Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1989)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its first report on the Convention and wishes to draw its attention to the following:

- Section 211(a) and (b) of the Labour Code provides for strict supervision of trade union activities by the Government.

In this connection, the Committee points out that the principal objective of Convention No. 141 is to strengthen the role of rural workers' organizations in economic and social development and that government interference in trade union activities is contrary to the principles of freedom of association.

- Sections 243(a) and 249 of the Labour Code which, with a few exceptions, prohibit strikes or work stoppages by agricultural workers during harvests are contrary to the principles contained in the Convention, as the Committee has been pointing out for several years in connection with Convention No. 87.

The Committee hopes that the Government will adopt the necessary measures to bring the provisions mentioned above into line with the Convention and asks it to provide information on this matter in its next report.

The Committee would appreciate information on the principal rural workers' organizations that exist for the various categories covered by the Convention, with particulars of the approximate number of members (Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention), and the activities or programmes carried out in the country to enable these organizations to participate in economic and social development and in the benefits resulting therefrom (Article 4).