Mr. Tomada is a lawyer with long-standing experience in industrial relations and collective bargaining and has held his current position in Argentina since May 2003. Sir Leroy Trotman, General Secretary, Barbados Workers' Union and spokesperson of the Workers' Group in the Governing Body, was re-elected Workers' Vice-chairperson. Daniel Funes de Rioja, President of the Social Policy Department of the Argentine Industrial Union and Chairman of the Employers' Group of the Organization of American States from 1995 to 1998, was re-elected as Employer Vice-chairperson.
Freedom of association
The Governing Body approved the 337th report of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association. At its May-June meeting, the Committee examined 35 cases. Altogether there are currently 120 cases before the Committee.
The Committee drew special attention to the cases of Cambodia, Colombia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Myanmar, and Zimbabwe in respect of freedom of association.
In the case of Cambodia, the Committee considered that the assassination of two trade union leaders, Chea Vichea and Ros Sovannareth, within a four-month interval raised serious concerns. The Committee deeply regretted that the Government only provided partial information in relation to the murder of Chea Vichea and did not send any detailed information on the action taken to determine who was responsible for the murder of Ros Sovannareth. It urged the Government to institute without delay independent inquiries in order to identify not only the perpetrators of these crimes, but also the instigators and to punish those responsible.
In the case of Colombia, which it has been examining since 1995, the Committee deplored the situation of impunity with respect to numerous murders and other acts of violence against trade union leaders. According to the Committee, impunity inevitably contributed to the climate of violence affecting all sectors of the society and the destruction of the trade union movement.
The Committee strongly urged the Government to take the necessary measures to carry on with the investigations that have begun, and to put an end to the intolerable situation of impunity. Following a request of the Committee for its Chairperson to meet the Government delegation, the Government of Colombia invited the Chairperson to visit the country and meet all interested parties.
The Committee also reached interim conclusions in the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning clashes with government security forces on two separate occasions and resulting arrests and trials of some trade union leaders. The Committee requested the Government to ensure that all charges brought against trade union leaders related to the organization and participation in the 2004 Labour Day March be immediately dropped. It further asked for detailed information on the specific charges made against the union leaders.
The Committee continued its examination of the case of Myanmar concerning the lack of a legislative framework for freedom of association, the total absence of recognized workers' organizations, and the arrest and imprisonment of trade unionists and workers who had pursued labour grievances. It urged the Government to take real steps towards ensuring respect for freedom of association in law and in practice in Myanmar in the very near future and recalled that the technical assistance of the Office was available in this respect.
The Committee examined again the case of Zimbabwe, including allegations of arbitrary arrests and detentions, anti-union intimidation, harassment and dismissals of trade union members and leaders for the exercise of legitimate trade union activities. Referring to the expulsion of a trade union mission to the country, the Committee considered that it was fully legitimate for a trade union movement to seek advice and support from other well-established trade union movements in the region to assist in defending or developing the national trade union organizations. The Committee requested the Government to allow in future such mutual support missions and noted with deep concern that the trade union situation in Zimbabwe has not evolved and may have even worsened.
New Governing Body Chair: "Employment is fuelling development"
The newly elected Chairperson of the Governing Body, Carlos A. Tomada says employment should be seen as an important element of democratic stability and the fight against poverty. In a conversation with World of Work, Mr. Tomada said the link between employment, democracy and poverty will be on top of the agenda of the next Summit of the Americas scheduled in November in the Argentine city of Mar del Plata.
"Economic growth, income distribution and social cohesion cannot be attained without decent work," Mr. Tomada said when he was elected Chairperson of the Governing Body for its 2005-06 session. The Argentine Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security said that one of the objectives of his chairmanship of the executive body of the ILO will be "to make any possible effort in favour of decent work becoming central to the agenda of all countries."
"Employment is fuelling development and should be considered as one of the building blocks of economic growth," he stressed.
The Minister said that the need to create more and better employment was repeatedly on the political agenda of Latin American countries over the last years. This was also one of the reasons why the upcoming Fourth Summit of the Americas was dedicated to "Creating Employment to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance".
The meeting scheduled on 4-5 November in the Argentine seaside resort of Mar del Plata will bring together political leaders from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. According to the Minister, many countries in the region already suffer from high levels of social exclusion and impoverishment, and it was only by solving these problems that "we can attain sustainable democracies". (For a more detailed article on the views of the new chairperson, see article on www.ilo.org, July 2005.)
Note 1: The Governing Body is the executive council of the ILO and meets in Geneva three times a year. It takes decisions on policy and establishes the programme and budget of the 178 member States of the ILO.