1. Filing of the complaints and appointment of the Commission I. Filing of the complaints 1. Through a statement addressed to the 97th Session of the International Labour Conference during its 16th plenary sitting held on 13 June 2008, 13 Workers’ delegates filed a complaint under article 26 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization (ILO) against the Government of Zimbabwe for non-observance of 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), ratified by Zimbabwe on 9 April 2003 and 27 August 1998, respectively. The complaint was worded as follows: We, Workers’ delegates to the 97th Session of the International Labour Conference (Geneva, June 2008), whose names are included hereunder, support the conclusions on Zimbabwe adopted in the Committee on Application of Standards, calling for a complaint under article 26 of the ILO Constitution against the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe for violations of 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), ratified by Zimbabwe on 9 April 2003 and 27 August 1998, respectively. Since 2002, the Conference Committee has consistently attempted to create a constructive dialogue with the Government to find durable solutions to ever-increasingly serious violations of these Conventions. To this end, it has requested the Government on numerous occasions to accept a direct contacts mission, as well as a high-level ILO technical assistance mission. The Government has systematically refused the missions requested by the Conference Committee and last year, while providing written information, declined to participate in the Committee’s proceedings in respect of its application of the freedom of association Convention. Again, the Government declined to come before the Committee this year, despite repeated requests for it to do so and the preparation of an advance list giving it sufficient time to prepare. The Conference Committee fully discussed the case and placed its conclusions in a special paragraph for continued failure to implement the freedom of association Convention. Grave violations of freedom of association persist and have even increased. In the last few months, trade union leaders and members have been systematically arrested, detained, harassed and intimidated for the exercise of legitimate trade union activity. Teachers have been targeted, physically assaulted and threatened. The Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act of 2006 have been systematically used to repress basic civil liberties and trade union rights. Taking into account all of the above factors, we, the undersigned, feel obliged to lodge a complaint under article 26 of the ILO Constitution and call upon the Governing Body to propose measures for the effective observance of these fundamental Conventions in law and in practice. The complainants reserve the right to submit additional information hereto at the appropriate time. Alina Rantsolase South Africa (substitute delegate to Ebrahim Patel) Julio Robert Gomez Esguerra Colombia Jan Sithole Swaziland Maria Fernanda Francisco Angola Meetings-2009-Zimbabwe C of I-2009-12-0035-3-En.doc/v3 3