A memorial to a Guatemalan dockworker who was killed for union activities in 2007. Labor abuses are not limited to Guatemala: The ILWU Coast Longshore Division recently filed a complaint under the CAFTA-DR free trade agreement against the government of Costa Rica for failing to enforce its own labor laws.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis has announced that the U.S. government has requested labor consultations with the Government of Guatemala under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). This is the first time that the United States has requested consultations under the labor chapter of a U.S. free trade agreement.
“We are sending a strong message that the Obama Administration will vigorously enforce labor obligations under U.S. free trade agreements,” said Secretary Solis. “We are committed to ensuring that U.S. businesses and workers compete on a level playing field and that labor rights are respected in our trading partner countries.”
In April 2008, the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan worker organizations filed a public submission under the CAFTA-DR alleging that the Guatemalan government violated its CAFTA-DR labor commitments, including failing to effectively enforce its labor laws. After reviewing the submission, the Labor Department issued a public report finding significant weaknesses in Guatemala’s enforcement of its labor laws.
Since then, the U.S. government has conducted an extensive examination of Guatemala’s compliance with its commitments under the CAFTA-DR labor chapter. It appears that Guatemala is failing to meet its obligation with respect to enforcement of labor laws on the right of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and acceptable conditions of work.
The U.S. government also has grave concerns about labor-related violence in Guatemala, a problem which is serious and apparently deteriorating. The United States has repeatedly raised this serious problem with Guatemala and will examine and take this issue up with Guatemala in the near future.