Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1989)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the observations made by the Guatemalan Union, Indigenous and Peasant Movement (MSICG), which were received on 3 September 2015.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking of persons. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the implementation of the various components of the 2009 Act against sexual violence, exploitation and trafficking in persons, and of the National Strategic Action Plan 2007–17, specifying the actions undertaken by the State Secretariat against Sexual Violence, Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons (SVET), which is the body responsible for promoting, coordinating and evaluating the actions of various state bodies involved in combating trafficking in persons.

The Committee notes the detailed information supplied by the Government in its report. It observes in particular the activities undertaken to raise awareness of the phenomenon of trafficking and to publicize the 2009 Act and the rights that it guarantees. With regard to cooperation, the Government refers to the signature of an inter-institutional cooperation framework agreement between the SVET and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare for the exchange of information on issues related to trafficking for labour exploitation, and also the establishment of free phone numbers common to various entities via which information can be supplied and cases reported. As regards the protection of victims, the Government states that three temporary assistance centres have been established in Guatemala, Coatepeque and Cóban. Furthermore, machinery for detection and investigation and the release of victims has been reinforced and an action protocol for the identification of victims by the labour inspectorate has been drawn up. Lastly, with a view to the more effective resolution of trafficking cases, a special unit has been operating since November 2013 within the National Civilian Police, working in close collaboration with the trafficking section of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The Committee also notes the new “Public policy to combat trafficking of persons and for the comprehensive protection of victims (2014–24)”, which was adopted under the coordination of the SVET and is the result of a vast process of dialogue and consensus among the various state and civil society bodies involved in combating trafficking. This policy establishes guidelines for action, defines actions and strategic objectives. Lastly, the Committee notes the 2014 situation report on trafficking in persons in Guatemala, published in March 2015 by the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office, which analyses the phenomenon of trafficking in Guatemala and the measures taken and makes a series of recommendations, particularly to reinforce access to justice and strengthen protection for victims.

The Committee welcomes the ILO project financed by the Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission in the context of the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in order to support four beneficiary countries, including Guatemala, in order to ensure the effective implementation of international labour standards. It notes that one of the components of this project aims to strengthen certain institutions combating trafficking in persons, particularly the SVET and the trafficking section of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The Committee observes that all these measures bear witness to the Government’s will to combat trafficking in persons and encourages it to pursue its efforts towards this end. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to implement the strategic components of the public policy against trafficking in persons and for the comprehensive protection of victims, namely: prevention, detection, assistance, protection and repatriation of victims, and the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators. Please also provide information on the evaluation of the impact of these measures and the manner in which the recommendations in the 2015 report of the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office referred to above have been taken into account. Furthermore, the Committee requests the Government to continue to reinforce the capacities of the entities responsible for enforcing the 2009 Act against sexual violence, exploitation and trafficking in persons, so that the latter are actually in a position to identify these cases of trafficking in persons for both sexual and labour exploitation, and to conduct investigations throughout the territory. Please also provide information on judicial proceedings instituted, rulings handed down and penalties imposed on the basis of section 202ter of the Penal Code, which criminalizes trafficking in persons, and on the compensation awarded to victims, in accordance with section 58 of the 2009 Act.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). Obligation to work overtime under threat of a penalty. 1. The Committee notes that the MSICG repeats in its 2015 observations those made in 2012 concerning the situation of some workers who are obliged to work beyond the limits of daily working hours imposed by law and collective agreement, under threat of a penalty. The Committee recalls that this question is the subject of its comments on the application of the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1), and the Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30), and it therefore requests the Government to provide information in relation to the observations of the MSICG in the context of the application of these Conventions.

2. Plantations. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the observations of the Trade Union of Workers of Guatemala (UNSITRAGUA) concerning the case of enterprises that set production targets for their workers such that the workers, in order to earn the minimum wage, are obliged to work beyond ordinary working hours, with the overtime being unpaid. The Committee noted the establishment of a special high-level commission of labour inspectors responsible for carrying out unannounced visits to monitor worker/employer relations in these workplaces. Furthermore, an operational plan had been implemented in order to verify compliance with the government agreement fixing minimum wages for agricultural and non-agricultural activities (a plan covering agricultural undertaking, plantations and farms in the interior of the country). The plan established that the labour inspectorate was responsible for its execution and had to prepare a detailed report to the central authority on its outcome. In the absence of information from the Government, the Committee once again requests it to send information on the implementation of the action plan and the findings of the labour inspectorate after visits to monitor the obligation to work overtime.

Article 2(2)(c). Consent of prisoners for work for private entities. The Committee recalls that, under the Prisons Act (Decree No. 33-2006 of 7 September 2006), detainees have the right to perform a useful and remunerated job outside the prison for public or private enterprises. In the absence of information on this matter, the Committee once again requests the Government to specify how in practice the prisoners formally give their free and informed consent to work for private enterprises.