Guatemala accused in CAFTA labor complaint (to U.S. Department of Labor)

[Judi Lynn]

Source: L. A. Times

Guatemala accused in CAFTA labor complaint

http://www.latimes.com.nyud.net:8090/media/photo/2008-04/38190775.jpg

Groups allege that the government's failure to uphold its own laws protecting workers has led to intimidation and even killings of trade unionists.

By Marla Dickerson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 24, 2008

MEXICO CITY -- Guatemalan and U.S. labor groups filed a complaint Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Labor alleging that Guatemala had failed to uphold its own labor laws as required under the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

The complaint alleges that, despite provisions in the pact requiring workers' rights to be protected, Guatemalan trade unionists have been threatened, fired and even assassinated -- including a union official who was shot dead in front of his young children last year. The groups called on the Bush administration to initiate dispute settlement proceedings, which could result in fines of as much as $15 million annually against the Guatemalan government.

The action is the first of its kind under CAFTA, a trade deal whose members are the United States, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. But the complaint underscores a long-standing criticism of U.S. trade policy by American unions, which contend that labor protections in trade agreements are largely meaningless because they aren't enforced.

Human rights groups and unions have lodged nearly two dozen complaints with U.S. authorities over labor issues in trade pacts since 1994. None has resulted in sanctions or fines against trading partners, according to Thea Lee, policy director of the AFL-CIO, which filed Wednesday's complaint with six Guatemalan unions.




Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-labor24apr24,1,1188765.story

[Judi Lynn]

1. US labor presses CAFTA complaint against Guatemala

US labor presses CAFTA complaint against Guatemala
Wed 23 Apr 2008, 16:46 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Guatemala has violated labor provisions of its free trade pact with the United States by failing to seriously investigate murders and other violence directed at union workers, a U.S. labor group said Wednesday in a petition filed with the U.S. Labor Department.

The complaint is the first of its kind under the labor provisions of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, which the AFL-CIO labor federation bitterly opposed when it was approved by Congress in 2005.

It comes as the Bush administration is pushing Congress to approve a free trade agreement with Colombia, which U.S. labor groups are fighting on the grounds that country has not done enough to curb violence against trade union members.

"Guatemalan workers are being targeted for their union activity," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. "Without the freedom from fear to join unions and bargain collectively, how can we expect any workers to benefit from a trade agreement?"

More:
http://africa.reuters.com/commodities/news/usnN23312206.html?rpc=401&

On edit:

If this article seems familiar to you, it's because Omaha Steve already posted it! It took a moment before I suddenly wondered if I hadn't seen Guatemala right here in the last day or so:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3280816

Unintentional dupe of OmahaSteve's post on this article. Sorry.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Guatemala: bishop recieves death threats for defending campesinos

Guatemala: bishop recieves death threats for defending campesinos
Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 01:13.

Rights workers in Guatemala are calling upon the government to protect a Roman Catholic bishop from assassination after a rash of threats. Mgr. Álvaro Ramazzini, Bishop of San Marcos, has been warned that he will be killed unless he withdraws his support for landless peasants who are protesting the issuance of mining permits to a Canadian multinational corporation (Goldcorp Inc.).

On March 31 a nun was stopped while driving her car through the town of San Marcos and given a note to deliver to the bishop, warning him of the consequences of his actions. Bishop Ramazzini is president of the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference of Guatemala and the Church's representative to the "High Level Commission" formed to coordinate exploitation of the region’s natural resources with local communities. He has drawn the ire of landowners for backing the campesinos' land claims in the region.

In January 2005, Guatemalan President Óscar Berger blamed Bishop Ramazzini for riots in San Marcos after police shot a campesino during anti-government protests. President Berger said the bishop was an "authentic leader" who should have controlled the protesters.

Along with other bishops, Ramazzini also played a keu role in the 1996 Peace Accords that ended Guatemala's 36-year-long civil war. He also co-authored a 1998 report detailing human rights abuses. Two days after the report was released the principal author of the report, the Archbishop of Guatemala Juan Gerardi, was bludgeoned to death.

More:
http://ww4report.com/node/5364

[Judi Lynn]

3. AFL-CIO Files Complaint Against Guatemala Over Unions (Update1)

AFL-CIO Files Complaint Against Guatemala Over Unions (Update1)

By Mark Drajem

April 23 (Bloomberg) -- The AFL-CIO accused Guatemala of failing to meet the terms of a free-trade agreement by allowing companies to bust union organizing campaigns and not prosecuting murders of union members.

The complaint by the largest U.S. labor federation is the first under the Central American Free Trade Agreement and forces the Bush administration to decide whether to begin consultations on the case with Guatemala.

``There is a climate of terror for trade unionists,'' Thea Lee, the chief international economist at the AFL-CIO, said in an interview. ``But so far the Bush administration hasn't lifted a finger to enforce any of the labor chapters.''

The complaint says four union leaders or their family members have been killed this year, and many others have had death threats. Also, workers who attempt to join a union, bargain or strike are often fired, it said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=alcuAvbGzFnU

[Judi Lynn]

4. Do you remember Bush's triumphal visit to Guatemala a year or two ago?

13 months ago: A Mayan priest performs a cleansing ceremony at the temple that was visited by U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday in the Iximche archaeological site, fearing President Bush brought bad spirits, in Guatemala, Thursday, March 15, 2007. Bush visited Iximche during a five-nation tour of Latin America, which included a daylong stopover in Guatemala.

http://www.daylife.com/photo/09D4bk29uG0c4

Makes your chest swell with pride, doesn't it? People felt this way about the guy all over Latin America. He got the same reaction everywhere he went.

[Judi Lynn]

5. President Bush Should Address Human Rights in Meeting with Guatemalan President

President Bush Should Address Human Rights in Meeting with Guatemalan President
Rights Group calls on Bush to Raise Accountability for Past Atrocities With President Colom

NEW YORK - April 25 - President Bush should use his first meeting with new Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom on Monday to urge that Guatemala prosecute former military leaders accused of mass atrocities, said Human Rights First, a New York-based international human rights organization.


“President Bush has before him a concrete opportunity to support human rights in Guatemala,” said Andrew Hudson, Associate Attorney in the Human Rights Defenders Program at Human Rights First. “After 100 days in office it is time for President Colom to focus on his duty to investigate these crimes and prosecute those responsible.”

Guatemala’s 36-year civil war ended in 1996, but none of those responsible for committing the worst atrocities during that period have been held accountable. In recent weeks, a Guatemalan judge has for the first time heard harrowing testimony from victims in support of a Spanish investigation into mass atrocities by former military leaders, such as Congressman Efrain Rios Montt. These proceedings demonstrate that it is possible to bring former military leaders to justice.

“Much of the continued lawlessness in Guatemala, including hundreds of attacks against human rights defenders each year, stems from a refusal to prosecute heinous crimes committed during the civil war,” said Hudson. “The Guatemalan Attorney-General should immediately act on the criminal petitions filed by victims almost a decade ago.”

President Bush and President Colom’s meeting will take place two days after the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Bishop Juan Gerardi. Bishop Gerardi was killed just days after releasing a report which concluded that the Guatemalan state was responsible for more than 90 per cent of the approximately 200,000 killings committed during Guatemala’s civil war. While individuals have been convicted for the murder of Bishop Gerardi, there has been no justice for the victims of Guatemala’s 422 documented massacres.

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0425-02.htm

[Toucano]

6. Thank you, Judi Lynn, for your work. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

7. Thank YOU, Toucano. It's always good to see your name here. n/t