Interim Report - REPORT_NO21, 1956

1. 4. At its Eighth Session (March 1954), the Committee made a report to the Governing Body on a complaint of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions containing allegations of infringements of the exercise of trade union rights in Hungary. Considering that it had before it precise allegations that the situation in Hungary was incompatible with the principle of freedom of association, to which the Hungarian Government had not replied, the Committee recommended that the case merited further examination by the Governing Body. The Committee's conclusion was approved by the Governing Body at its 124th Session (March 1954). At its 130th Session (November 1955) the Governing Body decided to ask the Director-General to request the Hungarian Government once again, in the name of the Governing Body, to forward any observations which it might wish to make on the complaint of the I.C.F.T.U. In response to the Governing Body's request, the Hungarian Government forwarded its observations by a letter dated 6 February 1956.
2. 5. While the tragic events now occurring in Hungary must have first claim upon the attention of the Committee and the Governing Body, the Committee considers it important to review the original complaint and the reply of the Hungarian Government to that complaint and to formulate its observations upon this reply, as subsequent events have shown the original complaint to be well founded and the original reply to be unsatisfactory ; this the Committee has done in paragraphs 6 to 37 of this report. The Committee's conclusions concerning the present situation are contained in paragraphs 38 to 45 of this report.

6. The complaint presented by the I.C.F.T.U on 24 January 1951 contained the following allegations with respect to the exercise of trade union rights in Hungary.

1. 7. The same pattern as that prevailing in Czechoslovakia, originally set in the U.S.S.R, is followed also in Hungary. The right to organise trade unions has been replaced by compulsory organisation ; in addition Communists in the trade unions are under orders to seize leadership and to carry through Communist Party policy. Communists in these countries are the power in control of the government ; thus it is the Government which also controls the trade unions. The trade unions are not permitted to function freely. Basic trade union rights are violated.
2. 8. The complainant also alleged that the Hungarian trade unions have been given a new conception of their duties and that Deputy Premier Matyas Rákosi, as quoted in the newspaper Szabad Nép, said that the present trade unions " have the irrevocable task of ... explaining that the present trade unions are no longer protectors of the workers' interests as they formerly were, but organs in the service of all the Peoples' Democracies ".
3. 9. Nevertheless, according to the complainant, it does not seem to have been easy to bring Hungarian workers under the strict control of the Communist Party. Szabad Nép published in July 1950 decisions of the Political Committee of the Hungarian workers' party on certain problems of trade unions' work. According to this paper, the Political Committee had examined the work of Communists working in the National Council of Trade Unions and in the higher leadership of the trade unions. These men are criticised by this Committee in the following terms:
4. Communists in the Trade Union Council did not fight to secure the firm leadership of the Party, nor for the systematic execution of the Party's policy in the trade union. Orally they recognised the leadership of the Party, but in practice they allowed and excused the belittling of the leading role of the Party, and some of them even indulged in it themselves. They tolerated and covered up the fact that certain trade union leaders as, for example, until quite recently the leaders of the National Association of Building Workers (MEMOSZ) and of the Miners' Trade Union, repeatedly misled the Party and displayed an anti-Party attitude .... The underrating of the Party's leading role logically led to making room for counter-revolutionary right-wing social democrat influence in the trade unions and enabled the enemy to attempt to bring the trade unions into opposition to the Party.
5. 10. How difficult it was to bring the Hungarian workers into submission, the complainant contends, is expressed in the following quotation:
6. Opportunist social democrat influence and a falling away from the Party must be radically eliminated from trade union leadership. The trade union leaders make it their paramount task to see to it that the trade unions, without wavering, fulfil their mission by functioning as a main support of the Party as regards production and developing socialist industries. Let them fight systematically for the implementation of the five-year plan, for raising productivity, for reducing production costs, for the shaping of a correct socialist wage and norm system and for the expansion of the Stakhanovite movement and production competition.
7. 11. Mr. Kovács, Secretary of the Budapest Communist Party, is stated to have told the workers that their union officials are not representatives of trade unions but representatives of the Party in the trade unions, and their task is to secure the leading role of the Party and the carrying out of its policy.
8. 12. It would seem from this statement that the trade unions no longer exist as independent bodies to protect their membership. The State is the employer ; the Communist Party is the State ; the Party can do no wrong.
9. 13. The complainant adds further : leaders who do not toe the party line, like Kishazi, Chairman of the Hungarian Unions, are dismissed not by the members but by the Government. The secret ballot for election of union officials is abandoned ; a show of hands reveals all who are against the Communist nominees. The workers are driven into supporting a system whereby the strongest and most skilled worker in the plant is favoured and given the best equipment. His record output then becomes the norm for the job, and all who cannot reach it have their piece rates slashed.
