Apr 25 2008
Guatemalan and U.S. Labor Call Out Worker Abuse Under CAFTA
GUEST: Thea Lee, Policy Director at AFL-CIO
In an unprecedented move, six Guatemalan labor unions alongside the AFL-CIO filed a complaint this week citing violations of workers’ rights under the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The Guatemalan government is being accused of failing to uphold agreed-upon labor provisions. Since the Central American nation signed on to CAFTA in 2006, eight trade unionists have been killed as others and their families intimidated with the threat of murder and rape. Guatemala’s Ministry of Labor has failed to conduct thorough investigations – no arrests have been made in two union murders cited in the complaint. CAFTA was passed with labor and environmental provisions that critics contend are meaningless without enforcement. Now with the complaint filed by the unions, the Bush Administration will be asked to initiate dispute settlement proceedings as it seeks to pass a trade agreement with Colombia as well as expand NAFTA. If Guatemala is found to have failed in upholding its labor laws under the trade agreement, the government could face a 15 million dollar fine.
To read more about the complaint, click on: http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/04/24/afl-cio-guatemalan-unions-file-complaint-for-violations-of-labor-rights/
For more information about AFL-CIO, visit www.aflcio.org.
One Response to “Guatemalan and U.S. Labor Call Out Worker Abuse Under CAFTA”
July 23, 2009
I Ms. Paulina Minier work at MCCONNOR STREET HOLDING, LLC
MCDONALD’S RESTAURANT – 71ST New York 10023
Report that at my job the supervisor verbally abuse me and other employees.
Andry Polanco usual abuses her employee because she knows that some employee do not have legal documents, her verbal abuse put the employees with a low self-esteem. Please help us employee against labor abuse. Thank you