Interim Report - Report No 234, June 1984

1. 445. The Committee has already examined this case three times, at its meetings in November 1981, February 1982 and March 1983, when it presented interim reports to the Governing Body. [See 211th Report, paras. 552-571, approved by the Governing Body at its 218th Session (November 1981), 214th Report, paras. 585-603, approved by the Governing Body at its 219th Session (March 1982) and 222nd Report, paras. 179-218, approved by the Governing Body at its 222nd Session (March 1983).]
2. 446. Since then one of the complainant organisations, the ICFTU, supplied further information on the case on 30 March 1983. Although it sent two telegrams, on 4 May and 10 November 1983, the Government has not furnished the substantive information requested by the Committee. At its meeting in May 1983 the Committee therefore recalled the desirability of an ILO on-the-spot mission to clarify the situation and decided that the procedure of contacts between the Chairman of the Committee and representatives of the Government could be applied during the 69th Session of the Conference (1983). [See 226th Report, para. 14, approved by the Governing Body at its 223rd Session (May-June 1983).] These contacts took place on 14 June 1983 between the Chairman of the Committee and Mr. Maleniaka, Director-General of Labour and Employment. In response to the request for a direct contacts mission and for substantive information, the Government stated, in a telegram dated 10 November 1983, that reference should be made to the 1982 statements of the Government representative on the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, at its 68th Session, and to the talks of 14 June 1983.
   • The Government also stated that a letter would follow. In view of the Government's failure to reply on the substance of the case, the Committee therefore decided, at its meeting in November 1983, to postpone its examination of the case. [See 230th Report, para. 11, approved by the Governing Body at its 224th Session (November 1983).] At its meeting in February 1984, the Committee once again, in the absence of further information and observations from the Government, decided to postpone its examination of the case and to make an urgent appeal to the Government, specifying that it would present a report on the substance of the case at its next meeting, even if the Government's comments had not been received, in accordance with the procedure established in paragraph 17 of its 127th Report. [See 233rd Report, paras. 16 and 18, approved by the Governing Body at its 225th Session (February 1984).]
3. 447. The Central African Republic 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. Previous examination of the case

1. 448. The complaint related mainly to the dissolution by administrative authority of the General Union of Central African Workers (UGTC). It also concerned the occupation of the latter's premises, the freezing of its assets and the censorship imposed on it, as well as the dismissal of four persons and other disciplinary measures taken against them.
2. 449. The complainants explained that the UGTC, a trade union organisation affiliated to the ICFTU, and having 15,000 members, had been dissolved by a Presidential Decree of 16 May 1981.
3. 450. The UGTC alleged, apart from its dissolution by, administrative authority, that 48 hours before this dissolution a new central trade union organisation, the National Confederation of. Central African Workers (CNTC) had been recognised.
4. 451. The UGTC explained that, after giving due notice, it had called a general strike on 15 May 1981 throughout the private sector> following unsuccessful attempts at collective bargaining with the Government and the employers. According to the union, the Government had rejected the list of grievances presented by the workers on the occasion of May Day although the list contained demands relating for the most part to the working conditions of all employed persons.
5. 452. On 16 May 1981, the day after the strike had been called, the President of the Republic dissolved the organisation by Decree on the grounds of its alleged uncompromising attitude in the negotiations with the employers and the Government, its alleged secret dealings, abroad and its illegality arising from the trade union monopoly status set out in its by-laws.
6. 453. Subsequently, the UGTC also alleged the dismissal or suspension of a number of trade unionists and attached to its communication a Ministerial Order of 23 May 1981 suspending four senior officials, Mr. Possiti, Mr. Gallo, Mr. Mamadou Sabo and Mr. Sakouma, for dereliction of duty, and a memorandum from the Director of Education relieving Mr. Solamosso, a headmaster, of his duties. It also enclosed a note from the Ministry ordering the Director-General of the National Savings Bank of Central Africa to block the account of the UGTC.
7. 454. The Government confirmed that the UGTC had been dissolved but explained that, in its opinion, the general strike of 15 May 1981 had no connection with the conditions of work of employed persons; the excuse that was seized upon to call the strike - which had little support - was a criminal case with political overtones. It affirmed that it had dissolved the UGTC, which was exercising a trade union monopoly, in order to enable the Central African workers to create freely the trade unions of their own choosing.
8. 455. In November 1981 the Governing Body noted with concern that the General Union of Central African Workers (UGTC) had been dissolved by administrative authority. It recalled the principles relating to the dissolution of organisations and expressed the firm hope that the Government would, as a matter of priority, rescind the administrative measures by which the UGTC had been dissolved; it requested the Government to keep it informed of developments in the situation.
9. 456. It also requested the Government to communicate its observations on the allegations concerning the occupation of premises, the freezing of assets, the censorship imposed on the UGTC, and the dismissals or suspension of workers mentioned by the complainants and to keep it informed of any measures taken.