10. 14. All these data show that the pattern set for the workers' organisations in the U.S.S.R is also imposed on the Communist-dominated countries, thus depriving their workers of the benefits of genuine trade unions. Decisions concerning the life and welfare of the workers are made by the dictators. The masses are silent and have to submit.
11. ANALYSIS OF THE GOVERNMENT'S REPLY
12. 15. In its reply dated 6 February 1956 the then Government of Hungary made the following statement.
13. Introduction
14. 16. The Hungarian Government wishes to emphasise, by way of introduction, the fact that the complaint which the " International Confederation of Free Trade Unions " addressed to the International Labour Organisation includes inaccurate statements and unfounded accusations. If the Hungarian Government wishes, in spite of everything, to make known the situation of the Hungarian trade unions, it is only for the purpose of improving international relations and removing misunderstandings. It must be clearly stated at the outset that the situation of the Hungarian trade unions is not the same as that of the trade unions in the capitalist countries. The difference arises from the fact that in Hungary the capitalist exploiting system has come to an end and it is the working class, allied to the working peasantry, which is in power. The new social system, the system of people's democracy, represents a new attitude to property ; it transforms the State and juridical systems and creates and applies new forms of organisation. Among the other characteristics of the people's democracy, the attitude of the State towards the workers and of the workers towards the State - this State which they accept completely as theirs for the first time-has been changed. It is the working class which exercises the authority ; most of its members belong to trade unions and it is from this class that most of the statesmen and economic leaders are drawn. The most highly developed units of the working class are the members of the revolutionary party. State, trade unions and Party, each in its proper place, are the representatives of the new authority, the representatives of the working class.
15. Relations between the Hungarian Trade Unions and the State
16. 17. In Hungary, before 1945, and before the liberation, associations were subject to police control and the police also supervised the meetings of the associations. The control of the associations was carried out not by the competent ministers but by the Minister of the Interior, the supreme organ of the police. Although the trade unions came within the concept of " association ", they were subject to strict supervision and their sphere of activity was very restricted. The law gave them no power with regard to the regulation of conditions of work. On the other hand, after the liberation of Hungary, after the democratic reorganisation of the country, section 56 of the Constitution of 1949 (Act No. XX of 1949) stated : " The Hungarian People's Republic Constitutionally guarantees the right of association for the purposes of developing the social, economic and cultural activities of the workers ". In the Hungarian People's Republic the trade unions enjoy special rights. They are completely autonomous ; the Acts and Decrees in force do not even include any provision with regard to their registration. The trade unions manage their own affairs and their rules are brought out and put into effect by the agency of elected bodies. Paragraph (1) of section 15 of Legislative Decree No. 18 of 1955 respecting associations states explicitly that the provisions of the Decree do not apply to the trade unions. This statement gives formal recognition to the fact that in Hungary the State organs may not interfere in the internal activity of the trade unions. (It should be noted here that Decree No. 7330 of 1946, mentioned in the documents which have been received, was repealed by Decree No. 73 of 1954 of the Council of Ministers respecting the exercise of general supervision over associations. The Decrees mentioned above, however, do not affect the de jure situation of the trade unions.) Everyone in Hungary may belong to the trade unions, without any distinction whatever. Before 1945 public servants did not have this right, but at the present time they also are free to join the different organisations and to act as officials on them. Decree No. 538 of 1945 of the Prime Minister states in paragraph 1 : " Public servants are not restricted in any way in regard to their membership of political organisations, free trade unions..". Section 55 of the Hungarian Constitution states : " In accordance with the interests of the workers the Hungarian People's Republic guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of the Press and freedom of assembly ". Nothing, therefore, hinders any organisation from giving full publicity to its aims and activities, without previous authorisation. The Hungarian trade unions have a regular daily paper (Népszava). A large number of trade unions, such as, for example, the National Union of Workers in the Building, Wood and Building Materials Industries, the National Union of Civil Service Workers, etc., publish a special trade union journal. The Hungarian trade unions also have a publishing house which issued 4,300,000 copies of 882 books and pamphlets between 1952 and 1954. There is no law, regulation or administrative practice in Hungary to restrict the freedom of trade union members to hold meetings. They do not