ILO rejects Venezuela complaint - A defeat for the bosses

In February, the Hands off Venezuela website published a letter issued by the UNT referring to an attack by FEDECAMARAS, the employers’ association of Venezuela, which had presented a complaint to the ILO alleging that the Venezuelan government has violated Trade Union freedoms and the right to strike. The appeal we launched helped to gather support for the UNT. Here we publish a Joint Communiqué Issued by the National Union of Workers of Venezuela (UNT) and the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples (ILC) on a partial victory in this struggle.

Geneva, Switzerland -- March 23, 2005

Earlier today -- Wednesday, March 23 -- the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) examined the Complaint issued by FEDECAMARAS, the employers' association of Venezuela, that sought to condemn the Venezuelan government for alleged violations of labor rights.

The ILO Governing Body concluded it could not reach an opinion on this Complaint given that all members of the Employers' Group (IOE) were at the same time signatories to the Complaint and members of the Committee on Trade Union Freedoms, and thus could not be both accusers and judges.

The ILO Governing Body has decided to postpone the examination of this Complaint until its session of November 2005, following the meeting of the Committee on Trade Union Freedoms that will take place at the yearly International Labor Conference of the ILO in June 2005, with a newly elected group of members.

The UNT and ILC are pleased to announce the declaration presented to the ILO's Governing Body by the Workers' Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), which states in part:

"The ILO Workers' Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) takes note of the fact that the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has responded in a timely and ample way, with all the facts in hand, to the charges leveled against it. The reply and the facts demonstrate that the FEDECAMARAS Complaint against Venezuela has no merit ... Therefore, given the fact that this point has been debated sufficiently, the ILO Governing Board should declare that the Complaint is groundless and does not merit the creation of a Commission of Inquiry. The Complaint, in fact, should simply be closed and filed."

The UNT and ILC believe this is a first positive result that points in the direction of a formal rejection to the Complaint issued by FEDECAMARAS.

The UNT and ILC believe that the international campaign launched in support of the "Open Letter to ILO Workers' Group" issued by the UNT last February has obtained a first and significant result. This Open Letter demonstrates, moreover, that it is the employers' association in Venezuela that violates labor rights in that country.

We call upon all the members of the ILO Worker's Group to support the statement by GRULAC and to reject altogether the Complaint by FEDECAMARAS against Venezuela.

We also call upon all supporters of trade union and democratic rights the world over to publicize this joint Communiqué and to continue to solicit endorsers in support of the UNT's "Open Letter."

Signed:

Marcela Maspero, on behalf of the National Union of Workers of Venezuela (UNT)
and Daniel Gluckstein and Luc Deley, on behalf of the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples (ILC)

In February, the Hands off Venezuela website published a letter issued by the UNT referring to an attack by FEDECAMARAS, the employers’ association of Venezuela, which had presented a complaint to the ILO alleging that the Venezuelan government has violated Trade Union freedoms and the right to strike. The appeal we launched helped to gather support for the UNT. Here we publish a Joint Communiqué Issued by the National Union of Workers of Venezuela (UNT) and the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples (ILC) on a partial victory in this struggle.

Geneva, Switzerland -- March 23, 2005

Earlier today -- Wednesday, March 23 -- the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) examined the Complaint issued by FEDECAMARAS, the employers' association of Venezuela, that sought to condemn the Venezuelan government for alleged violations of labor rights.

The ILO Governing Body concluded it could not reach an opinion on this Complaint given that all members of the Employers' Group (IOE) were at the same time signatories to the Complaint and members of the Committee on Trade Union Freedoms, and thus could not be both accusers and judges.

The ILO Governing Body has decided to postpone the examination of this Complaint until its session of November 2005, following the meeting of the Committee on Trade Union Freedoms that will take place at the yearly International Labor Conference of the ILO in June 2005, with a newly elected group of members.

The UNT and ILC are pleased to announce the declaration presented to the ILO's Governing Body by the Workers' Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), which states in part:

"The ILO Workers' Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) takes note of the fact that the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has responded in a timely and ample way, with all the facts in hand, to the charges leveled against it. The reply and the facts demonstrate that the FEDECAMARAS Complaint against Venezuela has no merit ... Therefore, given the fact that this point has been debated sufficiently, the ILO Governing Board should declare that the Complaint is groundless and does not merit the creation of a Commission of Inquiry. The Complaint, in fact, should simply be closed and filed."

The UNT and ILC believe this is a first positive result that points in the direction of a formal rejection to the Complaint issued by FEDECAMARAS.

The UNT and ILC believe that the international campaign launched in support of the "Open Letter to ILO Workers' Group" issued by the UNT last February has obtained a first and significant result. This Open Letter demonstrates, moreover, that it is the employers' association in Venezuela that violates labor rights in that country.

We call upon all the members of the ILO Worker's Group to support the statement by GRULAC and to reject altogether the Complaint by FEDECAMARAS against Venezuela.

We also call upon all supporters of trade union and democratic rights the world over to publicize this joint Communiqué and to continue to solicit endorsers in support of the UNT's "Open Letter."

Signed:

Marcela Maspero, on behalf of the National Union of Workers of Venezuela (UNT)
and Daniel Gluckstein and Luc Deley, on behalf of the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples (ILC)