Allegations: The complainant organization alleges the failure to give effect to
an arbitration award providing for the payment of certain benefits to the members of the
Union of Municipal Public Works of the Municipality of Cercado Province in Cochabamba
Department and objects to a decision by the Municipality to dock them a day’s pay for
staging a sit-down strike
- 195. The Trade Union Confederation of Construction Workers of Bolivia
(CSTCB) presented its complaint in a communication of 22 November 2012.
- 196. The Government sent its observations in a communication of 14 June
2013.
- 197. The Plurinational State of Bolivia 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. The complainant’s allegations
A. The complainant’s allegations- 198. In its communication of 22 November 2012, the CSTCB states that, on
11 January 2005, the Union of Municipal Public Works of the Municipality of Cercado
Province in Cochabamba Department presented a list of demands containing 31 points, and
on 6 October 2005 it presented a modified list containing three points on which it had
not been possible to reach agreement. Against this background, a conciliation board was
set up and, as agreement could not be reached, an arbitration tribunal was
convened.
- 199. The complainant organization adds that the tribunal issued an award
in 2007 ordering the provision of a meal allowance, seniority bonuses based on the
institutional base salary and performance incentives. It also indicates that, as the
Municipality had not demonstrated its willingness to give effect to the arbitration
award, it had sought assistance in that regard from the judicial authority (the Third
Labour and Social Welfare Court of Cochabamba), which repeatedly ordered the enforcement
of the award. The complainant organization reports that, between July 2007 and October
2010, the Municipality lodged a series of appeals, which were rejected.
- 200. The complainant organization states that, on 7 October 2010, the
Third Labour and Social Welfare Court of Cochabamba ultimately granted a reasonable
period of time as requested by the Municipality for the purpose of making the individual
payments, but that after the period of 40 days the payments in question had not been
made. The complainant organization adds that the union nevertheless engaged in talks
with the municipal authorities and a preliminary agreement on the enforcement of the
arbitration award was drafted, but the municipal authorities did not sign it and they
lodged further appeals between May and July 2011, which were also rejected. The
complainant organization states that, on 25 July 2011, after lodging the aforementioned
appeals, the Municipality filed an application for amparo (protection of constitutional
rights), requesting that the decisions of the labour courts be overturned. On 16
November 2011, the application filed by the Municipality was accepted and the
complainant organization brought the matter before the Plurinational Constitutional
Court, calling for action in accordance with the law and for the protection of the
consolidated rights of workers in accordance with the rights they have acquired under
various awards and agreements.
- 201. The CSTCB indicates that, in the light of numerous delays caused by
an abuse of the appeals process and the broken promise to sign the preliminary agreement
on the enforcement of the arbitration award, on 14 July 2011 union members staged a
sit-down strike under the provisions of article 53 of the Bolivian Constitution. The
complainant organization alleges that the Municipality penalized those involved in this
action by docking them a day’s pay, but that the Departmental Labour Office ordered that
the amount be reimbursed. The complainant organization adds that the Ministry of Labour,
Employment and Social Welfare stated that it is not in a position to issue a ruling
regarding the pay that was docked as a penalty for participation in the sit-down strike,
and on the grounds that the right to strike is prohibited for the municipal sector under
the provisions of section 118 of the General Labour Act, it issued Ministerial
Resolution No. 218712 of 11 April 2012, cancelling the order to reimburse the docked
pay. Lastly, the complainant organization states that, at the time of presenting its
complaint, there had been no specific outcome concerning the legal enforceability of the
arbitration award in favour of the union and the workers who have suffered as a result
of the Ministry of Labour’s action undermining the right to strike (the complainant
organization points out that, although the new Bolivian Constitution recognizes the
right to strike in its article 53, this progressive notion of the right to strike is yet
to be reflected in the General Labour Act – which dates back to 1939 and which contains
anachronistic elements that run counter to the universally and constitutionally
recognized right to strike – and in Supreme Decree No. 1958 of 6 March 1950, which
restricts the right to strike in the public, fiscal and municipal administration, even
though these are not specific and essential sectors).
B. The Government’s reply
B. The Government’s reply- 202. In its communication of 14 June 2013, the Government states that the
political and institutional structure of the Bolivian State is based on full respect for
the independence of the bodies and branches of government and their respective
competences, as well as on institutional autonomy. In this regard, the Ministry of
Labour, Employment and Social Welfare, with a view to carrying out the duties set out in
section 86 of Supreme Decree No. 29894, received the list of demands in accordance with
the procedure established by the General Labour Act, the Regulatory Decree and the Code
of Labour Procedure at the time of convening the arbitration tribunal, which issued the
arbitration award of 30 November 2005 and subsequently the award of 29 May 2007 and in
which employers, workers and the Government were represented.
