LABOR INSPECTORS RECEIVE ADDITIONAL TRAINING

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 003596

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2016
TAGS: ECIN ECON ELAB ETRD PE
SUBJECT: LABOR INSPECTORS RECEIVE ADDITIONAL TRAINING


Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission James Nealon for Reasons 1.4 (c,
d)


1. (SBU) Summary: The Ministry of Labor (MOL) recently
honored 348 labor inspectors who had completed USAID-funded
training on the rights of unions and on workplace
subcontracting. Vice Minister of Labor Fernando Garcia said
the training demonstrated the MOL's commitment to
professionalize the labor inspectorate, and he promised
additional programs to strengthen protections for Peruvian
workers. Union officials welcomed the inspector training but
suggested the MOL do more to enforce labor law. Even the
MOL's critics acknowledge the training shows the Labor
Ministry's commitment to closing the gaps in Peru's system of
labor protections. End Summary.


2. (SBU) On October 16, the MOL held a ceremony honoring 348
labor inspectors who had completed a USAID-supported workshop
providing training in union rights, direct and indirect labor
contracting, and informal employment. One of the inspectors
told Poloff that the workshop offered the most thorough
training he had received in 20 years with the MOL. The
National Director of Inspections, Jorge Aranibar, said the
training would help inspectors to take a more active role in
identifying and solving workplace problems before legal
complaints are filed. Aranibar said the workshop showed the
MOL had understood complaints from unions and businesses
about poorly trained inspectors and had responded with a
program that gave inspectors a thorough background in labor
legislation.


3. (SBU) Vice Minister of Labor Garcia promised additional
programs to strengthen labor protections, noting the MOL had
plans to increase the number of inspectors in Lima from 290
to 334 by 2008. He also said that the MOL would create an
Office of Business Responsibility to disseminate information
on labor rights to small business and would begin issuing
"Certifications of Labor Compliance" to business that
followed sound labor practices. VM Garcia said the MOL took
its responsibility to protect workers seriously and
recognized protecting worker's rights was crucial to
successful implementation of the Peru Trade and Promotion Act
(PTPA).


4. (C) Union leaders welcomed additional training for labor
inspectors but questioned the MOL's focus. Juan Jose
Gorritti, foreign secretary of Peru's largest union -- the
General Confederation of Peruvian Workers (CGTP) -- said Lima
already had a sufficient number of inspectors; the problem,
he said, was in the countryside, where two or three officials
are responsible for covering entire provinces. Gorritti said
the system'sreal weakness was the government's failure to
enforce labor laws. He added that sanctions were adjdicated
in civil courts and often took years to resolve. As a
result, businesses frequently ignored MOL fines, and
inspectors were unable to rectify or improve unsafe work
conditions. (Comment: The CGTP planned nationwide protests
November 8 to call attention to the Garcia's government's
failure to fulfill its promises on various fronts, including
-- union leaders claim -- to secure binding labor protections
in the PTPA. These protests are separate from wildcat
strikes declared by dissidents within the mining union. End
Comment.)


5. (C) Comment: Even the MOL's union critics admitted that
the Labor Ministry was making good-faith efforts to overhaul
and enforce Peruvian labor legislation. The MOL receives
less than .1 percent of the federal budget but continues to
develop initiatives to strengthen the formal system of labor
protections by easing paperwork requirements for businesses,
creating working groups to combat forced labor, and raising
the minimum wage. Peru's unions rightly point out that much
remains to be done. The USAID-supported training workshop is
evidence that even small projects can meaningfully advance
worker rights. It also highlights the GOP's willingness to
collaborate with international donors on an issue that will
gain increased attention if/when the PTPA is approved. End
Comment.
MCKINLEY