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Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body
- 18. At its meeting in November 1997, the Committee urged the Government to ensure that an independent investigation be carried out immediately into:
- (i) the alleged attack against, and subsequent occupation of, the premises of the Federation of Commerce, Technical and Printing Industry Trade Unions (FCTP) on 4 November 1996; and
- (ii) the alleged physical assault on Mr. Mulatu Gurmu, the FCTP Treasurer, on the same day, so as to identify and punish the guilty parties.
- The Committee further requested the Government to institute an independent judicial inquiry into the allegation that irregular procedures were followed in nominating the new leaders of the FCTP. Finally, the Committee requested the Government to send a copy of the Federal High Court's decision confirming the cancellation of the registration of the former Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (see 308th Report, para. 362).
- 19. As concerns the institution of an independent investigation, the Government indicates in a communication dated 23 February 1998 that it consulted all concerned bodies including the Federation of Commercial Trade and Printing (FCTP) in order to learn the truth of the matter. It adds that it understands that there is no concrete evidence which can justify the allegations in this case. On the contrary, the Government found that the allegations had been a sheer fabrication and disinformation of the former CETU and former FCTP leaders. The Government adds that the newly democratically elected FCTP leadership was perplexed when asked to nominate their representative to the independent investigation body and stated that there were no grounds for any of the allegations. Therefore, the Government indicates that it was unable to institute an independent investigation because all concerned bodies, including the FCTP, refused the proposal adding that, if such a crime had occurred, the victim could have brought the ca
- se before the court. Finally, the Government sent the Federal High Court's decision with respect to the cancellation of the registration of the former CETU.
- 20. The Committee notes this information. The Committee must recall, however, that it has already requested the Government on two occasions to carry out an independent investigation into the attack and occupation of the FCTP enterprises and the physical assault of the FCTP treasurer, Mr. Gurmu (see 306th Report, para. 458, and 308th Report, para. 359). The Committee deeply regrets the Government's decision not to undertake such an investigation on the basis of the views expressed by the new FCTP leadership which are precisely what gave rise to the original complaints made in this case by the former leadership. The Committee requested the Government to institute an independent investigation precisely so that it might carry out full inquiries and establish the true facts of the case. The Committee would therefore once again urge the Government immediately to undertake an independent investigation into these matters. Furthermore, as concerns the new leadership of the FCTP, in its previous conclusions the Committ
- ee indicated that serious doubts appeared to surround the regularity of the procedures followed leading to the nomination of the new FCTP leaders and recalled the principle that, in cases where the results of trade union elections are challenged, such questions should be referred to the judicial authorities in order to guarantee an impartial and objective procedure which should also be expeditious. The Committee deeply regrets that the complaint raised by the former FCTP leadership in this regard has not been referred to the judicial authorities for an impartial determination. Moreover, the Committee considers that the absence of any independent review and impartial resolution to this question is likely to perpetuate the doubts about the legitimacy of the present leadership in a manner unfavourable to all parties concerned. The Committee therefore urges the Government, in the interests of all parties concerned, to institute an independent judicial inquiry into the allegation of the existence of irregular pro
- cedures for the nomination of the new leaders of the FCTP and to keep it informed of the progress made in this regard.
- 21. The Committee also notes the Federal High Court's decision confirming the cancellation of the registration of the former CETU. It notes from the judgement that the reasons given by the Ministry of Labour for the cancellation were that the Confederation was exercising its power beyond its jurisdiction, that it failed to work towards its objectives of, among others, strengthening the unity of the federations and that it did not rectify the matter when the Ministry advised them to do so. It appears from the judgement that six out of the nine member federations requested the Ministry to dissolve the Confederation because it was creating dissension among its members. A number of other broad allegations were made in the briefs before the Court against the former CETU. The judgement indicates that there is a procedure in the CETU constitution for dissolving the Confederation but this procedure was not used. Instead the Ministry was requested to cancel the registration of the CETU under the powers vested to it in
- section 120 of the Labour Proclamation. The relevant sub-section of section 120 provides broad authority to the Minister to cancel the registration of an organization where the organization is found to have engaged in activities which are prohibited under this Proclamation or performed acts which are contrary to its purposes and constitution and it is not willing to cease or remedy or eliminate them. The High Court judgement appears only to verify whether the Minister indeed had the power to dissolve the Confederation but does not actually review the allegations made against it which appear only generally in the judgement. Noting that the legislation on this point is contrary to freedom of association principles, the Committee requests the Government to amend it with a view to ensuring the full respect of these principles.
- 22. From the evidence available, this matter clearly appears to be related to internal dissensions within the CETU. Generally speaking, the Committee is not competent to make recommendations on internal dissensions, so long as the Government does not intervene in a manner which might affect the exercise of trade union rights and the normal functioning of an organization (see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th edition, 1996, para. 963). In this case, however, cancellation of the former CETU by the administrative authority would appear to constitute intervention in the normal functioning of the organization, particularly given the existence of procedures for dissolution in the Confederation's constitution. Furthermore, the Committee would recall that, in cases of dissolution, judges should be able to deal with the substance of a case to enable them to decide whether or not the provisions pursuant to which the administrative measures in question were taken constitute a violation of the rights accorded to occupational organizations by Convention No. 87. In effect, if the administrative authority has a discretionary right to register or cancel the registration of a trade union, the existence of a procedure of appeal to the courts does not appear to be a sufficient guarantee if the judges hearing such an appeal can only ensure that the legislation has been correctly applied (see Digest, op. cit., para. 683). In the light of the above, the Committee requests the Government to undertake an independent investigation to verify the allegations made against the former CETU and to determine whether the administrative decision to cancel the organization did not constitute injustifiable interference in trade union affairs contrary to the principles of freedom of association and, if so, to take the necessary measures to ensure the reinstatement of the former CETU executive. The Government is requested to keep the Committee informed in this regard.
