Mr. Aref
655. raising arguments for the nullity of the proceedings. This is still pending
656. before the Supreme Court.
657. On the disciplinary level, the Bar Association Council of Djibouti had decided
658. in February 1997, almost two years after the disciplinary complaint from the
659. British lawyers' firm, to provisionally prohibit Mr. Aref from practising as a
660. lawyer, pending disciplinary proceedings, a decision he appealed against
661. before the Court of Appeals. Furthermore, the lawyer appointed by the Bar
662. Association Council as administrator of Mr. Aref's lawyers' firm informed the
663. judicial observation mission that all the courts of Djibouti refused to allow
664. him to act in that capacity for new cases, although no instruments in force in
665. Djibouti authorize a court to refuse the appearance of a lawyer represented by
666. the administrator of his lawyers' firm, duly appointed by the Bar Association
667. Council (which would be liable to lead to the disappearance of the lawyers'
668. firm).
669. The FNUJA report concludes that the criminal and disciplinary procedures
670. brought against Mr. Aref were conducted in a manner contrary to the
671. presumption of innocence and the respect of the rights of the defendant, with
672. a view to stopping Mr. Afef from exercising his capacities as a defence
673. lawyer.
674. Social elections
675. The workers' representatives told the mission that they would like enterprises
676. to be able to hold social elections in the near future, in addition to trade
677. union elections in order to be in a position to participate fully in
678. consultations and social dialogue as a social partner of equal merit. It was
679. hoped that enterprises would thus be able to appoint a workers' representative
680. to the labour court and workers' representatives to the boards of directors of
681. public and para-public enterprises and to the labour advisory committee. Their
682. firm wish to be consulted during the revision of the Labour Code currently
683. under way was reiterated.
684. The employers' representatives met by the mission stated that the Ministry of
685. Labour and Vocational Training had consulted them in connection with the
686. revision of the Labour Code currently under way, notably on the matter of
687. title III on the employment contract, as well as on the other anticipated
688. amendments to the code. It was hoped that the workers' representatives will
689. once again be able to sit on the boards of directors, but in their view, the
690. officials of the UDT/UGTD were not currently representative of the body of
691. workers, thus they were also favourable to the holding of social elections.
692. Meetings between the Ministry of Labour and the senior trade union
693. representatives of the UDT/UGTD at the Ministry of Labour
694. The mission was granted permission to participate in a high-level meeting
695. under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Labour with five trade union
696. officials from the Inter-Trade Union Coordination Group UDT/UGTD. During this
697. meeting, the workers' representatives stated their intention to renew dialogue
698. with the authorities in order to be full participants in social dialogue
699. within the country. The Minister of Labour agreed to arrange for the return of
700. the keys of the trade union premises to the Inter-Trade Union Coordination
701. Group, which had been closed since 7 May 1996 following police intervention.
702. The spokesman of the UGT/UGTD Coordination Group subsequently declared in
703. writing that he had received the keys to the trade union premises on 15
704. January 1998. As to the crucial issue of the claims of the trade union
705. officials, namely the reinstatement in their posts and the return to duties of
706. the members of the senior management of both federations and also of the
707. primary and secondary schoolteachers' trade unions, the Minister explained
708. that an initial timetable would be worked out to discuss these issues. He
709. convened a meeting with the trade union officials concerned to be held after
710. Aïd El Fitr, three days after Ramadan, explaining that he had just taken up
711. his duties and that he needed some time to consult other government members on
712. these important issues. The workers' representatives accepted this deferral in
713. the hope that the trade union officials who had been dismissed or disqualified
714. would be reinstated to their posts and duties and that legal, full and
715. absolute recognition would be given to the Inter-Trade Union Coordination
716. Group UDT/UGTD, the SYNESED and the SEP.
717. Written communication from the Government
718. The government authorities of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training
719. assured the mission that a written communication in reply to the two pending
720. cases would shortly be sent to the Committee on Freedom of Association.
721. Results obtained, assurances given by the authorities and future prospects
722. In spite of a general climate still in many ways repressive, the mission found
723. that some points had already been clarified before its arrival, in particular
724. with respect to detentions and some judicial proceedings. There remained,
725. however, a significant absence of dialogue between the governmental and
726. administrative authorities and the trade union organizations. As a
727. consequence, the serious problems relating to the dismissals of trade union
728. officials and the disqualifications of teachers, as well as to the closure of
729. the trade union premises and the loss of trade union materials, had remained
730. unsolved for a considerable length of time.
