Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1952)

The Committee notes the report of the high-level mission which visited the country in April 2008 and the tripartite agreement signed during the mission with a view to improving the application of the Convention.

The Committee also notes the detailed comments on the application of the Convention made by the Indigenous and Rural Workers Trade Union Movement of Guatemala in a communication dated 31 August 2008, and by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) referring to matters already raised by the Committee, as well as to acts of anti-union discrimination and interference by employers, obstacles to collective bargaining processes and the violation of collective agreements. In this respect, the Committee hopes that, in the context of the tripartite agreement concluded during the high-level mission, all of the issues raised will be examined and addressed in a tripartite manner by the Government and the social partners with the technical assistance of the ILO in the context of the work of the Tripartite Commission on International Labour Affairs, and the Subcommission for Legal Reform and Rapid Intervention Machinery.

The Committee recalls that for various years it has been referring to the following problems relating to restrictions on the exercise of trade union rights in practice;

–      failure to comply with orders for the reinstatement of dismissed trade unionists;

–      slowness and ineffectiveness of procedures to impose penalties for breaches of labour legislation;

–      need to promote collective bargaining, especially in export processing zones;

–      need for the Code of Labour Procedures to be subject to in-depth consultation with the most representative organizations of workers and employers; and

–      the Bill on civil service reform. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report under Convention No. 87 that the Bill has been delayed, but that in July 2008 an intersectoral dialogue forum was established with a view to obtaining a bill that is adapted to the specific needs of the sectors concerned.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the matters raised by the Committee have been discussed for several years by the National Tripartite Commission and that tripartite consensus has been achieved on certain issues.

Furthermore, in relation to these matters, the Committee notes that, under the auspices of the high-level mission, the Tripartite Commission concluded an agreement to modernize the legislation and give better effect to Conventions Nos 87 and 98, with the agreement calling for an examination to be carried out of the dysfunctions of the current labour relations system (excessive delays and procedural abuses, lack of effective application of the law and of penalties, etc.), and in particular of the machinery for the protection of the right to collective bargaining and the rights of workers’ and employers’ organizations and their members set forth in Conventions Nos 87 and 98 in the light of the technical considerations and substantive and procedural comments of the Committee of Experts. The Committee observes that the high-level mission undertook to organize appropriate technical assistance on these matters and notes with interest that this assistance is being provided.

The Committee has received the report of the first technical assistance mission (November 2008) following the high-level mission (April 2008). The Committee firmly hopes that the Government, with the technical assistance it is receiving, will be in a position to provide information in its next report on the progress made in relation to the various issues raised above.

Finally, the Committee observes that, at the session of the International Labour Conference in 2008, when examining the application of Convention No. 87 by Guatemala, the Committee on the Application of Standards invited the Government to accept a mission made up of the Employer and Worker spokespersons to assist the Government in finding durable solutions to all of the above matters. The Committee of Experts appreciates the Government’s acceptance of the above invitation and its indication that each and every good faith mission that wished to help in overcoming the complex situations relating to freedom of association was welcome.

The Committee will examine these matters in its next examination of the application of the Convention in the light of the report of the above mission.