Press Release

Joint Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, FESEBS Secretary General Reynaldo Gonzalez, and CUSG Secretary General Carlos Mancilla on USTR Delay of the Labor Action Plan

We are concerned by the announcement of another extension of the “Mutually Agreed Enforcement Action Plan” to improve labor law enforcement and compliance in Guatemala, but Guatemalan labor federations and the AFL-CIO remain hopeful that this will be the final delay in the arbitration process.  The Labor Action Plan (LAP) was developed without adequate consultation with unions. It was billed as a framework to guide the Guatemalan government towards accountability and the protection and enforcement of labor rights.

However, the LAP has achieved only minimal formal changes with no real improvements for workers. The scores of cases submitted under the complaint languish in legal limbo. Workers continue to be harassed for demanding their rights under the law, fired for joining unions, and murdered for daring to organize a union or demand collective bargaining. In fact, since the implementation of the LAP, Guatemala has been named the most dangerous country for freedom of association, as well as the deadliest country for trade unionists.

Given the failure of the Labor Action Plan to achieve meaningful results, workers in both countries urge government officials in both nations to move as soon as possible to dispute settlement.  Advancing to this phase will provide the leverage needed for the Government of Guatemala to do its duty and protect the fundamental rights its laws guarantee to its own workers.

For more background click here:  http://www.aflcio.org/Issues/Trade/Guatemala

Contact: Gonzalo Salvador/Anthony DeAngelo (202) 637-5018