731. In this regard, the direct contacts mission can be judged to have been a
732. positive initiative, and seems already to have brought to fruition in recent
733. dialogue between the Minister of Labour and the representatives of the trade
734. union organizations. Furthermore, the agreement they have reached will be
735. respected and implemented.
736. Results obtained and assurances given by the authorities
737. An agreement with limited content, but a broad scope, was in fact concluded
738. following the joint meeting suggested by the mission. The idea of the meeting
739. was immediately accepted by the Minister of Labour, who in turn proposed it to
740. the trade union organizations.
741. The meeting, which was held in the office of the Minister of Labour, bringing
742. together the Minister, his immediate colleagues and the representatives of the
743. trade union organizations, in the presence of the mission, certainly
744. constituted the mission's greatest achievement. It was a demonstration of the
745. parties' will to engage in dialogue and to explain and understand the various
746. positions and points of view.
747. The representative of the Director-General welcomed the convening of a meeting
748. of this kind, one likely to do much to dispel misunderstandings and
749. intransigence. All the more so because the problems to be solved are not
750. related to the particular instruments and regulations in force, which are in
751. conformity with the principles of freedom of association, but rather concern
752. the practical application of these instruments. In the current climate of
753. political and economic change affecting the Republic of Djibouti, it is now
754. possible that the principle of freedom of association will be respected and
755. that a normal trade union life can be resumed, not only through the
756. reinstatement of dismissed or disqualified trade unionists, but through the
757. organization of elections of workers' representatives in enterprises, in legal
758. conditions which require the possibility of trade union participation. To pave
759. the way for the resumption of normal trade union life, it would be helpful to
760. participate in a tripartite training session in which the ILO could be
761. involved.
762. The trade union representatives saw this meeting as a positive step which
763. would dispell their reputation as subversive organizations, and redefine them
764. as social partners exercising their rights and fulfilling their duties in
765. furtherance of the economic and social development of the country. The trade
766. union representatives requested that the trade union officials who were
767. dismissed on the pretext of having abandoned their posts, just some days after
768. having exercised their constitutionally recognized right to strike be
769. reinstated in their posts and duties, and that this be made a priority of the
770. Government. The dismissals had occurred in spite of the fact that their
771. behaviour was in conformity with the law and with their role as trade union
772. officials, and in spite of the fact that the Finance Act (relating to the
773. structural adjustment plan) -- the reason for the dispute -- was withdrawn
774. three months later as unconstitutional. They also requested the legal
775. recognition of the existing trade union organizations and their leaders, and
776. hoped to see social elections within the enterprises and the establishment of
777. a committee for social dialogue for the implementation of the structural
778. adjustment plan. It was indicated that the trade union movement needed
779. training and restructuring, and that a simple and fast solution should be
780. found as regards the problem of premises. The Minister of Labour stated that
781. he would make inquiries into the circumstances in which the dismissals
782. occurred; he believed that the reasons were other than of a trade union nature
783. and were unrelated to strike action. Rather he suggested that repeated
784. absences from work were the cause of the dismissals. The Minister indicated
785. that he did not have all the information relating to the issue, given that he
786. was new to the Ministry and that the events occurred two and a half years ago.
787. He requested the trade unionists to allow him sufficient time and to provide
788. him with the tools to enable him to review this problem without prejudice, to
789. try to reduce the biases on both sides and dispel any impression that the
790. trade unionists wanted to play a political role. The Minister believed that a
791. union culture was lacking, as was an understanding of the role of unions. He
792. stated that unprejudiced dialogue should permit matters to advance, and that
793. he intended to apply himself to achieving it, the unions in turn having to
794. take into consideration the changes that have occurred and are still occurring
795. in Djibouti in terms of the multi-party system and trade union pluralism.
796. The Minister thus proposed an initial timetable of meetings to the
797. representatives of the trade union organizations for the purpose of examining
798. the problems. The first meeting was scheduled for the third day after the end
799. of Ramadan.
