Country Rating: 5

  • No guarantee of rights

  • Countries with the rating of 5 are the worst countries in the world to work in. While the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have effectively no access to these rights and are therefore exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labour practices.

Union busting at Malacatán Municipal Council: On 3 December 2013, the Confederación de Unidad Sindical de Guatemala (CUSG) reported that the Municipal Authority of Malacatán in San Marcos was demanding an authorisation from any municipal worker wishing to join a union. According to the CUSG, the mayor, Juan Raul Fuentes Montes, publicly stated that he "does not want trade unionists in the municipality".

Directorate General for Labour is not registering trade unions: On 12 June 2013, the Movimiento Sindical y Popular Autónomo Guatemalteco denounced that the Directorate General for Labour had not registered or authorised the statutes of several organisations, including the Sindicato de la Municipalidad de San José El Rodeo, the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil, the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Educación de Sololá, the Sindicato de Trabajadores del Zoológico La Aurora and the Sindicato de Trabajadores de Purulá.

Unfair dismissals by Guatemalan Olympic Committee: On 31 January 2014, just ten days after taking office, the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (GOC) authorities dismissed twenty GOC workers (seven men and 13 women) without any justification. All of them were trade union members and among those fired were the union's entire Executive Committee and Consultative Council.

Guatemalan Olympic Committee fails to respect freedom of association: On 31 January 2014, the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (COG) unfairly dismissed 20 workers, all union members. Since then, the employers have been threatening and coercing the other members, telling them to leave the union or face dismissal.

Attack by Koa Modas on trade unionists: Since the trade union was set up in June 2012, the clothing company Koa Modas has been campaigning to discredit the members of the Executive Committee. In October 2012, the trade union leader Mariela Miranda was assaulted and received a death threat. In April 2013, 13 workers who were members of the trade union were dismissed.

Japala municipality dismisses workers: The mayor of Jalapa, Elmer Leónidas Guerra Calderón, has since his arrival in the municipality undertaken a campaign of anti-union practices that has left in its wake 260 dismissals since April 2012. Despite a court order to reinstate the workers, the mayor refused to comply. The situation was resolved in December 2012 as a result of strong pressure and measures implemented by the ITUC and the TUCA.

Coca Cola puts pressures on workers not to join a union: Only a few weeks after setting up the Sindicato de Trabajadores de Alimentos y Bebidas Atlántida SA (SITRAABASA) in the Tuculután bottling plant recently acquired by Coca Cola, union members came under attack from the management. On 12 February Arthur Goossens, President of the Board of Directors and the firm's legal representative, held a seven-hour long meeting with all the staff and put pressure on workers to stop them from joining the union.

Young trade unionist murdered: The ITUC denounced the murder of young trade unionist Marlon Dagoberto Vásquez López, aged just 19. Marlon was a member of the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Construcción y Servicios de Guatemala (SINCSG), a student and an active member of the young trade unionists network in Quetzaltenango. His body was found on 6 January 2014 in the municipality of Concepción Chiquirichapa.

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