need to apply to the Government for prior authorisation ; the presence of government representatives is not required ; and they may also, if they wish, arrange joint meetings with other organisations. Hungarian jurisdiction gives considerable powers to the trade unions to enable them to use effective legal methods in their work of comprehensive representation and defence of the workers' interests. The following legal provisions are designed to achieve this : section 4A of the Labour Code (Legislative Decree No. 7 of 1951 amended by Legislative Decree No. 25 of 1953) and sections 1 to 3 of Decree No. 53 of 1953 of the Council of Ministers respecting the application of the Labour Code. These provisions prescribe that the State organs shall regulate questions relating to the living conditions of the workers, with the co-operation of the Central Council of Trade Unions and the trade unions. The trade unions play an important part in labour protection. Under section 155 of Decree No. 53 of 1953 of the Council of Ministers, respecting the application of the Labour Code, it is the business of the trade unions to carry out the prior supervision of labour protection and public health conditions in factories, workshops and with regard to machinery. New factories, establishments, machinery and equipment cannot be brought into service without the authorisation of the trade unions. In the event of non-observance of the labour protection rules, the labour protection inspectors of the trade unions may issue instructions for remedying any shortcomings, and if non-observance of the rules threatens the bodily health of the workers they may shut down a machine or a series of machines, a workshop and even, if necessary, a whole factory. The labour protection inspectors of the trade unions are entitled to inflict fines even on economic leaders for non-observance of the labour protection rules and, indeed, in serious cases they may lodge a complaint with the authorities against the chiefs responsible for the offence (Decree No. 121 of 1951 of the Council of Ministers). The Hungarian Government has made the trade unions responsible for the management and supervision of social security. Under section 2 of Legislative Decree No. 39 of 1955 respecting workers' sickness insurance, the Council of Ministers, in consultation with the Central Council of Trade Unions, is competent in sickness insurance matters. The trade union officials benefit by considerable legal assistance. Paragraph (2) of section 29 of the Labour Code states that they cannot be dismissed without the agreement of the immediately superior trade union authority. In the financial and economic sphere also the Hungarian trade unions are completely independent of the State. Their budget has no connection with the State budget and the trade union leaders alone command the use of the revenue.
17. Relations between the Hungarian Trade Unions and the Hungarian Workers' Party
18. 18. The Hungarian Workers' Party is the party of the working class, of the working people. It combines within its ranks the most highly developed forces of the Hungarian people, the best elements in the working class, the working peasantry and the intellectuals. The Party is the motive power of the people's democratic system, thanks to its theoretical and combative training, the quality of its members and, above all, its policy of serving the interests of the workers, which is approved and supported by the immense majority of the Hungarian people. The Hungarian working class recognises the authority of the Party, which is shown by the section of the rules of the Hungarian trade unions which is quoted. It must be emphasised that in practice it cannot be said that the Party directs the trade unions, but rather that some members of the Party are capable of directing the trade unions. The members of the Party take an active part in production and in political, economic, and cultural life. They do their utmost, both by words and deeds, to win day by day, both for themselves and for the Party, the confidence of the workers. The Party naturally attaches considerable importance to the trade unions as the largest social organisation of the ruling class. The attention which the Party pays to the trade unions is by no means shown by interference in the organisation or management, but by training the members of the Party who are active in the trade unions. In view of the foregoing it must be firmly stated that the libel to the effect that the Party has absolute general control over the trade unions, that is to say over the members of the trade unions, is utterly unfounded. The resolutions of the Party are compulsory only for the members of the Party ; for non-members they are at most merely recommendations. The Party never in any event acts in the name of the trade unions, but on the contrary it instructs its members to carry out conscientiously the decisions of the trade union bodies. The trade unions are free to undertake disciplinary inquiries against members of the Party. The members of the Party do not enjoy any special privileges in the trade unions. Karoly Peyer, representative of the former Hungary on the managing body of the " International Confederation of Free Trade Unions " may say that the Social Democratic Party of Hungary in the past required a number of trade unions to share in and subscribe to the party journal. The Hungarian Workers' Party not only does not oblige anyone to join the Party but chooses its members with considerable care.
