US files labor rights case against Guatemala

[Judi Lynn]

US files labor rights case against Guatemala
(AFP) – 47 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — The United States announced Friday it would file a case against Guatemala for apparent labor rights violations under a central American free trade agreement. This is the first labor case the United States has ever brought against a trade agreement partner, President Barack Obama's top trade official said.

"Today, I am announcing that the Obama administration will file a case against Guatemala under our trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic, for apparent violations of obligations on labor rights," US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a speech in Pennsylvania. He said the case would send "a strong message" to US trading partners to protect their own workers and that the Obama administration "will not tolerate labor violations that place US workers at a disadvantage."

"We are prepared to enforce the full spectrum of American trade rights from labor to the environment," he said.

Kirk said that the United States was also "very concerned" that the problem of labor-related violence was becoming "increasingly serious" in Guatemala. "We will be working with partners across the Obama administration to examine and take up this issue with Guatemala as well in the near future," he said.

The Guatemala government's apparent failure to effectively enforce its labor laws harmed US workers by forcing them to compete against "substandard labor practices and tilts the playing field away from American workers and businesses," Kirk charged.

More:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h24HoyOpgjZxcyH9gE_n_eEjp_SA

[Judi Lynn]

1. From last February: Guatemala: alarming increase in anti-union violence

Guatemala: alarming increase in anti-union violence
Date of publication: February 10, 2010

The ITUC, its regional organisation the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) and its Guatemalan affiliates CGTG, CUSG and UNSITRAGUA, grouped within the Guatemalan Labour, Indigenous and Campesino Movement, are seriously concerned at the alarming increase in anti-union violence seen in Guatemala since the year 2007.

The poaching of members and the rise of "parallel" unions aimed at dividing the labour movement, robbing it of its independence and making it serve the interests of the government rather than the genuine interests and needs of Guatemala's workers, are a cause for grave concern, together with the recurrent violence against MSICG members and representatives.

The national, regional and international trade union movement is seriously alarmed by the government's attempts to delegitimize the MSICG in national and international forums, rather than encouraging solid and inclusive social dialogue aimed at eradicating the violence, the lack of respect for the core conventions of the ILO, and thus bringing an end to the impunity prevailing in the country.

On 2 February, bearing witness to the unusual level of anti-union violence, the MSICG presented a report on the serious human rights violations registered from the year 2005 to January 2010.

The TUCA and the ITUC fully support their affiliates and the Labour, Indigenous and Campesino Movement (MSICG) in their brave and committed dedication to trade union rights in Guatemala. In a statement delivered by TUCA in Guatemala. Victor Báez and Amanda Villatoro called on the government to "take every step necessary to bring an immediate halt to the acts violating trade union rights and freedoms".

http://www.laborrights.org/freedom-at-work/guatemala/news/12272