Definitive Report - REPORT_NO138, 1973

1. 7. The complaint is contained in a communication dated 28 March 1972, which was transmitted to the Government on 14 April 1972. The Government sent its observations in three communications dated 24 August 1972 and 19 January and 24 April 1973.
2. 8. Mexico has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), but not the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 9. In their complaint, the complainants indicate that the manual and non-manual workers of the Autonomous National University of Mexico decided to set up a federal trade union, and with this purpose in view they drafted the statutes, held a constituent assembly on 12 November 1971 and elected their first executive committee, approving the above-mentioned statutes in the assembly in question. On 15 November 1971, they requested the Secretariat of Labour and Social Security to register the above-mentioned trade union. On 14 January 1972, the Secretariat communicated its refusal to register the trade union, indicating that the National Autonomous University of Mexico was not an undertaking under the direct or decentralised administration of the federal Government, and that for this and other reasons, the workers of the university were not covered by the federal Labour Law. The complainants state that they have appealed to the federal Court but in any case, they request the ILO to intervene as they consider that the refusal to register the trade union is a breach of Convention No. 87.
2. 10. In its first communication dated 24 August 1972, the Government confirmed that an appeal had been lodged against the decision of the Secretariat for Labour and Social Security and indicated that the proceedings had not been concluded. The Government also sent the text of the decision in question. In its communication of 19 January 1973, the Government declared that an agreement had been signed between the workers and the university authorities putting an end to the strike initiated by the workers. At the same time, the Government stated that it would send additional information.
3. 11. Finally, in its communication of 24 April 1973, the Government sent information concerning the result of the appeal and the text of the decision. The Government states that the complainants had considered that the trade union which they had set up was made up of workers employed by a federal undertaking and consequently this called for an intervention on the part of the federal authorities, which are competent to apply labour laws to "undertakings administered either directly or in a decentralised manner by the federal Government". The Secretariat for Labour and Social Security considered that the university concerned was not an "undertaking" for the purposes of the law and consequently did not consider itself competent to register the trade union. On 30 March 1973, the Court rendered a judgement on the appeal in favour of the complainants. Consequently, the refusal to register remains without effect and the trade union will be registered unless an appeal is lodged against the judgement and the judgement is revoked. The Government states that it does not expect an appeal to be lodged.
4. 12. To sum up, the result of the judgement rendered on the appeal is that the Autonomous National University of Mexico must be considered subject to federal jurisdiction and that as far as the application of labour laws is concerned, the federal authorities are competent.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 13. The Committee is not competent to decide on the interpretation which should be given to the laws of a country, but only to give its opinion concerning whether a situation does or does not conform to international principles and standards in the field of freedom of association. Whatever the laws of a country may be, they should not impair, or be so applied as to impair, the guarantees provided in Convention No. 87, which include the right of all workers without distinction and without previous authorisation to establish organisations of their own choice. As has been pointed out in the preparatory work of the Convention, member States are free to determine in their legislation the formalities which seem to them appropriate to ensure the normal operation of all occupational organisations. Consequently, the formalities provided in national regulations concerning the constitution and operation of organisations are compatible with the provisions of the Convention provided always that these regulations are not in contradiction with the guarantees provided in the Convention. At the same time, in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of this instrument, every country for which it is in force undertakes to adopt all measures necessary and appropriate in order to guarantee the free exercise of the right of association.