Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 330, March 2003

Case No 2167 (Guatemala) - Complaint date: 21-DEC-01 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 100. At its meeting in June 2002, the Committee made the following recommendations on matters that had remained pending [see the Committee’s 328th Report, para. 304]:
   • – Strongly emphasizing the importance that employers’ and workers’ organizations should be consulted by the authorities on matters of mutual interest, including the preparation and application of legislation which affects their interest and the determination of minimum wages, as well as the importance of consultations taking place in good faith, confidence and mutual respect, and of the parties having sufficient time to express their views and discuss them in full, the Committee requests the Government to take these principles into account on social and economic matters, particularly with regard to setting minimum wages, drafting the code of labour procedure and developing new tax laws, and to ensure that it attaches the necessary importance to agreements reached between workers’ and employers’ organizations.
   • – Deploring the harassment and intimidation of employers, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that employers’ and workers’ organizations must be allowed to conduct their activities in defence of their interests in a climate that is free from pressure, intimidation, harassment, threats or efforts to discredit them or their leaders, which includes the adulteration of documents. The Committee requests the Government to ensure respect for this principle in future.
   • – Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any judicial decisions taken with regard to this case.
2. 101. In its communication of 30 December 2002, the Government refers to the efforts and progress it has made in social dialogue and to the various tripartite consultations that have taken place. The Government also sends a recent press cutting concerning a call to the private sector to help find joint solutions to the country’s problems.
3. 102. The Committee notes the Government’s information, and again requests the Government to keep it informed of any judicial decision specifically as concerns the alleged harassment and intimidation of the employer in this complaint, as it had requested in its previous examination of the case.