Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO343, November 2006

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 196. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2005 session [see 336th Report, paras. 798-812] and made the following recommendations:
2. (a) The Committee requests the Government to do all in its power without delay in order that the appeals of the Savings and Loans Cooperative of Officials of the Armed Forces (CAOFA) against the decree of 28 April 2003 of the General Labour and Social Security Inspectorate result in a definitive decision as soon as possible. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
3. (b) The Committee requests the Government to verify that Ms. Virginia Orrego has been returned to the position that she occupied at the time of her transfer or to another equivalent post appropriate to her qualifications and experience, if the court establishes that this transfer had anti-union motives. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
4. (c) The Committee requests the Government to provide it with information on the current trade union situation in the CAOFA and, in particular, on the following aspects: (1) the possibility for workers to join an organization of their choice in practice, and, in particular, to join the complainant organization, without fear of reprisals, and the question of which trade union is currently active in the cooperative; (2) the situation with regard to collective bargaining and, in particular, to the conclusion of a collective agreement.
5. 197. In a communication dated 25 April 2006, the Government reports the following:
6. – (a) situation of the appeals against the General Labour and Social Security Inspectorate Decree of 28 April 2003. As recorded in the observations made on 22 December 2004, this sanctioning Decree was confirmed by the two administrative bodies on 5 and 30 January 2004. Having exhausted the administrative options, the enterprise took its appeal to have the Decree revoked to the Court of Administrative Proceedings on 17 March 2004 and, as indicated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at the appropriate time, it duly contested this request within the time allowed. Currently, it is pertinent to report that through Decree No. 6503 of the Court of Administrative Proceedings, on 9 November 2005, the certification of the evidence produced was stipulated; no ruling is yet ready to be given in this case.
7. – (b) situation of the worker Virginia Orrego. According to information provided by the complainant AEBU, the enterprise complied with the ruling and signed up to the special compensation as ordered. The Committee on Freedom of Association should note that since these acts took place, several legislative elements have changed, in that Act No. 17940 on the protection of freedom of association was approved, expressly establishing the action of reinstating officials whose trade union activity has resulted in their dismissal or been detrimental to them;
8. – (c) situation of trade unions and collective bargaining in CAOFA. According to a verbal report from AEBU, there is no trade union activity in the enterprise CAOFA and on the occasions when fresh efforts have been made to organize, they have not succeeded. However, the Government reminds the Committee of the recent ratification, on 2 January 2006, of the Act on the protection of trade union activity.
9. 198. The Committee takes note of this information, and is particularly interested to note that the worker Virginia Orrego has been reinstated and paid the compensation ordered by the judicial authority. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the ruling of the Court of Administrative Proceedings with regard to the appeals lodged against the General Labour and Social Security Inspectorate Decree of 28 April 2003.