Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

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

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the comments made by UASP, ICFTU, FENASTEG, UGT and UNSITRAGA.

According to UNSITRAGA, section 215(c) of the Labour Code makes it impossible in practice to establish industry trade unions by requiring them to have a membership of workers representing "50 per cent plus one of the workers in the occupation", that is in the industry concerned. The Committee considers that the number of workers required to establish an industry trade union, in addition to being indeterminate, is indeed excessive and makes it extraordinarily difficult to establish this type of trade union.

UNSITRAGA also criticizes the draft Code of Labour Procedure. The Committee requests that the new text should be the subject of extensive consultations with the most representative organizations of workers and employers and that their points of views should be duly taken into account. The Committee proposes that the Government should examine this draft text in the context of the technical assistance that it has requested.

Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the exercise of trade union rights in export processing enterprises (the number of enterprises, the number of organizations and the number of unionized workers), as well as on the number of solidarist associations in the country and on complaints of violations of trade union rights related to such associations.