- 203. The Government adds that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and
Social Welfare, in accordance with the labour regulations and administrative rules in
force, determined in relation to the strike staged by the Union of Municipal Public
Works of the Municipality of Cercado Province in Cochabamba Department, through
Ministerial Resolution No. 218/12 of 11 April 2012, that: (1) the implementation of the
arbitration award is not an administrative matter, which is why it cannot issue a ruling
on the appropriateness of the decision by the Autonomous Municipal Government of
Cochabamba to dock pay for strike action; (2) section 1 of Supreme Decree No. 1958 of 6
March 1950 prohibits the suspension of work in public services, in the form of a strike,
lockout or other means; and (3) the order dated 1 November 2011 was notified after the
deadline established in paragraph III of Act No. 2341, which is evidence to implicate,
on grounds of responsibility for the public service, the former Chief of Cochabamba’s
Labour Department.
- 204. The Government states that the reasons outlined above supported the
reversal of the administrative decisions providing for the reimbursement of wages for
the day not worked, and the referral of the case to the investigating authority for the
purposes of determining the existence or not of evidence of public service
responsibility. In this regard, these actions were taken in compliance with the powers
granted by the Constitution and other lower-ranking standards, as they were necessary to
resolve the legal issue raised by the union. As to the alleged lack of timely and
effective protection by the judicial system, the Government states that it is up to the
judicial branch to decide on this issue, since it is responsible for exercising ordinary
jurisdiction, as established by article 179(1) of the Constitution.
- 205. The Government indicates, with regard to the alleged incompatibility
between the Constitution on the one hand and Supreme Decree No. 1958 of 6 March 1950 and
the General Labour Act on the other, concerning the right to strike, that article 4 of
the Code of Constitutional Procedure provides that any standard adopted by a State organ
at any level is presumed to be constitutional, unless the Plurinational Constitutional
Court deems otherwise. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare must comply
with the rules in force under the principle of legality.
- 206. The Government concludes that: (1) the Ministry of Labour,
Employment and Social Welfare followed the established procedures regarding the handling
of the list of demands presented by the union and applied the principle of legality with
regard to the work stoppage arising from the arbitration award of 29 May 2007; (2) the
judicial branch, which is responsible for exercising ordinary jurisdiction, shall issue
a ruling on the CSTCB’s complaint regarding the lack of timely and effective protection
by the judicial system; (3) as to the alleged incompatibility of the General Labour Act
and Supreme Decree No. 1958 of 6 March 1950 with the Constitution, it is the
responsibility of the Constitutional Court to issue a ruling in strict compliance with
article 4 of the Code of Constitutional Procedure; and (4) the Government has not
violated any international convention or national law concerning freedom of
association.
C. The Committee’s conclusions
C. The Committee’s conclusions- 207. The Committee notes that, in the present case, the complainant
organization alleges the failure to give effect to an award issued in 2007 by an
arbitration tribunal concerning three points on a list of demands presented in January
2005 by the Union of Municipal Public Works of the Municipality of Cercado Province in
Cochabamba Department and objects to a decision by the Municipality to dock a day’s pay
from the workers for staging a sit-down strike in response to an abuse of the appeals
process and to a broken promise by the municipal authorities to sign a preliminary
agreement on the enforcement of the arbitration award.
- 208. With regard to the alleged failure to give effect to an award issued
in 2007 by an arbitration tribunal concerning three points on a list of demands
presented in January 2005 by the Union of Municipal Public Works of the Municipality of
Cercado Province in Cochabamba Department (the complainant organization indicates that,
although the Third Labour and Social Welfare Court of Cochabamba repeatedly ordered the
enforcement of the arbitration award, the municipal authorities refused to do this and
between July 2007 and October 2010 lodged a series of appeals, which were rejected; and
they participated in talks at which a preliminary agreement on the enforcement of the
arbitration award was drafted, but ultimately they did not sign it), the Committee notes
that, according to the Government: (1) the political and institutional structure of the
Bolivian State is based on full respect for the independence of the bodies and branches
of government and their respective competences, as well as on institutional autonomy;
(2) in this regard, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare, with a view
to carrying out the duties set out in section 86 of Supreme Decree No. 29894, received
the list of demands in accordance with the procedure established by the General Labour
Act, the Regulatory Decree and the Code of Labour Procedure at the time of convening the
arbitration tribunal, which issued the arbitration award of 30 November 2005 and
subsequently the award of 29 May 2007 and in which employers, workers and the Government
were represented; and (3) the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare followed
the established procedures regarding the handling of the list of demands presented by
the union.
- 209. In this respect, the Committee regrets that such a long time has
elapsed (more than eight years since the start of the dispute relating to certain points
on a list of demands) without a solution being found to some of the issues raised by the
union on a list of demands (even when the judicial authority ordered the enforcement of
an arbitration award on the matter) and observes that an application for amparo on the
matter, filed by the Municipality, is still pending before the Constitutional Court.