19. Some Questions regarding the Situation and Activity of the Hungarian Trade Unions
20. 19. The Hungarian trade union movement, since its creation in 1898, has always been directed by a single body, the Central Council of Trade Unions. Thus, there have never been two or more central trade union organisations in Hungary. After the victory over fascism the Hungarian workers preserved their traditional unity of organisation. The Hungarian trade unions have the entire confidence of the workers, which is proved by the fact that, although membership is voluntary, the majority of the workers in the various branches of the national economy are members of the unions, which have scored many successes in the course of recent years in the improvement of living and working conditions and in the defence of their members' interests. Under such conditions, the Hungarian workers would firmly repulse any attempt to shatter the unity of the trade unions. Mention is made in the documents received of paragraph (2) of section 56 of the Hungarian Constitution as if it prescribed the unity of the trade unions by means of compulsory decrees. Such an interpretation is mistaken; the section in question speaks of the grouping of the workers and of their democratic unity, but does not include-far from it-any provision in the sense which has been ascribed to it. The most complete democracy characterises the internal life or activity of the Hungarian trade unions. Their rules have been approved by the Congress, which included all the trade unions. These rules establish clearly the rights and obligations of the members and of the trade union organs at all levels. The complaint formulated by the " International Confederation of Free Trade Unions " includes an assertion, not in accordance with the truth, to the effect that the trade union officials are not elected by secret ballot but by vote by show of hands. On this subject it is only necessary to quote section 17 of the Rules of the Hungarian Trade Unions which states : " The shop committees, works committees, regional committees, departmental trade union councils, the Federal Bureau of the National Trade Unions and the Central Council of Trade Unions are elected by secret ballot by the members of the trade unions or by their delegates respectively ". The leaders of the " International Confederation of Free Trade Unions " mention the fact that the Hungarian trade unions organise work competitions and take part in fixing labour standards and wages, as if all that was for the benefit of the State and was contrary to the interest of the workers. With regard to this assertion, attention must once more be drawn to the fact that in Hungary the working class has become the ruling class and that it can only hope to improve its welfare and culture by its own efforts. It is for this purpose that the trade unions organise work competitions and undertake propaganda for production, not because the State orders it, but in accordance with the desire and on the initiative of the workers and to give effect to their own decisions. It is maintained in the documents received that output standards are high in Hungary. With regard to this unfounded assertion it must be said that the standards are fixed by experimental and scientific methods, not by the trade unions but by the technical economic leaders. The trade unions may give their opinions, make observations and proposals, and dispute points with the higher authorities. With regard to the assertions that there is " favouritism " of the Stakhanovites, it should be recalled that there are many tens of thousands of Stakhanovites in Hungary. It is difficult to believe that these are all favoured, supposedly for the purpose of proving high standards. If the Stakhanovites' output were equal to the standard rate, they could not reach outputs of several hundred per cent. These assertions are contrary to all sensible reasoning. The Hungarian Government expresses the hope that on the basis of what has just been said, the various organs of the International Labour Organisation will be able to inform the " International Confederation of Free Trade Unions " as to the true situation of the trade unions in Hungary, and on its side, it requests the organs of the International Labour Organisation to take all possible steps to clarify the matter, i.e. to put an end to differences of opinion.
21. OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE REPLY SUBMITTED BY THE THEN HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT ON 6 FEBRUARY 1956
22. 20. The reply made by the then Hungarian Government on 6 February 1956 tails for the following observations by the Committee.
23. Allegation relating to the Impossibility of Establishing Workers' Organisations in Freedom
24. 21. It was alleged that Hungary had adopted the same trade union system as exists in Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, a system which, according to the complainant, is characterised by a monopoly of the existing trade union organisation, or, again, by the fact that it is impossible for the workers to constitute occupational associations outside a " system of organs " which, although referred to as a " trade union ", does not carry out the normal functions of a trade union organisation. Hence, it was alleged, the right to organise trade unions freely had been replaced in Hungary by compulsory organisation.
25. 22. At its Eighth Session (March 1954), when it examined the legislation defining the trade union régime in Hungary, the Committee gave consideration, among other things, to the provisions of articles 55 and 56 of the Hungarian Constitution of 1949 and various legislative provisions regulating the right of association. The Committee observed that the Hungarian Constitution of 1949 "guarantees the right of association for the purposes of developing the social, economic and cultural activities of the workers " and that it contains " a provision laying down the principle, which has been applied in fact since 1945, of the unity of the trade union movement and its link with the democratic Popular Front". Article 56 of the Hungarian Constitution referred to by the Committee is as follows:
26. 56. (1) The Hungarian People's Republic Constitutionally guarantees the right of association for the purposes of developing the social, economic and cultural activities of the workers.
27. (2) In order to fulfil its tasks, the Hungarian People's Republic bases itself on the organisations of the class-conscious workers. In order to defend the People's Democracy, promote participation in the building up of socialism, widen the scope of cultural and educational work, implement the rights of the people and develop international solidarity, the workers establish trade unions, democratic organisations of women and young people and other mass organisations, which are grouped together in the democratic Popular Front. These organisations put into practice the close co-operation and democratic unity of the industrial, agricultural and intellectual workers. The leading force in such political and social activities is the working class, led by its advance guard and supported by the democratic unity of the whole people.
28. The legislative provisions regulating the right of association considered by the Committee were those of Law No. XVII of 1938 concerning suppression of violations of the law on association, as amended by Decree No. 7330 of 1946. The Committee observed that Law No. XVII of 1938, as amended, is a law of general scope, applicable to all associations without distinction, by virtue of which such associations " are placed under the general supervision of the Minister of the Interior, who is responsible in particular for authorising their establishment, approving their Constitution and internal regulations and dissolving illegal associations ".