800. As regards the trade union premises, closed by the police on 7 May 1996, the
801. Minister instructed the director of labour to return the keys to the spokesman
802. of the Inter-Trade Union Association UDT/UGTD. This was done the very same day
803. (15 January 1998).
804. Lastly, as regards the dismissed or disqualified teachers, the Minister of
805. Labour was to make contact with the competent government authorities, and in
806. particular with the Minister of National Education, who had already arranged
807. for some of them to be reinstated.
808. Future prospects
809. I. Having collected the information provided by the Government and by the
810. trade union organizations with which it met, and having participated in the
811. meeting held at the Ministry of Labour, on its proposal, between the Minister
812. of Labour and the representatives of the trade union organizations, the
813. mission observed that the situation had improved to a certain extent in many
814. regards, and in particular as regards the following:
815. -- There are currently no more persons detained in prison for events involving
816. the exercise of freedom of association or the right to strike, recognized
817. under Djibouti legislation, nor any judicial proceedings pending for the same
818. reasons, with the exception of the appeal -- currently pending -- of a
819. conviction for insulting behaviour.
820. -- The premises previously occupied by the trade union organizations, then
821. closed by the police, were returned to the Inter-Trade Union Association at
822. the end of the meeting held at the Ministry of Labour on 15 January 1998, the
823. return of the keys a priori being a significant gesture towards the legal
824. recognition of the Inter-Trade Union Association UDT/UGTD as the coordination
825. body for the two organizations.
826. -- There is also confirmation that the massive disqualifications of teachers
827. alleged in the complaint made by the ICFTU and the Inter-Trade Union
828. Association UDT/UGTD were in fact operations to temporarily replace the
829. teachers on strike by unemployed persons recruited during the strike to ensure
830. the care of the children.
831. II. On the other hand, while aware of both the economic and employment
832. difficulties the country is undergoing, and while taking into account the
833. recent political changes that have taken place, the mission must emphasize the
834. severity of the problems that still remain and whose solution lies in the
835. re-establishment of a normal trade union climate in accordance with the
836. principles guaranteed in ILO Convention No. 87. It therefore invited the
837. Government as a whole, and the Minister of Labour in particular, to take, in
838. agreement with the trade union organizations, the necessary action to respond
839. to the following requests:
840. (1) It asked the Minister of Labour to complete the timetable for meetings,
841. the beginning of which was decided upon at the end of the meeting held at the
842. Ministry of Labour with the trade union organizations, in order to jointly
843. examine the situation of the UGTD and UDT officials dismissed following the
844. strikes and to take the necessary measures and to use all the legal means
845. available to end or cancel the dismissals and to reinstate the officials as
846. quickly as possible in their posts and duties, in conditions (timetable and
847. conditions of return, etc.) negotiated with them.
848. (2) With respect to the disqualifications of teachers with tenure following
849. the strikes, and while noting with interest that some contractual teachers
850. were taken back following a decision by the Minister of National Education, it
851. requested that consultations between the Ministers of Labour, National
852. Education and the Public Service should have the objective of ending these
853. disqualifications and reinstating the teachers concerned in their posts and
854. duties in conditions (timetable and conditions of return) negotiated with
855. them.
856. (3) As regards the judicial authorities, the mission considers it necessary
857. that the greatest possible care be taken to promote and defend freedom of
858. association, and that the necessary steps be taken for investigations to be
859. conducted into the complaints lodged by the trade union organizations and
860. trade unionists as well as those lodged by Mr. Aref, in which no action has
861. yet been taken, and for the personal and professional situation of Mr. Aref to
862. be examined entirely dispassionately and independently.
863. (4) As regards those in dialogue with the trade union organizations, the
864. mission requested that everything be done to ensure that normal trade union
865. life and activities can continue or resume at all levels and in all sectors of
866. industrial activity, in respect of the principles of freedom of association
867. and trade union pluralism. It made the same recommendations to the trade union
868. organizations whose representatives it had met with.
869. (5) Lastly, the mission recorded the request, made by the government
870. authorities and the trade union organizations it had met with, relating to the
871. need for training, and therefore recommends that a tripartite seminar be
872. organized shortly in Djibouti, with ILO assistance, on international standards
873. relating to freedom of association in particular, and to international labour
874. standards in general. It hopes that the ILO will be able to respond favourably
875. to this request, which it supports without reservation, as soon as the trade
876. union situation is back to normal.