10. 457. In its communication of 23 December 1981, the Government stated that the UGTC had been dissolved to allow workers the freedom to join or not to join a union of their own choosing and added that, since the dissolution, several central trade union organisations had been set up by the workers themselves; the National Confederation of Central African Workers (CNTC), the Central African Confederation of Free Trade Unions (CCSL) and the Central African Federation of Labour (FCT). It acknowledged that it had blocked the UGTC's bank accounts to safeguard the workers' assets and explained that the Bangui High Court was making an inventory of the assets of the former General Union and would decide how they were to be allocated to organisations pursuing the same aims. According to the Government, the suspension of certain officials was a disciplinary measure taken against senior administrative officials found guilty of dereliction of duty, whose professional misconduct constituted lawful grounds for terminating their contracts of employment.
11. 458. At its meeting in February 1982, the Committee observed that it was not clear from the Government's reply whether one of the central trade union organisations corresponded, as far as its aims and international affiliation were concerned, to the former UGTC; it recalled that the workers who had belonged to the latter should, if they wish, be able to set up an organisation carrying on from the UGTC provided, of course, that its by-laws conformed with the law and did not attempt to establish a trade union monopoly. The Committee then requested the Government to supply information on the three new central trade union organisations, and in particular on their by-laws and international affiliation, if any, and to send it a copy of the judgment of the Bangui High Court on the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC.
12. 459. In March 1982 the General Secretary of the UGTC, Mr. Sonny Cole, denounced the Government's replies as groundless. He recalled that the dissolution of the UGTC had been unlawful since it was contrary to the Labour Code of 2 June 1961 and to Convention No. 87, ratified by his country, which lays down the principle that a court decision is needed to dissolve or suspend a trade union organisation. According to the complainant, the central trade union organisations mentioned by the Government in its communication of 23 December 1981 were fictitious and represented nothing. He wondered in what undertakings they had their first level unions. According to him the CCSL was an attempt to set up a union organised by former Prime Minister Bozanga, an attempt which had previously failed before a meeting of shop stewards in the OCAM conference hall. The complainant had no knowledge of the third central trade union organisation.
13. 460. Furthermore, still according to the complainant, the dissolution of the UGTC had not been decided by a two-thirds majority of the members present or represented, as provided for in its by-laws of 1964 which provide that in the event of dissolution, the assets are to be transferred to an organisation concerned with social welfare. Mr. Sonny Cole had therefore lodged a complaint against the Government with the Bangui High Court. The hearing, which should have been held on 17 March 1982, did not take place because of the arrest of three of the court judges, including the President of the Administrative Court.
14. 461. The complainant hoped that an on-the-spot mission would take place to examine the activities of the central trade union organisations since it maintained that the workers had no worth-while representative to defend their interests. The complainant union affirmed that it would continue to take legal action and that only the congress which had elected the executive committee could decide on the organisation's dissolution. It added that, in any case, if the Government claimed to have recognised three central trade union organisations, it did not understand why the UGTC should not continue its activities.
15. 462. Subsequently, the Committee was informed, by a telegram from the ICFTU dated 7 February 1983, that on 2 February 1983 Mr. Sonny Cole, General Secretary of the UGTC, had been arrested for incitement to strike.
16. 463. The Government's telegram of 2 April 1982 announcing the sending of the information requested by the Committee in February was followed by a letter sent to the Committee on 5 January 1983. In the meantime, however, at the June 1982 Session of the International Labour Conference, a Government representative made statements before the Committee on the Application of Standards concerning the complaints by the ICFTU and the UGTC and supplied documentation to the ILO which the Committee had noted.
17. 464. According to the statements of the Government representative at the Conference, the National Confederation of Central African Workers (CNTC), set up on 10 August 1980, was affiliated to the WCL; the Central African Federation of Labour (FCT), set up on 12 July 1981 and whose by-laws were being examined by the Ministry of the Interior, would be affiliated to the WFTU; lastly, the Central African Confederation of Free Trade Unions (CCSL), set up in 1981 and whose by-laws were also being studied by the Ministry of the Interior, would be affiliated to the ICFTU. The incomplete by-laws of the CNTC and the by-laws of the FCT were communicated to the ILO; on the other hand, those of the CCSL which, according to the Government representative, was to become affiliated to the complainant Confederation (ICFTU) were not supplied. According to the Government representative, the ruling of the Bangui High Court concerning the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC had not yet been handed down but would be communicated to the ILO in due course. The Government representative also explained to the Committee on the Application of Standards that the UGTC's bank deposits had disappeared after the UGTC was dissolved, its officers with power of signature having rushed to the bank to draw cheques for their own benefit, as could still be proved. He stated that there was nothing to prevent the members of the former UGTC from establishing a new trade union organisation of their own choosing.