29. 23. In its reply the Government formulated the following observations with respect to the aforesaid texts.
30. (1) Article 56 (2) of the Hungarian Constitution is not intended to establish a system of trade union unity of a compulsory character. Such an interpretation is mistaken : the section in question speaks of the grouping of the workers and of their democratic unity, but does not include any provision in the sense ascribed to it by the Committee.
31. (2) Decree No. 7330 of 1946, amending Law No. XVII of 1938, was abrogated by Decree No. 73 of 1954 of the Council of Ministers, respecting the exercise of general supervision over associations. The decrees in question, however, do not affect the de jure situation of the trade unions.
32. The Government referred also to other legislative texts, of which the Committee was not aware when it first examined the case at its meeting in March 1954, namely (1) Legislative Decree No. 18 of 1955 respecting associations ; (2) Decree No. 25 of 1953 amending the Labour Code. With regard to Legislative Decree No. 18 of 1955 respecting associations, the Government stated that this text, which repealed all the earlier legislation concerning the right of association, provides, in section 15 (1), that the decree does not apply to trade unions. Decree No. 25 of 1953 also contains a provision recognising the representative character of the Central Council of Trade Unions and its affiliated trade unions, in the following terms:
33. 4A. (1) As the representatives of the workers' interests, the National Trade Union Council and the trade unions shall have the right, for the purpose of ensuring the constant raising of the material and cultural level of the workers and the enforcement of their rights under the Labour Code, to deal with matters which concern the living standards of the workers (notably, conditions of employment, wages, labour protection, manpower supply, labour competition, social insurance, culture and sport), and, for the purpose of enforcing and safeguarding the workers' rights, to appear on their behalf before the authorities and in the courts.
34. 24. With regard to the unity in fact of the Hungarian trade union movement, the Government stated that the Hungarian trade unions, since their foundation in 1898, have always been directed by a single body, the Central Council of Trade Unions ; there have never been a number of central trade union organisations in Hungary and the Hungarian workers have preserved their trade union unity, the Hungarian trade unions grouping the majority of the workers in all branches of the economy and enjoying their entire confidence. In these circumstances, the Hungarian workers would firmly repulse any attempt to shatter the unity of the trade unions.
35. 25. According to the information furnished by the Government, Hungarian legislation included only two provisions relating to the trade union system, namely article 56 of the Constitution, quoted in paragraph 22 above, and article 4 A of the Labour Code, as amended by Decree No. 7 of 1953. Neither of these texts, however, contained provisions regulating the establishment of trade union organisations.
36. 26. In these circumstances the Committee notes that, while at the time of the reply there existed in Hungary regulations governing the right of association in general, these did not apply to the trade unions, and that it has before it no information as to the legal position of any trade unions which might seek to constitute themselves outside the existing trade union movement. The Committee attaches fundamental importance to the universally recognised principle that workers, without distinction whatsoever, should have the right to establish and join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation, and reaffirms the opinion which it has expressed in earlier cases, and notably Case No. 3 relating to the Dominican Republic, that freedom of workers to constitute and join organisations of their own choosing cannot be said to exist unless such freedom is fully established and respected in law and in fact.
37. Allegations relating to the Subordination of Existing Trade Unions to the State and to the Hungarian Workers' Party (Communist Party)
38. 27. According to the complainant, Communists in the trade unions are under orders to seize leadership and to carry through Communist Party policy. As Communists are the power in control of the Government, it is the Government which also controls the trade unions. The trade unions, therefore, are not able to function freely. In support of this argument, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions referred to a statement by Mr. Rákosi, who was at the time Deputy Premier and Leader of the Communist Party. Mr. Rákosi was alleged to have declared that the trade unions have the irrevocable task of explaining that they are no longer protectors of the workers' interests but organs in the service of all the People's Democracies. The complainant then referred to several quotations illustrating the difficulties encountered by the Communist Party in consolidating its hold on the trade unions and the means used for this purpose. In fact, declared the complainant, it does not seem to have been easy to bring the Hungarian workers under the strict control of the Communist Party. Thus, according to the newspaper Szabad Nép of July 1950, the Political Committee of the Hungarian Workers' Party (Communist Party), after examining the work of Communists working in the Central Council of Trade Unions and in the higher leadership of the trade unions, is stated to have made the following criticism of these Communist leaders:
39. Communists in the Trade Union Council did not fight to secure the firm leadership of the Party, nor for the systematic execution of the Party's policy in the trade union. Orally they recognised the leadership of the Party, but in practice they allowed and excused the belittling of the leading role of the Party, and some of them even indulged in it themselves. They tolerated and covered up the fact that certain trade union leaders, as, for example, until quite recently the leaders of the National Association of Building Workers (MEMOSZ) and of the Miners' Trade Union, repeatedly misled the Party and displayed an anti-Party attitude. The underrating of the Party's leading role logically led to making room for counter-revolutionary right-winged social democrat influence in the trade unions and enabled the enemy to attempt to bring the trade unions into opposition to the Party.
