Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03GUATEMALA2753
2003-10-28 22:14:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Guatemala
Cable title:  

GUATEMALA LABOR/TIP UPDATE #7-2003

Tags:  ELAB PGOV SMIG KCRM PHUM GT 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUATEMALA 002753 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, DRL/IL AND G/TIP
USTR FOR BUD CLATANOFF
USDOL FOR ILAB (R. WHOLEY AND J. PEREZ-LOPEZ) AND OFR (G.
RUSSELL)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PGOV SMIG KCRM PHUM GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA LABOR/TIP UPDATE #7-2003


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUATEMALA 002753

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, DRL/IL AND G/TIP
USTR FOR BUD CLATANOFF
USDOL FOR ILAB (R. WHOLEY AND J. PEREZ-LOPEZ) AND OFR (G.
RUSSELL)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PGOV SMIG KCRM PHUM GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA LABOR/TIP UPDATE #7-2003



1. (SBU) Summary: Following is an update of significant
recent developments in the labor sector and trafficking in
persons. Topics include:

-- Political Parties Respect Labor Rights (para #2)

-- Fired Maquila Workers Reinstated (3)

-- GOG GSP Submission Incomplete (4)

-- Changes Likely to Labor Reforms in Congress (5)

-- CA Labor Ministers Support CAFTA; GOG Rejects OSH
Foundation (6-7)

-- MOL Initiatives: Indigenous and Women Workers (8)

-- Minimum Wage Hike Likely (9)

-- Miscellaneous Labor Conflicts (10)

-- TIP - Migration Dir. Pledges Increased TIP Enforcement (11)

-- TIP - UNICEF PR Campaign Against Unaccompanied Minors (12)

End Summary.

Political Parties Pledge Respect for Labor Rights
-------------- --------------


2. (U) On October 13, twenty-one political parties,
including the ruling FRG and all the main opposition parties,
agreed upon and signed a "Shared National Agenda" to promote
national development, subsequently published in the press.
The agenda includes the following points under the theme of
employment:

-- participate in the creation of a labor policy with the
objective of generating new labor relations and addressing
the deficit in the quality and quantity of employment
opportunities, violation of labor rights, inadequate social
protections and social dialogue;

-- enact and enforce national labor legislation and ILO
commitments ratified by the GOG; and,

-- progressively eliminate child labor, preventing children
from dangerous situations or slavery, perpetuating a vicious
circle of poverty.

Fired Maquila Workers Reinstated
--------------


3. (SBU) The Korean-owned textile maquila NB (Nobland) Inc.
agreed on October 27 to reinstate three workers fired on
October 16 for attempting to form a union. The company
agreed to do so at the request of labor inspectors and U.S.
customers (the GAP, JC Penney). Management lawyers also
invited beverage and maquila federation lawyers to begin a
dialogue about the labor conflict. The nascent union is

likely to be registered by the Labor Ministry shortly,
according to the Labor Minister, which would raise to three
the number of factory-based unions in the 200-firm maquila
sector. The Solidarity Center claims the workers have the
25% support to compel collective bargaining.

GOG GSP Submission
--------------


4. (SBU) The MFA sent the Embassy what appears to be an
advance copy of the GOG's 40-page GSP hearing submission due
to USTR by October 31. The report contains useful
information about various fines, MOL budget increases, and
the status of labor conflicts raised in the GSP petitions,
including a report of substantive progress in the Finca Maria
Lourdes plantation. An annexed report from the Public
Ministry about the progress of investigations of cases of
criminal violence against union members is missing from our
copy.

Changes Likely to Labor Reforms in Congress
--------------


5. (SBU) Minister of Labor Victor Moreira told LabAtt on
October 23 that he believes Congress will modify pending
labor code reforms to eliminate the option of reinstatement
for unjustifiably fired workers. Employers would still owe
an amount equivalent to severance pay (one month per year
worked) to these workers. Moreira said that many of the FRG
Congressional deputies are themselves employers, and agree
with objections from CACIF that allowing workers to decide
whether to accept severance or keep their jobs would impinge
on employer rights to fire unneeded workers. Support in
Congress for universal severance is boosted by the
expectation of some Congressional deputies that they
themselves will soon be out of office and would benefit from
the severance pay, he said. (Note: unions have also
objected to the reforms, claiming that they were not
consulted and on the grounds that universal severance would
undermine the permanence of employment and give employers an
incentive to hire temporary workers, to reduce severance
accrual. End Note.) On October 27 Moreira predicted that
the modified reforms would be voted on by Congress on October

28. He said he had recommended to President of Congress Rios
Montt that gender discrimination be more explicitly addressed
in the Labor Code, to bring it in line with the Constitution.
(Note: based on the ILO analysis of legal labor protections
in Central America, we had encouraged the MOL and the
employer association (CACIF) to consider such a change.
CACIF made the same recommendation to Congress. End Note.)

Council of Labor Ministers: CAFTA, OSH Foundation
-------------- --------------


6. (U) The Council of Ministers of Labor of Central America
and the Dominican Republic issued a Declaration, signed by
the ministers in Guatemala City on October 17, which includes
a preambular clause stating:

"Considering: that the inclusion of a labor clause is
fundamental to integrate labor issues into the process, but
should not become an obstacle in any way to international
commerce; every country must guarantee the enforcement of its
own laws and respect for fundamental labor rights;"

And concludes:

"We Agree: To request the USG, in its negotiation with
Central American nations, to allow a treaty which plainly
benefits both sides, based on free, fair and just trade, and
the construction of a future hemispheric market. In this
sense we express our total support for the negotiation of a
CAFTA."