18. 465. Furthermore, during the debate before the Committee on the Application of Standards, a Workers' member of the Central African Republic recalled that he himself had formerly been the first General Secretary of the UGTC. Since then, he added, there had been a split within the UGTC, on 10 August 1980, when its leaders had become instruments of the political parties. He stated that his own confederation, the National Confederation of Central African Workers (CNTC), was affiliated to the WCL. He regretted that the UGTC had been dissolved by administrative authority but considered that politics had become mixed up with trade union activities and that the leaders of the former UGTC, by withdrawing funds after its dissolution, had not respected its by-laws. He confirmed that workers in the country could establish organisations of their own choosing.
19. 466. In January 1983, the Government reiterated its explanations on the illegality of the UGTC, the sole central organisation created under the 1964 Act setting up a single-party system. The organisation had been dissolved under article 22 or the Constitution of 5 February 1981 since it could no longer claim to have the monopoly of representing the working class. Furthermore, the Government affirmed that no provision prevented workers from establishing the unions of their choice. For example, the CNTC and the CCSL had been set up, the former having been recognised once the usual formalities required by law had been fulfilled.
20. 467. However, it was stated that the Military Committee of National Reconstruction, anxious to restore social peace and to recommence economic activity in the country in unity and harmony, had - when it came to power on 1 September 1981 - suspended all activities by political parties and national organisations, including trade unions, throughout the country. Consequently, in view of the aims the Military Committee had set itself in its policy of national recovery, there could be no question of recognising the Central African Confederation of Free Trade Unions or any other new organisation to be set up at that time.
21. 468. Furthermore, in a telegram dated 21 February 1983, the Government stated that the acts of which Mr. Sonny Cole, former General Secretary of the ex-UGTC was accused, were of a political nature and had merely happened to coincide with the events referred to by the ICFTU in its message of 4 February 1983. The Government considered that it had supplied sufficient information on the case since the dissolution of the UGTC on 16 May 1981.
22. 469. At its meeting in February 1983, the Committee emphasised the special seriousness of the measure to suspend trade union activities which had affected the whole of trade union life since September 1981 but also noted the temporary nature of this measure to which the Government referred. As regards the arrest of the General Secretary of the UGTC, it recalled the principle according to which the arrest of trade union leaders and activists merely for having been active in defending the occupational interests of those who had elected them constitutes a serious breach of trade union rights and requested the Government to communicate information as to the situation of Mr. Sonny Cole, including any judgment that might have been handed down in the matter. The Committee also requested the Government to agree to an on-the-spot mission by a representative of the Director-General to examine the whole issue and clarify the situation.

B. Subsequent developments

1. 470. Attached to a letter dated 30 March 1983, the ICFTU supplied a copy of the police version of the events underlying the arrest of several trade unionists, including Sonny Cole, in February 1983. This document from the Directorate of the Central African Police Service is addressed to the Public Prosecutor of the Bangui High Court; it refers to meetings in January 1983 between employees' delegates in the private sector and the administrative authorities concerning the participation of the employees in this sector in the exceptional contribution towards national recovery. During these) meetings, there was disagreement between the parties which led the workers to organise a strike at the beginning of February. According to the police report, the persons arrested, in striking and in their: prior negotiations with the workers, had disobeyed Government orders and infringed section 74 of the Penal Code. In conclusion it is stated that Sonny Cole and Picot, Mokomonede, Aguide and Soulemane are. still being held on the police premises for incitement to strike.
2. 471. In a telegram dated 4 May 1983, the Ministry of the Public Service, Labour and Social Security stated that on the occasion of the May Day celebrations in 1983 the Government had released Sonny Cole and his colleagues who had been arrested in February for incitement to strike.
3. 472. In accordance with the wishes expressed by the Committee at its meeting in May-June 1983 [see 226th Report, para. 14], on 14 June 1983 the Chairman of the Committee met Mr. Maleniaka, Director-General of Labour and Employment and Government delegate to the 69th Session of the International Labour Conference. Although the Government representative considered that an on-the-spot mission had become pointless in view of the release of Mr. Sonny Cole, General Secretary of the UGTC, the Chairman recalled that the purpose of the mission would be broader and would cover all the questions at issue (suspension of trade union activities since September 1981, transfer of the UGTC's assets, possibility for workers to establish organisations of their own choosing). Mr. Maleniaka stated that he would recommend his Government to accede to the Committee's request. ,
4. 473. Following the request by the ILO for a reply from the Government, on 10 November 1983 the latter sent a cable requesting the Committee to refer in this matter: (a) to the statements made by the Government representative to the Conference Committee on Standards in 1982 and (b) to the talks held at the Conference in 1983 between the Chairman of the Committee and the Government representative. It was stated that a letter would follow. Despite further requests by the ILO, no reply concerning the possibility of an on-the-spot mission and no substantive information have been sent.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 474. The present affair relates to the dissolution by administrative authority of the UGTC, affiliated to the ICFTU, contrary to Article 4 of Convention No. 87 ratified by the Central African Republic. It also relates to the general suspension of trade union activities. In November 1981 the Committee had noted with concern that the UGTC had been dissolved by administrative authority; nevertheless, in February 1982 it noted that, according to the Government, since the events referred to in the complaint, three central trade union organisations had been established and that the Bangui Court would decide on the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC.
