111th International Labour Conference - Committee on Application of Standards - Guatemala - EU Statement

European Union

Statement

International Labour Conference

111^th session 

Geneva, 5-16 June 2023

________

Committee on Application of Standards

Guatemala

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention,

1948 (No. 87)

________

Geneva, 13 June 2023

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Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Bosnia and Herzegovina*, the Republic of North Macedonia*, Moldova, Montenegro*, the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

1. The EU and its Member States are committed to the promotion, protection, respect and fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights, such as the right to organise and freedom of association.
2. We actively promote the universal ratification and implementation of the fundamental international labour standards. We support the ILO in its indispensable role to develop, promote and supervise the application of ratified international labour standards and of fundamental Conventions in particular.
3. We wish to recall the commitment undertaken by Guatemala under the trade and sustainable development chapter of the EU-Central America Association Agreement, to effectively implement in law and in practice the fundamental ILO Conventions.
4. The EU and its Member States continue to follow very closely the situation in Guatemala. We reiterate our deep concern about the human rights situation, including labour rights, and note a persistent lack of progress on legislative reforms. We fully echo the Committee of Experts’ deep concern about the allegations of a new case of murder and other acts of anti-union violence committed in 2022, the persistence of a high degree of impunity and the inadequate protection measures.
5. We welcome the Government’s intention to continue the implementation of the road map, adopted 17 October in 2013. However, we stress that intensified efforts are needed to fully implement the road map, in tripartite consultation, and in accordance with the series of priority actions identified by the joint mission of the ILO, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the ITUC undertaken in September 2022. It is of utmost importance that further efforts translate into tangible progress in the application of Convention No. 87.
6. The EU and its Member States condemn the persistent and serious acts of general violence, the violence against trade union leaders and members, including murders and physical aggression and the culture of impunity that prevails. We call on the Government to investigate all acts of violence against trade union leaders and members, with the aim of determining responsibility and punishing both the perpetrators and instigators of these acts, taking the victims’ trade union activities fully into consideration in the investigations.
7. In line with the Committee of Experts, we continue to note with concern difficulties in clearing up long-standing murder cases and other acts of anti-union violence. It is regrettable that the majority of the numerous murders of trade unionists have not yet resulted in convictions and that limited information on identification and punishment of the instigators has been provided. We urge the Government to strengthen the prevention, protection and response mechanisms in respect of threats and attacks against trade union officials and activists, failing which this regrettable situation is likely to continue, if not to become worse. Further information is needed to shed full light on the context in which these crimes were committed.
8. Despite numerous calls from the Conference Committee, the Government has yet not introduced necessary amendments to several sections of the Labour Code and Penal Code to secure the application of Convention No. 87. We note with concern the continued challenges related to the process of trade union registration, eligibility criteria for engaging as a trade union leader, obstacles to the right to strike and limitations to the freedom of association in the public sector.
9. We urge again the Government to adopt, without delay, the legislative reforms that were submitted by tripartite consensus to the Congress of the Republic and to make progress in the revision of the legislation relating to sectoral trade unions and the conditions for strike ballots, in order to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention.
10. The EU and its Member States will continue to follow and analyse the situation and remain committed to our close cooperation and partnership with Guatemala in the fulfilment of all its obligations under ILO Conventions, with a specific focus on fundamental Conventions such as Convention 87.
11. The EU re-affirms its commitment to continue cooperating with Guatemala through the ongoing EU financed technical assistance programme, which is implemented by the ILO “Supporting the State of Guatemala in meeting the commitments in the road map on freedom of association and collective bargaining (ILO Conventions 87 and 98)”. A close cooperation will continue with the ILO and the national tripartite constituents to achieve the objectives of this technical assistance programme.

Thank you Chair.

[*Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia and Montenegro continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.]