40. According to the complainant, the quotation given below also affords evidence of the resistance of the Hungarian workers to the control of the Communist Party:
41. Opportunist social democrat influence and a falling away from the Party must be radically eliminated from trade union leadership. The trade union leaders make it their paramount task to see to it that the trade unions, without wavering, fulfil their mission by functioning as a main support of the Party as regards production and developing Socialist industries. Let them fight systematically for the implementation of the five-year plan, for raising productivity, for reducing production costs, for the shaping of a correct Socialist wage and norm system and for the expansion of the Stakhanovite movement and production competition.
42. Mr. Kovács, who was at the time Secretary of the Budapest Communist Party, is alleged to have told the workers that their union officials are not representatives of trade unions but representatives of the Party in the trade unions, and their task is to secure the leading role of the Party and the carrying out of its policy. In these circumstances, in the view of the complainant, the trade unions no longer exist in Hungary as independent bodies to protect their membership. The complainant observes that in Hungary it is the State which is the employer, and the State itself is under the direction of the Communist Party. The latter, therefore, has absolute power.
43. 28. In its reply the Government made the following statements. Article 56 of the Hungarian Constitution of 1949 " guarantees the right of association for the purposes of developing the social, economic and cultural activities of the workers ". The trade unions therefore enjoy complete autonomy and manage their own affairs. The legislation relating to the supervision of associations by the Minister of the Interior has been repealed and the law respecting associations (Law No. XVII of 1955) specifically excludes the trade unions from its application. Article 55 of the Hungarian Constitution also guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly. Nothing, therefore, hinders any organisation from holding meetings without prior authorisation and from giving full publicity to its aims and activities. In fact, several trade unions possess their own trade union journals and the trade union publishing house issues numerous publications apart from periodicals. The trade unions also enjoy complete independence from the financial and economic point of view. There is no relationship between the trade union budget and the State budget. Trade union leaders alone decide how income shall be utilised. The Hungarian State has entrusted very important tasks to the trade unions in the field of labour protection and social security. Trade union inspectors ensure the observance in the undertakings of protective legislation ; in the event of non-observance they have the right to impose fines, or to lodge complaints against those responsible (Decree No. 121 of 1951). Social insurance is placed under the management and control of the trade unions (Legislative Decree No. 39 of 1955). Trade union leaders enjoy important legal guarantees. They cannot be dismissed without the consent of the higher trade union authority (article 29 of the Labour Code). With regard to the relations between the Hungarian Workers' Party and the trade unions, the Government states that if, as is stipulated in the rules of the Hungarian trade unions, the Hungarian workers recognise the authority of the Party, it is because the latter is the Party of the working class and its membership groups the most advanced elements of the Hungarian people. The Party represents the motive power of the people's democratic system and its policy is approved by the immense majority of the Hungarian people. In practice, however, the Party does not direct the trade unions, except in so far as its members, who also are members of trade unions, are capable of directing the trade unions. The members of the Party take an active part in trade union activity, but their action is based essentially on persuasion. The Party does not intervene in trade union life with respect to organisation or management, but exercises an educative influence through those of its members who are active in the trade unions. The resolutions of the Party are compulsory only for the members of the Party ; for non-members they are at most merely recommendations. The Party never acts in the name of the trade unions ; the latter are free to undertake disciplinary inquiries against members of the Party. The Government, therefore, rejected the allegation relating to the control of the trade unions by the Communist Party as baseless.
44. 29. When the Committee first examined this case, it noted that the Hungarian Constitution of 1949 appeared to provide for the attachment of the trade union movement to the democratic Popular Front, in consequence of the stipulation in article 56 (2) that " the workers establish trade unions, democratic organisations of women and young people and other mass organisations, which are grouped together in the democratic Popular Front ". The Government's reply gave no information as to the effect of this Constitutional provision. In regard to this matter, the Committee reaffirms the principle expressed by the International Labour Conference in the resolution concerning the independence of the trade union movement that " governments should not attempt to transform the trade union movement into an instrument for the pursuance of political aims, nor should they attempt to interfere with the normal functions of a trade union movement because of its freely established relationship with a political party ".