877. It also recalled the ongoing availability of the ILO to assist the Government
878. in its current revision of the Labour Code.
879. Paris, 30 January 1998. Mr. Jean-Maurice Verdier.
880. Mrs. Anna-Juliette Pouyat.
881. List of persons encountered during the mission
882. Government authorities
883. Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training
884. Mr. Mohamed Ali Mohamed, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training
885. Mr. Iwad Hassan, secretary-general
886. Mr. Gérard Karche, technical adviser
887. Mr. Abdi Ilmi Achkir, director of labour
888. Mr. Guedi Absiye Houssein, inspector of labour and social laws
889. Mr. Arbahim Ali, director of the agency for social protection
890. Mrs. Osman Fatouma, chief of the legal service
891. Ministry of Justice
892. Mr. Abdi Ismael Hersi, director-general of judicial affairs
893. Ministry of National Education
894. Mr. Areitha, technical adviser
895. Mr. Fathi Chamsam, departmental head responsible for secondary education
896. Ministry of the Public Service
897. Mr. Yacin Ahmed Liban, director
898. Presidency of the Republic
899. Mr. Amin A. Robleh, secretary-general of the Government
900. Workers' representatives
901. The Inter-Trade Union Coordination Group of the Djibouti Labour Union/the
902. General Union of Djibouti Workers (UGTD/UDT)
903. Mr. Kamil Diraneh Hared, dismissed for abandoning his post on 16 September
904. 1995: secretary-general of the General Union of Djibouti Workers (UGTD),
905. secretary-general of the Railway Workers' Trade Union, joint president of the
906. Inter-Trade Union Coordination Group
907. Mr. Ahmed Djama Egueh, dismissed for abandoning his post on 12 September 1995:
908. president of the Djibouti Labour Union (UDT), trade union leader of the
909. Djibouti International Airport Workers' Trade Union, joint president of the
910. Inter-Trade Union Coordination Group
911. Mr. Aden Mohamed Abdou, dismissed for abandoning his post on 12 September
912. 1995: secretary-general of the UDT, trade union leader of the Djibouti
913. Electricity Workers' Trade Union (SEED), spokesman for the Inter-Trade Union
914. Coordination Group
915. Mr. Mohamed Doubad Wais, dismissed for abandoning his post on 12 September
916. 1995: deputy secretary-general of the UGTD, secretary-general of the Post
917. Office and Telecommunications Workers' Union (OPT), member of the Inter-Trade
918. Union Coordination Group Committee
919. as well as several trade union officials from the Secondary Schoolteachers'
920. Trade Union (SYNESED) and the Primary Schoolteachers' Trade Union (SEP),
921. including:
922. Secondary Schoolteachers' Trade Union (SYNESED)
923. Mr. Soulaiman Ahmad Mohamed, deputy secretary-general of the UDT, former
924. secretary-general of the SYNESED, suspended from his duties on 15 August 1996,
925. then disqualified from the Public Service on 16 February 1997
926. Mr. Farah Abdillahi Miguil, secretary-general of the SYNESED
927. Mr. Osman Miguil Waiss, deputy secretary-general
928. Mr. Ali Mohamed Dimbia, documentation secretary
929. Mr. Hassan Isman Doubad, auditor
930. Mr. Elmi Youssof Weiss, former union representative, contract teacher,
931. contract not renewed, subsequently reinstated
932. Miss Mallyoun Benoit Frumence, documentation secretary, suspended from her
933. duties on 15 August 1996, disqualified from the Public Service on 16 February
934. 1997
935. Primary Schoolteachers' Trade Union (SEP)
936. Mr. Mohamed Ali Djama, former deputy secretary-general of the SEP, suspended
937. from his duties on 15 August 1996, disqualified from the Public Service on 16
938. January 1997
939. Mr. Abdoul Fatah Hassan, former secretary-general of the SEP, administration
940. secretary
941. Employers' representatives
942. Mr. Saïd Omar Moussa, president of the Inter-Enterprise Trade Union
943. Association (USIE)
944. Mr. Jean-Philippe Delarue, USIE
945. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
946. Mr. Teoufik Ben Amara, resident representative
947. Others
948. Mr. Ali Dini, lawyer, President of the Bar of Djibouti