2015 ITUC Global Rights Index Rating: 3

During 2013 and 2014, the Labour Ministry refused to register at least 13 trade union organisations and federations in Paraguay. In March 2015, the situation remained unchanged. The organisations affected are:

  • Organización de Trabajadores de Educadores del Paraguay Auténtica (OTEP-AUTENTICO)
  • Sindicato de Profesionales y Técnicos de la Dirección Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil (SIPROTEC)
  • Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Administración Nacional de Electricidad (SITRANDE)
  • Federación de Trabajadores Bancarios y Afines del Paraguay (FETRABAN)
  • Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria de la Construcción Civil e Hidroeléctrica del Alto Paraná (STICCAP)
  • Sindicato de Funcionarios Graduados Universitarios de la Contraloría General de la República (SINGRUCOG)
  • Sindicato de Arte y Cultura del Paraguay
  • Sindicato de Funcionarios de Seguridad de la Entidad Binacional YASYRETA (SIFUSEBY)
  • Sindicato de Funcionarios y Empleados del Fondo Ganadero (SINTRAFOG)
  • Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Prensa (SITRAPREN)
  • Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Azucarera Iturbe (SITRAAISA)
  • Sindicato Auténtico de Trabajadores Municipales (SINATRAM)
  • Sindicato Auténtico de Seguridad y Vigilancia de la Administración Nacional de Navegación y Puertos (SINASEVIG-ANNP)

On 8 July 2014, teachers' trade unions held a day of peaceful protest against the campaign of anti-union persecution being waged by the government of President Horacio Cartes. The trade unionists were protesting against the elimination of trade union leave, which obstructs trade union work, the refusal to improve teachers' pensions, the violence used to suppress social protest, the pay deductions affecting those who took part in the general strike of 26 March 2014, and for the urgent need for greater investment in education.

Workers have to appeal to the courts individually as collective legal action is not allowed. The courts are independent in theory, but appointments are linked to the dominant political parties. Justice is slow, costly and unpredictable.

On 13 August 2014, three days of protest, led by trade unions, campesino organisations, land rights defenders and political parties, were held in opposition to the Public-Private Partnership Act, which foresees the privatisation of health, education and public services, as well as to condemn the violence used by the state and the criminalisation of social protest. The protestors were also calling for agrarian reform to resolve the serious problem of the concentration of land in the hands of a few. Further protests were held in November 2014 and February 2015.

Acepar violates collective agreement:

Between 22 May and 3 August 2014, Hugo Gonzales Chirico, union leader at steel company Acepar, began a hunger strike in protest against a dispute over a collective bargaining agreement that started in 2001.

Between April and November 2010, the Sindicato de Trabajadores de Acepar (SITRAC) went on strike in protest at the company's failure to comply with the collective agreement in force, failure to respect workers' human rights and its dismissal of 325 workers, which exacerbated the dispute.

The Supreme Court ruled in favour of SITRAC in July 2009, recognising the validity of the collective agreement in force. However, the company's management did not comply with the agreement.

The ITUC Global Rights Index Ratings:

1 // Irregular violation of rights
Collective labour rights are generally guaranteed. Workers can freely associate and defend their rights collectively with the government and/or companies and can improve their working conditions through collective bargaining. Violations against workers are not absent but do not occur on a regular basis.

2 // Repeated violation of rights
Countries with a rating of 2 have slightly weaker collective labour rights than those with the rating 1. Certain rights have come under repeated attacks by governments and/or companies and have undermined the struggle for better working conditions.

3 // Regular violation of rights
Governments and/or companies are regularly interfering in collective labour rights or are failing to fully guarantee important aspects of these rights. There are deficiencies in laws and/or certain practices which make frequent violations possible.

4 // Systematic violation of rights
Workers in countries with the rating 4 have reported systematic violations. The government and/or companies are engaged in serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers putting fundamental rights under threat.

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.

5+ // No guarantee of rights due to the breakdown of the rule of law
Workers in countries with the rating 5+ have equally limited rights as countries with the rating 5. However, in countries with the rating 5+ this is linked to dysfunctional institutions as a result of internal conflict and/or military occupation. In such cases, the country is assigned the rating of 5+ by default.

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