Only
days before Guatemala is due for discussion at the ILO’s Governing Body,
President General Otto Pérez Molina, takes the unprecedented initiative of prohibiting
the negotiation of collective agreements in the public sector, on the grounds
that austerity measures are needed to deal with a massive fiscal deficit.
This
decision, one of a series of drastic decisions to affect public services, goes
against the government’s commitment to a Road Map negotiated with the ILO and
designed precisely to guarantee freedom of association and the right to
collective bargaining of public sector workers, in accordance with ILO
Convention 154, ratified on 29 October 1996.
In
solidarity with the position taken by our sister unions in Guatemala, we
emphatically reject this measure. Guatemala is believed to be one of the most
dangerous countries in the world to be a trade unionist. Many
trade union leaders and activists have been killed or threatened and most of the perpetrators have not
been brought to justice.
PSI
led a high-level
delegation to Guatemala in August 2013, where PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli, told
the President and his Labour, Health and Interior Ministers that,
"Defending the rights of our
affiliate trade union members in Guatemala is our top priority – and it will
remain so until the situation for trade unionists and workers in this country
improves."
The
government of Guatemala has so far failed to comply with the Road Map. Neither
is it complying with the terms of collective agreements already signed after
long negotiations, such as the collective agreements reached by unions with the
Ministry of Health and the Municipal Water Company (EMPAGUA).
PSI
made it clear in follow-up
meetings with the
President, in March
2014 and more recently with the Deputy Minister
of Labour on 4 March 2015, that there is a need to begin sector level talks
with public service employees to discuss the issues affecting and impeding the
development of this important sector.
PSI
has sent a letter
to the President of Guatemala calling on him to change policies and to introduce national policy
promoting respect for trade unions and encouraging collective bargaining.
PSI
is calling on all its affiliates to send a letter of protest calling on the Guatemalan government to
respect and promote human rights, including the right to a dignified life,
decent work, freedom of association and collective bargaining.
For
more information:
·
See background information on PSI's work in
Guatemala