LABOR MINISTRY HOSTS SEMINAR ON MIGRANT WORKERS

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 002015 SIPDIS SIPDIS DOL FOR CROMERO, PCHURCH, LBUFFO DEPT FOR WHA/PPC MPUCCETTI DEPT ALSO FOR DRL/ILCSR MMITTELHAUSER, JVIRAY, GRIGG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB SMIG EIND PHUM ECON PGOV SOCI GT SUBJECT: LABOR MINISTRY HOSTS SEMINAR ON MIGRANT WORKERS AND THE INFORMAL SECTOR ¶1. Summary: The Ministry of Labor hosted a seminar September 26 and presented the results of a nationwide study on migrant workers and the informal sector. The seminar, attended by over 150 representatives from government, academia, private sector, civil society, and the labor movement, aimed to raise awareness and to build consensus for public policies that address the needs of migrant workers and workers in the informal economy. End summary. ¶2. On September 26, the Ministry of Labor hosted a seminar on migrant workers and workers in the informal sector, who together comprise two-thirds of the local labor force. Informal sector workers alone comprise 75 percent of the work force. The seminar focused attention on the need for public policy to address violations of human rights as well as to improve access to social services, health care, micro-credit, and other services. It was the second such seminar hosted by the Ministry this year. Participants included government officials, academics, private sector representatives, civil society groups, and labor leaders. ¶3. Labor Inspector General Celeste Ayala said that the Ministry of Labor is working with civil society, employers, and workers to assess the problem of unemployment. According to Ayala, Guatemala is losing valuable human capital as a result of migration of workers to other countries, especially the United States where wages are higher and Canada where there is enormous potential for agricultural workers. ¶4. According to Roberto Cordero, Chief of the Labor Statistics Unit at the Ministry of Labor, the modern migratory phenomenon began 25 years ago in the 1980s. A variety of factors, including political persecution, insecurity, instability, and internal displacement, prompted many to migrate during the internal conflict. Today, the lack of income-generating sources and socio-economic development, especially in rural areas, are prompting workers to migrate internally to urban areas as well as to seek better employment opportunities outside the country. Estimating that currently 1.2 million documented and undocumented Guatemalans live in the U.S., Cordero stressed that any discussion of public policy on employment should include internal migration as well as external migration. ¶5. Cordero presented the results of a recent USG-funded nationwide study of vendors in the informal sector, primarily in municipal street markets. The study showed that most of these informal sector workers were young, with the majority (58 percent) between 14 and 34 years of age, and 98.7 percent with no social security. The majority identified themselves as indigenous, and two-thirds said they had no education or only primary education. One-third had some secondary education. ¶6. Women constituted 56.1 percent of this informal work force nationwide, while men represented 43.9 percent. Almost half (45 percent) originated from parts of the country other than where they were working. Twenty-eight percent expressed intentions to emigrate. Of those, 21 percent said they intended to go to the U.S. Future studies will focus on other segments of the informal sector, such as agricultural workers, domestic workers, and self-employed workers, to complement the data collected in this study. ¶7. According to Miguel Ugalde of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (IDIES) of Rafael Landivar University, migrant workers represent more than one-third of the country's active labor force. Guatemalan migrant workers also constitute a growing labor force overseas. In the past few years, remittances have increased by 20 percent annually, surpassing USD 4 billion from the U.S. this year. Ugalde estimated that currently 29 percent of the population receives remittances. ¶8. Ugalde noted that there have been reports of violations of human rights of migrant workers, both in Mexico and the U.S., including labor and sexual exploitation involving excessive use of force and limitations on their freedom of movement. The Office of the Presidential Commissioner on Human Rights (COPREDEH) is preparing a report on Guatemala's fulfillment of commitments under the 1990 UN Convention that guarantees fundamental human rights to all migrant workers, documented and undocumented, and members of their families. Lindwall