45. Allegations relating to the Election and Removal of Trade Union Leaders
46. 30. It was alleged that trade union leaders who do not obey the orders of the Party are removed from office, not by the members of the trade unions but by the Government. Such a removal was alleged to have been taken, for instance, in the case of Mr. Kishazi, former President of the Central Council of Trade Unions. It was also alleged that the secret ballot has been abolished in trade union elections and replaced by voting by show of hands, this system revealing all who are against the Communist nominees.
47. 31. In its reply the Government declared that the internal life of the trade unions is based on a perfectly democratic spirit, trade union leaders being elected by secret ballot, in accordance with article 17 of the rules of the Hungarian trade unions, which provides:
48. The shop committees, works committees, regional committees, departmental trade union councils, the Federal Bureau of the National Trade Unions and the Central Council of Trade Unions are elected by secret ballot by the members of the trade unions or by their delegates respectively.
49. 32. With regard to the allegation relating to the removal from office by the Government of certain trade union leaders, the Committee notes that while the complaining organisation has not furnished proof of the existence of such a practice, it nevertheless refers by name to Mr. Kishazi, former President of the Central Council of Hungarian Trade Unions ; the Government's reply makes no reference to the circumstances in which Mr. Kishazi was removed from his office as President of the Central Council of Trade Unions.
50. 33. In these circumstances, the Committee reaffirms that the removal from office by the Government of trade union leaders is a serious infringement of the free exercise of trade union rights and draws attention to the desirability of refraining from any governmental interference in the performance by trade union leaders of trade union functions to which they have been freely elected by the members of the trade unions.
51. Allegation relating to Certain Measures Connected with the Productivity Policy
52. 34. The complainant alleged that under the existing trade union régime the workers are driven into supporting a system whereby the strongest and most skilled worker in the plant is favoured and given the best equipment, and his record output then becomes the " norm " for the job, and workers who cannot reach it have their piece rates slashed.
53. 35. In its reply, the Government objected to the interpretation that the organisation of socialist competition by the trade unions and their participation in the fixing of output and wages standards are intended to further the interests of the State and are contrary to the interest of the workers. The Government declared that in Hungary it is the working class which has become the ruling class, and that it can only hope to improve its material situation by its own efforts. If, in these circumstances, the trade unions concern themselves with productivity questions, they do so not by order of the State but in accordance with the desire of the workers and to give effect to trade union decisions. With respect to the fixing of output standards, the Government declared that they are fixed by experimental and scientific methods, not by the trade unions but by the competent technical leaders. Finally, with regard to the allegations that there is favouritism of these Stakhanovites, the Government declared that there are many tens of thousands of Stakhanovites in Hungary, and it would not be possible for all of them to be given privileges. If, as the complainant alleged, the output of the Stakhanovites were equal to the standard rate, they could not reach outputs of several hundred per cent, as occurs in practice. The complainant's assertions, therefore, according to the Government, are contrary to reason.
54. 36. The Committee considers that the extent to which the part played by the trade unions in organising work competition and undertaking propaganda for production is consistent with the fulfilment by the trade unions of their responsibility for protecting the interests of the workers depends on the degree of freedom enjoyed by the trade unions in other respects.
55. 37. Taking the allegations submitted by the complainants and the reply made by the then Government of Hungary on 6 February 1956 as a whole, the Committee reaffirms the principle which it enunciated in its First Report to the effect that "the purpose of the whole procedure is to promote respect for trade union rights in law and in fact " and that, in consequence, " in cases in which precise allegations have been made concerning a de facto situation, the Committee cannot be satisfied with replies which simply refer to or recapitulate the applicable legal provisions ". As it has already had occasion to observe in the case relating to the Dominican Republic, the Committee " wishes to emphasise the importance that it attaches to the fact that workers and employers should in actual practice be able to form and join organisations of their own choosing ". It is from this point of view that the Committee has examined the questions submitted to it in the present case relating to the situation of trade unions under an economic and social system which, as is admitted by all the parties concerned, differs considerably from that existing in the majority of the States Members of the International Labour Organisation.
56. EVENTS SINCE THE GOVERNMENTS REPLY
57. 38. Since the Hungarian Government replied to the complaint of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions there have been tragic developments in Hungary which have a direct bearing on the protection of freedom of association and which have been the subject of a recommendation by the General Assembly of the United Nations. In these circumstances the Committee considers that it must take judicial notice of these developments.
58. 39. There has been a series of changes of government in Hungary between 24 October and 4 November, accompanied by political and military developments, which have been under consideration by the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations.
