Definitive Report - Report No 368, June 2013

1. 799. The complaint is contained in a communication from the Federation of Civil Construction Workers of Peru (FTCCP) dated 30 June 2011.
2. 800. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 2 March, 19 July and 29 August 2012.
3. 801. Peru 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. The complainant’s allegations

1. 802. In its communication of 30 June 2011, the FTCCP indicates that, since the new Government has come into office, the State has responded to social protests by taking reprisals against trade union organizations. The FTCCP adds that the administration has proceeded to intervene in the functioning and administration of trade union activities and promoted the creation of organizations under its control with the clear intention of interfering in the functioning of the Federation. The complainant alleges that the Government, with the intervention of the Minister for Labour and Promotion of Employment, backed the creation of the following organizations affiliated to the Confederation of Workers of Peru (CTP), which clearly support the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (the current governing party): the Single Federation of Workers in Civil Construction and Similar Activities of Peru, the National Federation of Civil Construction Workers of Peru, the National Federation of Former, Independent and Operative Civil Construction Workers of Peru and the National Federation of Workers in Civil Construction. According to the complainant, most of the members of those organizations are engaged in criminal activities, subjecting employers in the construction sector to acts of vandalism to exert pressure on them, to kidnapping, blackmail and general violence against individuals.
2. 803. The complainant alleges that, in this context, the Government has proposed changes to the membership of the directorate of the National Board of the Fund for the Construction of Housing and Recreational Centres for Civil Construction Workers (CONAFOVICER). This is an institution that was established as a result of collective bargaining with the FTCCP and is, therefore, of the exclusive remit of the complainant, excluding the interference of any public authority in its functioning and administration as a private institution that is only governed by its statutes. According to the complainant organization, the Government proposed the abovementioned changes with a view to enabling the organizations supported by the CTP to intervene in the administration of that institution in violation of freedom of association.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 804. In its communication of 2 March 2012, the Government reports that the Department of Homicide Investigation of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DIRINCRI) of the Peruvian National Police has carried out a number of police interventions in Lima and the provinces to identify, locate and capture individuals who, under the protection of trade union rights, have been forming informal groups for the perpetration of crimes. Furthermore, the Government adds that information and intelligence collection activities have been carried out with the support of the FTCCP, providing greater precision on the modus operandi and criminal records of the individuals that form these illegal groups to intimidate workers with threats against their lives and physical integrity and financial blackmail. The Government adds that these elements have been brought to the attention of the Public Prosecution Service and of the judiciary.
2. 805. In its communication of 19 July 2012, the Government indicates that the State promotes freedom of association, taking care not to interfere in the creation, administration or maintenance of trade union organizations. The complainants’ allegations seem to lack logic, claiming that the State promotes the creation of trade unions for the perpetration of crimes, when the State itself works to prevent actions that restrict freedom of association. As regards the allegation that the State intends to make changes to the CONAFOVICER directorate, the Government states that there is no current initiative to make any changes to the directorate, thus undermining the credibility of the complainant’s allegations. The Government indicates that, as the Secretary General of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation reported, the CTP and the Federation of Workers in Civil Construction and Similar Activities of Peru requested an amendment to article 7(d) of the Statutes of CONAFOVICER. However, no follow-up was given to that request.
3. 806. In its communication of 29 August 2012, the Government reports that, in order to crack down on violence in the civil construction sector, it has created a special police department known as the Civil Construction Protection Police Department of the Peruvian National Police, which is conducting a number of police activities to secure civil construction sites. Special security units have also been created in a number of cities where there has been a rise in violence in the civil construction sector. Lastly, the Government strictly refutes any involvement of administrative authorities in the promotion of organizations accepting individuals engaged in criminal activities.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 807. The Committee observes that in this case the FTCCP alleges that the Government: (1) has promoted the creation of trade union organizations in the construction sector containing persons engaged in criminal activities, who have subjected employers in the construction sector to acts of vandalism to exert pressure on them, to kidnapping, blackmail, and general violence against individuals; and (2) that a proposal has been put forward to make changes to the membership of the directorate of CONAFOVICER – an institution established as a result of collective bargaining with the FTCCP – with a view to enabling the organizations supported by the CTP to intervene in the administration.
2. 808. As regards the allegations concerning the promotion by the Government of trade unions allegedly containing persons engaged in criminal activities, who have subjected employers in the construction sector to acts of vandalism to exert pressure on them, to kidnapping, blackmail and general violence against individuals, the Committee notes that the Government indicates that: (1) the State promotes freedom of association, taking care not to interfere in the creation, administration or maintenance of trade union organizations; (2) there seems to be a lack of logic to the complainants’ claim that the State promotes the creation of trade unions engaged in criminal activities, when it is the State that works to prevent actions that restrict freedom of association; (3) through the Department of Homicide Investigation of the DIRINCRI of the Peruvian National Police in Lima and the provinces, a number of police interventions have been carried out to identify, locate and capture individuals who, under the protection of trade union rights, have been forming informal groups for the perpetration of crimes; (4) in order to crack down on violence in the civil construction sector, it has created a special police department known as the Civil Construction Protection Police Department of the Peruvian National Police, which is conducting a number of police activities to secure civil construction sites; (5) special security units have also been created in a number of cities where there has been a rise in violence in the civil construction sector, and information and intelligence collection activities have been carried out with the support of the FTCCP, providing greater precision on the modus operandi and the criminal records of the individuals that form these illegal groups to intimidate workers through threats against their lives and physical integrity and financial blackmail; and (6) these elements have been brought to the attention of the Public Prosecution Service and of the judiciary. The Committee welcomes the Government’s statements that it has adopted initiatives to guarantee security in the construction sector and invites the Government to provide follow-up to these initiatives within the framework of the national tripartite dialogue body.
3. 809. As regards the allegation that the Government proposed to make changes to the membership of the directorate of CONAFOVICER – an institution established as a result of collective bargaining with the FTCCP – with a view to enabling the organizations supported by the Confederation of Workers of Peru (CTP) to intervene in the administration, the Committee notes that the Government states that the Secretary General of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation reported that the CTP and the Federation of Workers in Civil Construction and Similar Activities of Peru requested the amendment of article 7(d) of the Statutes of CONAFOVICER but that no follow-up was given to that request, and that there is currently no initiative to make changes to the directorate of that body. Bearing this information in mind, the Committee will not pursue the examination of these allegations.