Rapport intérimaire - Rapport No. 139, 1974

1. 497. The complaint of the All-Bengal Teachers' Association is set forth in a communication sent direct to the ILO and dated 30 August 1972. In a communication dated 23 October 1972, the complainant offered additional information, and the Government of India submitted its comments in a communication dated 31 July 1973.
2. 498. India has ratified neither the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), nor the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 499. The complainant alleges that the Governments both of India and of the state of West Bengal are pursuing a policy which is "definitely anti-educational" and which the Association has always opposed. It has always fought for better service conditions for teachers and other employees, and hence could not support the party in power in the general political elections.
2. 500. By way of reprisal, the complainant goes on the Government of the state of West Bengal has put certain union members into detention without trial pursuant to Acts aimed at preventing acts of violence and maintaining public order, authorising indefinite detention without trial.
3. 501. The complainant adds that "different anti-social elements in the state, claiming to be members of the Chhatra Parishad and Yuva Congress, wings of the ruling Congress Party", have "forcibly and under threat" prevented "some one thousand teachers and other employees of secondary schools who are members of our Association from joining their duties at school" (a list of names is appended to the communication dated 23 October 1972). Furthermore, letters of resignation are said to have been extorted from some of these teachers and accepted by certain schools although known to have been signed under duress. Besides which, some twenty-one teachers have been murdered, mostly on their way to or from schools, and particular mention is made of Sri Bimal Das Gupta. Despite repeated appeals for protection, the Government has done nothing, not even publicly announcing its condemnation of these assaults, committed by "anti-social elements under the direct patronage" of the Government itself.
4. 502. The complainant alleges that a member of the Bengali Legislative Assembly belonging to the Congress Party and formerly Minister of Education in the state has been warning the teachers and other workers against continuing their membership of the complainant union, and that the authorities were "adopting various illegal and unconstitutional measures" to suppress all union movements for the improvement of the service conditions of educational workers; indeed, a Minister of the State has asked the District Magistrate at Malda not to allow the Association to hold a congress there.
5. 503. In its comments on the allegations concerning official educational policy and the employment conditions of state teachers, the Government observes that there is no allegation of infringement of any trade union rights. The Government of India and the governments of the states are doing all that is possible under the circumstances to promote education and to improve the working conditions of teachers.
6. 504. The Government goes on to say that it has not taken any action against the teachers because of the views they hold or their opposition to government policy. If certain teachers, along with some other persons, have been detained under the Prevention of Violent Activities Act, 1970, or under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971, it is because their activities were regarded as prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and not because of their activities as teachers.
7. 505. The Government goes on to say that the allegation relating to murderous assaults on some teachers has to be considered in the light of the peculiar conditions obtaining in the state of West Bengal in 1970-72. During this period the so-called Naxalite Movement, organised by political groups which practised open violence and murder, was responsible for brutal attacks on teachers as well as on other members of society. The Government which assumed office in March 1972 took strong steps to suppress the movement; the violent activities resorted to by the supporters of the movement have been curbed and all necessary measures have been taken to safeguard the security of the people. The murder of Sri Bimal Chandra Das Gupta was the act of the Naxalites, and occurred in November 1971, i.e., more than four months before the present Government took office. The culprits have been arrested and punished according to law.
8. 506. The allegations, continues the Government, that a member of the state Legislative Assembly belonging to the party in power threatened the teachers and that the authorities were adopting various illegal and unconstitutional measures to suppress the Constitutional movement of the Association were not merely vague, but entirely without foundation. Finally, the Government points out that the allegation that a Minister had directed the District Magistrate at Malda not to allow the Association to hold its congress there is utterly fanciful, as is proved by the fact that the congress was held at Malda, and on the scheduled dates.
9. 507. It appears from the information forwarded by the Government that it feels that some of the allegations made are excessively vague and that others have nothing to do with the exercise of trade union rights. It would seem that some of the teachers concerned were arrested for breaches of the peace, and that the murders and assaults were attributable to the Naxalite Movement, subsequently suppressed by the Government.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 508. As regards the arrest of members of the trade union lodging the complaint, the Committee has repeatedly emphasised the importance it has attached to the principle of prompt and fair trial by an independent and impartial judiciary in all cases, including cases in which trade unionists are charged with political or criminal offences which the Government considers have no relation to their trade union functions. Whenever the Committee has concluded, in the light of the information supplied, that the accused have been given a fair trial by a competent judicial body, and have been sentenced for activities unrelated to trade union activities, or going beyond ordinary trade union activities, it has taken the view that the matter need be pursued no further. It has, however, always insisted that the government concerned could not unilaterally decide whether the activities so condemned were criminal offences or trade union activities; that was a point for the Committee to decide, after consideration of all the information available, and especially a transcript of the judgement rendered.
2. 509. As regards murders and other acts of violence committed against teachers, the Committee would recall that in the past, whenever called upon to consider a case such as this, it has never made any distinction between complaints against governments and complaints against persons accused of impairing freedom of association, and has considered whether or not, in each particular instance, the government has ensured the free exercise of trade union rights within the country concerned.
3. 510. In this particular instance, the Committee feels that since the lives of numerous members of the complainant union were affected, the position as it existed was serious enough to warrant vigorous action by the authorities to restore order. However, the detailed information supplied by the complainants would seem to show that despite repeated appeals the authorities failed to act with sufficient vigour to protect the lives of trade unionists or to ensure that they could continue to practise their profession in the ordinary way.
4. 511. Having perused the Governments comments, the Committee is inclined to believe that subsequently, once the new Government had taken office in March 1972, violence was stopped, the safety of the populace restored, and the murderers of Sri Bimal Chandra Das Gupta brought to justice.
5. 512. The complainants further allege basically that action had been taken to prevent the Association from pursuing its claims, and that a West Bengali minister had asked a magistrate to forbid the holding of a congress of the Association.
6. 513. In the Committee's view, these allegations are made in language at once excessively brief and very vague; furthermore, the Government denies all three of them. This being so, the Committee feels that the complainants have not adequately shown that breach of freedom of association in fact took place.