59. 40. On 1 November 1956, according to a Budapest radio broadcast, the Presidium of the Hungarian Council of Trade Unions resigned " in favour of the trade union leaders who had formerly been imprisoned and persecuted " ; an announcement was made that the Hungarian trade unions would henceforth be known as the " National Federation of Free Trade Unions of Hungary " and had decided to withdraw from the World Federation of Trade Unions.
60. 41. On 2 November 1956 the National Council of the Hungarian Trade Unions published a statement defining its programme as being:
61. (1) Defence of the workers and independence of all political parties and of the Government ;
62. (2) Participation in the forthcoming elections and representation in the National Assembly and in the direction of revolutionary organs ;
63. (3) The right to strike ; condemnation of labour norms ; a new wages system;
64. (4) Appeal to the United Nations ;
65. (5) Requesting foreign loans to restore the national economy ;
66. (6) Contact with international trade union organisations with the exception of the World Federation of Trade Unions.
67. 42. On 2 November 1956 Mr. Nagy, then Prime Minister of Hungary, who had already appealed to the United Nations, addressed a further appeal to the Secretary-General of the United Nations calling on the great powers to recognise the neutrality of Hungary. On 4 November 1956 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted by 50 votes to 8, with 15 abstentions, a resolution reciting that " recent events in Hungary manifest clearly the desire of the Hungarian people to exercise and to enjoy fully their fundamental rights, freedom and independence". This resolution, the full text of which is annexed to this report, provides in part, as follows:
68. The General Assembly,
69. ....................................................................................................................................................
70. 3. Affirms the right of the Hungarian people to a government responsive to its national aspirations and dedicated to its independence and well-being;
71. 4 Requests the Secretary General to investigate the situation caused by foreign intervention in Hungary, to observe the situation directly through representatives named by him, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at the earliest moment, and as soon as possible to suggest methods to bring an end to the foreign intervention in Hungary in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations
72. 5. Calls upon the Government of Hungary and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to permit observers designated by the Secretary-General to enter the territory of Hungary, to travel freely therein, and to report their findings to the Secretary-General.

Z. ANNEX

• Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 4 November 1956
• The General Assembly,
• Considering that the United Nations is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members,
• Recalling that the enjoyment of human rights and of fundamental freedom in Hungary was specifically guaranteed by the Peace Treaty between Hungary and the Allied and Associated Powers signed at Paris on 10 February 1947 and that the general principle of these rights and this freedom is affirmed for all peoples in the Charter of the United Nations,
• Convinced that recent events in Hungary manifest clearly the desire of the Hungarian people to exercise and to enjoy fully their fundamental rights, freedom and independence,
• Condemning the use of Soviet military forces to suppress the efforts of the Hungarian people to reassert their rights,
• Noting moreover the declaration of 30 October 1956 by the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of its avowed policy of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other States,
• Noting the communication of 1 November 1956 of the Government of Hungary to the Secretary-General regarding demands made by that Government to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the instant and immediate withdrawal of Soviet forces,
• Noting further the communication of 2 November 1956 from the Government of Hungary to the Secretary-General asking the Security Council to instruct the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Government of Hungary to start negotiations immediately on withdrawal of Soviet forces,
• Noting that the intervention of Soviet military forces in Hungary has resulted in grave loss of life and widespread bloodshed among the Hungarian people,
• Taking note of the radio appeal of Prime Minister Imre Nagy of 4 November 1956,
  1. 1 Calls upon the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to desist forthwith from all armed attack on the peoples of Hungary and from any form of intervention, in particular armed intervention, in the internal affairs of Hungary ;
  2. 2 Calls upon the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to cease the introduction of additional armed forces into Hungary and to withdraw all of its forces without delay from Hungarian territory ;
  3. 3 Affirms the right of the Hungarian people to a government responsive to its national aspirations and dedicated to its independence and well-being ;
  4. 4 Requests the Secretary-General to investigate the situation caused by foreign intervention in Hungary, to observe the situation directly through representatives named by him, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at the earliest moment, and as soon as possible to suggest methods to bring an end to the foreign intervention in Hungary in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations ;
  5. 5 Calls upon the Government of Hungary and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to permit observers designated by the Secretary-General to enter the territory of Hungary, to travel freely therein, and to report their findings to the Secretary-General;
  6. 6 Calls upon all Members of the United Nations to co-operate with the Secretary-General and his representatives in the execution of his functions ;
  7. 7 Requests the Secretary-General in consultation with the heads of appropriate specialised agencies to inquire, on an urgent basis, into the needs of the Hungarian people for food, medicine and other similar supplies, and to report to the General Assembly as soon as possible ;
  8. 8 Requests all Members of the United Nations and invites national and international humanitarian organisations to co-operate in making available such supplies as may be required by the Hungarian people.