Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO351, November 2008

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

1. 39. The Committee last examined this case at its November 2007 meeting [see 348th Report, paras 620–628] and on that occasion it formulated the following recommendations:
   • In view of the failure of the Government to provide sufficient information concerning the two-year detention of the three trade union leaders in this case, despite the complainants’ contention that they were arrested and detained on grounds related to their trade union activities and the Committee’s previous request to this effect and from the information available to it, the Committee can only infer that the arrests and detention of Messrs Minase Andezion, Tewelde Ghebremedhin and Habtom Weldemicael were in fact linked to their trade union activities. In these circumstances, the Committee urges the Government to provide any necessary assistance for the reinstatement of the three trade union leaders in their posts and to ensure that they are adequately compensated for the damages which they have suffered during their two-year detention. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of all steps taken in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to refrain from arresting trade union leaders in the future.
2. 40. In its communication dated 9 June 2008, the Government indicates that the three trade union leaders were released in April 2007 and once again stresses that the cause of their detention was unrelated to their trade union activities. The Government further indicates that it promotes voluntary bilateral dispute settlement methods among the parties by allowing them to freely govern their employment relationship through conciliation and arbitration first. Pursuant to the Labour Proclamation, whenever the conciliation process fails to settle the labour dispute, the matter is brought before the relevant courts. On the basis of the procedure described above, after the release of the three trade union leaders, the National Confederation of Eritrean Workers (NCEW) has taken the responsibility to amicably resolve their cases through conciliation. The conciliation resulted in agreeing on a certain amount of compensation to be awarded and/or on the reinstatement: one of the trade unionists was reinstated at his previous workplace; another is about to be reinstated; the reinstatement of the third trade unionist is not yet assured. As the enterprise where he was previously working no longer functioned, the NCEW is looking into possible options for this worker.
3. 41. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government with regard to the reinstatement of one trade union leader, future reinstatement of another and continuing conciliation procedure with regard to the third. The Committee notes that these achievements are due to the efforts made by the NCEW to amicably resolve the above cases through conciliation procedures with the employers concerned. The Committee recalls however that it had concluded that the arrests and detention of Messrs Minase Andezion, Tewelde Ghebremedhin and Habtom Weldemicael were linked to their trade union activities and urged the Government to provide the necessary assistance for their reinstatement in their posts and to ensure that they are adequately compensated for the damages which they have suffered during their two-year detention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to make all efforts to ensure that the third trade union leader is also reinstated and that he receives adequate compensation for the damages suffered during his two-year imprisonment. The Committee also requests the Government to refrain from arresting trade union leaders in the future.