Under these circumstances, while recalling the importance which it attaches to the
obligation to negotiate in good faith for the maintenance of the harmonious development
of labour relations [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of
Association Committee, fifth (revised) edition, 2006, para. 934], the Committee expects
that the Constitutional Court will hand down a ruling in the very near future regarding
the arbitration tribunal’s award concerning the list of demands by the Union of
Municipal Public Works of the Municipality of Cercado Province in Cochabamba Department.
The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.
- 210. With regard to the contested decision by the Municipality to dock a
day’s pay from workers for staging a sit-down strike in response to an abuse of the
appeals process following an award by the arbitration tribunal concerning the list of
demands presented by the union and in the light of the broken promise by the municipal
authorities to sign a preliminary agreement on the enforcement of the arbitration award,
the Committee takes note that, according to the Government: (1) the Ministry of Labour,
Employment and Social Welfare, in accordance with the labour regulations and
administrative rules in force, determined in relation to the strike staged by the Union
of Municipal Public Works of the Municipality of Cercado Province in Cochabamba
Department, through Ministerial Resolution No. 218/12 of 11 April 2012, that: (i) the
implementation of the arbitration award is not an administrative matter, which is why it
cannot issue a ruling on the appropriateness of the decision by the Autonomous Municipal
Government of Cochabamba to dock pay for strike action; (ii) section 1 of Supreme Decree
No. 1958 of 6 March 1950 prohibits the suspension of work in public services, in the
form of a strike, lockout or other means; and (iii) the order dated 1 November 2011 was
notified after the deadline established in paragraph III of Act No. 2341, which is
evidence to implicate, on grounds of responsibility for the public service, the former
Chief of Cochabamba’s Labour Department; (2) the reasons outlined above supported the
reversal of the administrative decisions providing for the reimbursement of wages for
the day not worked, and the referral of the case to the investigating authority for the
purposes of determining the existence or not of evidence of public service
responsibility; and (3) in this regard, these actions were taken in compliance with the
powers granted by the Constitution and other lower-ranking standards, as they were
necessary to resolve the legal issue raised by the union. In this regard, the Committee
recalls that it has emphasized on several occasions that “salary deductions for days of
strike give rise to no objection from the point of view of freedom of association
principles” [see Digest, op. cit., para. 654]. Under these circumstances and taking into
account the information that has been communicated, the Committee will not proceed with
the examination of these allegations.
- 211. With regard to the allegations that, although the new Constitution
of the Plurinational State of Bolivia recognizes the right to strike in its article 53,
the General Labour Act, which dates back to 1939, contains anachronistic elements that
run counter to the universally and constitutionally recognized right to strike, and
Supreme Decree No. 1958 of 6 March 1950 restricts the right to strike in the public,
fiscal and municipal administration, even though these are not specific and essential
sectors, the Committee notes that, according to the Government: (1) with regard to the
alleged incompatibility between the Constitution on the one hand and Supreme Decree No.
1958 of 6 March 1950 and the General Labour Act on the other, concerning the right to
strike, article 4 of the Code of Constitutional Procedure provides that any standard
adopted by a State organ at any level is presumed to be constitutional, unless the
Plurinational Constitutional Court deems otherwise; and (2) the Ministry of Labour,
Employment and Social Welfare must comply with the rules in force under the principle of
legality. In this regard, the Committee observes that section 1(a) of Supreme Decree No.
1958 of 1950, which is contested by the complainant organization, provides that public,
fiscal and municipal administration services are among those considered to be public
services, where the suspension of work is prohibited. In this respect, the Committee
recalls that, on numerous occasions, it has indicated that the right to strike may be
restricted or prohibited: (1) in the public service only for public servants exercising
authority in the name of the State; (2) in essential services in the strict sense of the
term (that is, services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal
safety or health of the whole or part of the population); and (3) in the event of an
acute national emergency [see Digest, op. cit., paras 570 and 576]. Under these
circumstances, the Committee considers that municipal workers, other than those who
provide essential services in the strict sense of the term, are not included in the
abovementioned categories and therefore should be able to exercise the right to strike.
While observing that the Government has informed the Committee of Experts on the
Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) that in follow-up to the adoption
of the new Constitution it has initiated a legislative reform [see 2013 Report of the
CEACR, observations on the application of Conventions Nos 87 and 98], the Committee
expects that all the necessary measures will be taken to modify or amend Supreme Decree
No. 1958 of 1950 in order to bring it into full conformity with the principles of
freedom of association.
The Committee’s recommendations
The Committee’s recommendations- 212. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the
Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
- (a) Recalling the
importance which it attaches to the obligation to negotiate in good faith for the
maintenance of the harmonious development of labour relations, the Committee expects
that the Constitutional Court will hand down a ruling in the very near future
regarding the arbitration tribunal’s award concerning the list of demands by the
Union of Municipal Public Works of the Municipality of Cercado Province in
Cochabamba Department. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in
this respect.
- (b) The Committee expects that all the necessary measures will
be taken to modify or amend Supreme Decree No. 1958 of 1950 in order to bring it
into full conformity with the principles of freedom of association enunciated in its
conclusions.