7. (SBU) Moreira told LabAtt on October 23 that he had
informed the Central American Labor Ministers' Conference and
USDOL/OFR that the GOG disputes the approval of a
newly-established regional occupational health and safety
foundation (FUNDAPROSO) at the previous ministers' meeting in
Managua. Furthermore, the Guatemalan Constitution prohibits
any GOG financial support for private entities; FUNDAPROSO,
if constituted as a private entity in El Salvador, as
proposed, would be ineligible for GOG support under
Guatemalan law.

Recent MOL Initiatives
--------------


8. (U) The Labor Ministry has launched initiatives to
promote and defend the rights of women and indigenous
workers. On August 20 the Labor Ministry issued a
ministerial accord (#364-2003) creating a Department of
Indigenous Peoples to investigate cases of discrimination and
promote implementation of ILO Convention 169 on the rights of
indigenous workers. The initiative includes the designation
of ministry representatives located in heavily-indigenous
provinces, investigation of discriminatory hiring practices
and coordination with the labor inspectorate and Human Rights
Ombudsman's office to protect indigenous worker rights. In a
letter to the Embassy dated September 9, Minister of Labor
Moreira described his Ministry's efforts to promote the
rights of women workers through a series of workshops
involving workers (515),managers (339),inspectors (281),
and local collaborators (45) which took place from March to
September, 2003. The minister also cited and sent us copies
of 10 video spots to be broadcast on television, informing
Guatemalans of their labor rights. Finally, the Minister
cited his ministry's efforts to address pending labor
complaints in the maquila sector, in concert with the Economy
Ministry and other interested institutions and NGOs.

Minimum Wage Hike Likely, Unemployment Rising
--------------

9. (U) A government-labor-management panel failed to agree
on a minimum wage hike. Union leaders demanded 25-40%;
employers offered 0%. Worker representatives demanded a
25-40% raise, saying that the current monthly minimum wages
for agricultural workers (approx. $150) and non-agricultural
workers ($159) is well below the government's estimate of
basic monthly living expenses ($299). Employers offered 0%,
citing the downturn in the coffee and other sectors. As a
result of the deadlock, President Portillo will likely again
exercise his authority to approve a wage hike of 7-10%
sometime before the end of the year. (Comment: This will
probably be announced before the November 9 national
election. End Comment.) According to press reports, the
National Statistical Institute counted 170,000 unemployed
between January-March 2003, double the number the previous
year. It classified another 812,460 Guatemalans as
under-employed.

Miscellaneous Labor Disputes
--------------


10. (U) Norwegian labor unions, in support of appeals from
UNSITRAGUA, an independent labor federation which represents
banana workers in Izabal province, have protested to Chiquita
Brands the firing of 600 workers on four plantations. The
unions allege that the firings are part of an anti-union
policy on the part of Chiquita to shift production to
non-unionized plantations on the Pacific Coast. UNSITRAGUA
has also protested the lack of labor court action on a
petition to reinstall 18 workers of 64 allegedly fired
illegally at Goodyear Tire's local affiliate, GINSA, which
has been pending in the labor courts for eight months.
Finally, a Mexican gas distributor (Tomza Inc.) is gaining
notoriety for alleged threats against workers organizing a
union, unlawful firings, and flouting labor court rulings.
After a labor court judge ruled that 27 illegally-fired
workers be reinstated, the company refused to do so. The
judge imposed a fine on the company of $3125 per worker.
After a second refusal, the judge imposed an additional fine
of $3750 per worker, but the workers remain outside.

TIP - Migration Director Pledges Increased TIP Enforcement
-------------- --------------


11. (SBU) On October 7 DCM, DHSOff and PolOff met with Oscar
Contreras, Director of Immigration to thank him for recent
efforts to discover TIP victims in Guatemala City brothels
and urge further anti-TIP enforcement efforts. Contreras
said he was recently returned from a migration conference in
Geneva where TIP was a principal topic. The DCM emphasized
the need to develop cases against traffickers while
protecting the rights of victims. Contreras claimed that an
ongoing prosecution of a corrupt Migration official (and
union leader) in the Peten involves allegations of complicity
in trafficking rings. PolOff and DHSOff urged further
efforts to find victims who can testify against trafficking
ringleaders. Contreras pledged to do so beginning later in
the month. (Comment: Contreras, who entered office after
Embassy complaints about corruption under his predecessor,
was eager to curry favor with the Embassy; his position will
be put at risk by the change of government in January, 2004.
End Comment.)

TIP - UNICEF Regional Anti-TIP PR Launched in Guatemala
-------------- --------------


12. (U) Press reported October 23 that UNICEF has launched a
public relations campaign entitled "The Route North" to
convince Central American parents about the danger faced by
unaccompanied minors attempting to migrate illegally to the
U.S., especially the risk of becoming a victim of sexual
exploitation. This effort will be supported by 633 radio
stations throughout the region. According to the report,
UNICEF cited 1,200 child rescued from traffickers trying to
enter the U.S.
HAMILTON