2. 475. In February 1982 the Committee had therefore recalled that any workers who so wished should be able to set up an organisation carrying on from the dissolved organisation and had requested the Government to supply information on the three new central trade union organisations, in particular on their by-laws and international affiliation, and to send it a copy of the judgment of the Bangui Court concerning the transfer of the assets of the former UGTC.
3. 476. The Committee notes that the complainant, Mr. Sonny Cole, continued to protest against the dissolution of the UGTC, which had not been decided by a two-thirds majority of the members present or represented as required by its by-laws. The Committee notes also that Mr. Sonny Cole lodged a complaint with the Bangui Court against the Government but that the hearing, which was to be held on 17 March 1982, did not take place because of the arrest of three judges of the court, including the President of the Administrative Court.
4. 477. The Committee also notes that the Government supplied oral information to the Committee on the Application of Standards at the June 1982 Session of the International Labour Conference. It also supplied the incomplete text of the by-laws of the CNTC (established on 10 August 1980 and affiliated to the WCL), an organisation which is now recognised by the Government authorities, and the by-laws of the FCT - which at the time were still being examined by the Ministry of the Interior - which, according to the Government, was to be affiliated to the WFTU. The Government did not communicate the by-laws - which were still being studied - of the CCSL which, it said, would become affiliated to the ICFTU. The Government had affirmed that there was nothing to prevent the members of the former UGTC from establishing a new trade union organisation of their own choosing. Moreover, the Government reported that funds had been withdrawn by officers of the executive of the former UGTC after its dissolution and merely stated that the judgment of the Bangui Court had not yet been handed down but would be communicated in due course. It made no comment on the allegation concerning the arrest of the judges.
5. 478. A Workers' member of the Central African Republic explained that, on 10 August 1980, there had indeed been a split within the UGTC. While regretting the dissolution decided on by the Government, he considered that politics had become mixed up with trade union activities and that the withdrawal of funds after the Union's dissolution had been made in violation of the by-laws of the UGTC. He confirmed that workers in the country could form organisations of their own choosing.
6. 479. In its previous examination of the case in February 1983, the Committee had expressed its concern regarding the arrest on 2 February 1983 of Mr. Sonny Cole and of other trade unionists for incitement to strike. It notes that, according to a cable from the Government dated 4 May 1983, these persons were released on the occasion of the May Day celebrations. While taking note of this measure, the Committee emphasises that these trade unionists had been held at police headquarters for three months. In the absence of precise information from the Government, particularly as to whether or not they had been brought before the courts, the Committee recalls that the detention of trade unionists, and especially of trade union leaders, for reasons connected with their activities to defend the interests of workers, constitutes a serious interference with civil liberties in general and with trade union rights in particular. [See 214th Report, Case No. 1097 (Poland), para. 747.]
7. 480. In February 1983 the Committee furthermore noted with great concern the information provided by the Government according to which, being anxious to restore social peace and to recommence economic activity in the country in unity and harmony, the Military Committee of National Reconstruction had, as soon as it came to power on 1 September 1981, suspended all the activities of national organisations, including trade unions, throughout the country and that consequently there was no question of recognising the CCSL or any other new organisation that might be set up at that time.
8. 481. In the circumstances, the Committee can only regret the uncooperative attitude of the Government as regards this case as a whole. It stresses the particular seriousness of suspending trade union activities, a measure which has affected trade union life as a whole since September 1981. It expresses the firm hope that trade union organisations in the Central African Republic will, as rapidly as possible, be able to resume their activities and above all that all workers will be able to establish organisations of their own choosing, including organisations carrying on from the ex-UGTC, if they so wish.
9. 482. The Committee also requests the Government to supply the judgment of the Bangui Court concerning the dissolution of the UGTC and the transfer of its assets when the decision has been handed down. It further requests the Government to reply to the allegation that judges of the Bangui Court, including the President of the Administrative Court, were arrested and to indicate whether these arrests were related to the case pending before the court.
10. 483. While noting the character of the talks which took place on 14 June 1983 at the 69th Session of the International Labour Conference between its Chairman and a representative of the Government of the Central African Republic, the Committee urges the Government to accede to its request to send an on-the-spot mission which it considers would be most useful and which would enable it to reach conclusions on this case in full knowledge of the facts. It also urges the Government to supply information on all the points mentioned above.