Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09GUATEMALA19
2009-01-09 14:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Guatemala
Cable title:
STAFFDEL ALMEIDA, GUATEMALA VISIT DECEMBER 14-17
how-toVZCZCXYZ0024 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHGT #0019 0091424 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 091424Z JAN 09 FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6755 INFO RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000019
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR H
DEPT ALSO FOR DRL/ILCSR
DOL FOR GSCHOEPFLE AND PCHURCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ETRD PHUM KCRM KJUS KDEM PGOV OREP GT
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL ALMEIDA, GUATEMALA VISIT DECEMBER 14-17
REF: A. STATE 128284
B. GUATE 1510
C. GUATEMALA 522
D. GUATEMALA 974
UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000019
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR H
DEPT ALSO FOR DRL/ILCSR
DOL FOR GSCHOEPFLE AND PCHURCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ETRD PHUM KCRM KJUS KDEM PGOV OREP GT
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL ALMEIDA, GUATEMALA VISIT DECEMBER 14-17
REF: A. STATE 128284
B. GUATE 1510
C. GUATEMALA 522
D. GUATEMALA 974
1. Labor Counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Education and
Labor, Tico Almeida, visited Guatemala December 14-17 as part
of a two-country fact-finding visit to Central America to
discuss labor issues within the jurisdiction of his
Committee. The trip was scheduled for the week after the
Department of Labor's planned December 12 release of its
public report on the AFL-CIO CAFTA submission (Refs C, D).
The purpose of the trip was to conduct Congressional
oversight over DOL-funded projects in Guatemala, establish
local contacts on labor issues for possible House Committee
hearings in the coming year, and to gather information to
provide the House Committee and its Chairman, George Miller
(D-CA),with context for the upcoming DOL public report on
the CAFTA submission.
2. During his three-day visit, Almeida met with senior GOG
officials, labor inspectors, employers, union leaders and
members, including representatives from the local unions that
collaborated with the AFL-CIO to submit the CAFTA submission,
labor federations, including the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center,
members of civil society, and representatives of the
International Labor Organization, the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, and the International
Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
3. Almeida discussed a variety of issues with his
interlocutors, including alleged violations of Guatemalan
labor laws, Guatemala's alleged non-compliance with certain
ILO core labor standards, and violence against trade
unionists and the lack of prosecution in these cases. Most
interlocutors agreed that impunity in Guatemala has made the
prosecution of cases of violence against unionists difficult.
Almeida also floated the idea of re-negotiating Chapter 16
of the CAFTA-DR free trade agreement, to strengthen what he
views as currently lax labor regulations, and discussed the
possibility of providing funds to the U.S. Department of
Justice to provide training to Guatemalan prosecutors and
judges.
4. Almeida cleared this message prior to transmission.
McFarland
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR H
DEPT ALSO FOR DRL/ILCSR
DOL FOR GSCHOEPFLE AND PCHURCH
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ETRD PHUM KCRM KJUS KDEM PGOV OREP GT
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL ALMEIDA, GUATEMALA VISIT DECEMBER 14-17
REF: A. STATE 128284
B. GUATE 1510
C. GUATEMALA 522
D. GUATEMALA 974
1. Labor Counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Education and
Labor, Tico Almeida, visited Guatemala December 14-17 as part
of a two-country fact-finding visit to Central America to
discuss labor issues within the jurisdiction of his
Committee. The trip was scheduled for the week after the
Department of Labor's planned December 12 release of its
public report on the AFL-CIO CAFTA submission (Refs C, D).
The purpose of the trip was to conduct Congressional
oversight over DOL-funded projects in Guatemala, establish
local contacts on labor issues for possible House Committee
hearings in the coming year, and to gather information to
provide the House Committee and its Chairman, George Miller
(D-CA),with context for the upcoming DOL public report on
the CAFTA submission.
2. During his three-day visit, Almeida met with senior GOG
officials, labor inspectors, employers, union leaders and
members, including representatives from the local unions that
collaborated with the AFL-CIO to submit the CAFTA submission,
labor federations, including the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center,
members of civil society, and representatives of the
International Labor Organization, the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, and the International
Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
3. Almeida discussed a variety of issues with his
interlocutors, including alleged violations of Guatemalan
labor laws, Guatemala's alleged non-compliance with certain
ILO core labor standards, and violence against trade
unionists and the lack of prosecution in these cases. Most
interlocutors agreed that impunity in Guatemala has made the
prosecution of cases of violence against unionists difficult.
Almeida also floated the idea of re-negotiating Chapter 16
of the CAFTA-DR free trade agreement, to strengthen what he
views as currently lax labor regulations, and discussed the
possibility of providing funds to the U.S. Department of
Justice to provide training to Guatemalan prosecutors and
judges.
4. Almeida cleared this message prior to transmission.
McFarland