SANTO DOMINGO.- The federation of labor unions grouped in the CNUS) charged the Dominican Government with conspiracy and of violating the right to unionize, before the International Labor Organization (ILO).

CNUS president Rafael Abreu said the practice has increased during the tenure of the current Labor minister Max Puig.

In a press conference Abreu said he headed a delegation which traveled to Geneva, where on June 4 the documents were submitted to the ILO Conference, on alleged violations committed by the Ministry Labor.

In a document distributed to the media the CNUS says the Government Department violates the provisions of Convention 87, on union freedom and protection of the right to unionize. It said that for more than two years the Labor Ministry hinders and prevents the right of thousands of workers to unionize, “applying nonexistent rules of an inquisitorial character proper of a police state.”

Among the victims cited are the workers of the companies Barrick Gold, Frito Lay, Kola-Real Santo Domingo, Sociedad Industrial Dominicana, of the power plant repair  companies, of  the of mining Workers  Federation, metal workers, energy and other industries, which allegedly commit abuses against their employees, according to the CNUS document.