Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1952)

The Committee notes with interest the establishment of the "Tripartite Committee to Update and Develop the Labour Code" which will put forward proposed amendments to the current Labour Code.

Without overlooking this positive development, the Committee emphasises the need to bring the whole of Guatemalan legislation into conformity with the Convention, and in particular the following sections of the Labour Code of 16 August 1961:

- section 211(a) and (b) on the strict supervision of trade union activities by the Government;

- section 207 on the impossibility for unions to take part in politics;

- section 226(a) on the dissolution of trade unions that have taken part in matters concerning electoral or party politics;

- section 223(b) which confines to Guatemalans the possibility of being elected to trade union office;

- section 241(c) which lays down the obligation to obtain a majority of two-thirds of the workers in the enterprise or production centre for the calling of a strike;

- section 222(f) and (m) which requires a majority of two-thirds of the members of a trade union for the calling of a strike;

- sections 243(a) and 249 which prohibit strikes or work stoppages by agricultural workers at harvest time, with a few exceptions;

- sections 243(d) and 249 which prohibit strikes or work stoppages by workers in enterprises or services in which the Government considers that a suspension of their work would seriously affect the national economy;

- section 255 which provides for the possibility of calling upon the national police to ensure the continuation of work in the event of an illegal strike;

- section 257 which provides for the detention and trial of offenders;

- section 390(2) under which a sentence of from one to five years' imprisonment can be imposed on those who carry out acts intended not only to cause sabotage and destruction (which, indeed, do not lie within the scope of the protection provided by the Convention), but also to paralyse or disturb the functioning of enterprises contributing to the development of the national economy, with a view to jeopardising national production. The Committee once again recalls that: with regard to the election of trade union leaders, provisions to the effect that they shall be nationals of the country should be relaxed in order to enable foreign workers to obtain access to trade union office, at least after a reasonable period of residence in the host country; that, with regard to the prohibition of political activities, the legislation should permit trade unions to participate in public institutions with the task of improving the cultural, economic and social conditions of the workers; and that, with regard to the exercise of the right to strike, limitations and prohibitions are only compatible with the Convention in respect of essential services in the strict sense of the term, that is where their interruption due to a strike would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population, or in the event of an acute national crisis.

However, the Committee notes with interest the information supplied by the Government within the context of Case No. 1459 before the Committee on Freedom of Association (see the 259th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, paragraphs 275 to 306, approved by the Governing Body at its 241st Session (November 1988)) according to which the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has taken the initiative of proposing amendments to a number of sections of the Labour Code, which will be examined by the legislative body in the near future.

The Committee once again urges the Government to inform it as soon as possible of the measures that have been adopted or are envisaged in order to bring the whole of the legislation into conformity with the provisions of the Convention.