WTO Urged to Hold Guatemalan Government Accountable for Maquila Abuses

A WTO review of Guatemala's trade policies has prompted international labour
to spotlight that government's total failure to uphold freedom of
association and the right to bargain collectively.

In a letter to WTO General Secretary Mike Moore, the Brussels-based
International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) drew
attention to the notorious conflict at twin Korean-owned garment plants,
Choishin and Cimatextiles, which produce for export to the United States.

Last July, workers at the two plants attempted to organise workplace unions
under the umbrella of the union federation FESTRAS. Since then, actions by
management have included inciting non-union workers to commit violence, to
the point where the lives of union supporters may be at risk if they go to
work; failing to take disciplinary measures against workers guilty of such
violence; bribing workers to resign from the union or securing letters of
resignation from union members under duress; and threatening leaders with
blacklisting.

ITGLWF General Secretary Neil Kearney said that such gross violations of the
right to organise demonstrate clearly the need for a social dimension to
trade and the need to hold the government of Guatamala to account.

The WTOs monitoring mechanism is intended to encourage governments to
fulfill the commitments they have entered into at the WTO, including the
commitment of all members to respect core labour standards, which was
reaffirmed at the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Qatar. Mr. Kearney urged the
WTO to use this opportunity to put pressure on the government of Guatemala
to live up to that pledge.

The Choishin/Cimatextiles case also featured in a scathing report by the
International Confederation of Trade Unions, released to coincide with the
Trade Policy Review of Guatemala. The report condemns governmental apathy
and inaction in the face a worsening trend of harassment, violence and
murder against unions and their members.

Guatemalas maquila sector in particular is notorious for anti-union
behaviour, to such an extent that there are currently no collective
agreements between employers and any of the more than 80,000 workers in this
sector. It is common practice for factories to close down shortly after the
formation of a union, and move production elsewhere, says the ICFTU report.

The WTO Review is taking place from 16 to 18 January in Geneva.

The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation is an
International Trade Secretariat bringing together 225 affiliated
organisations in 110 countries with a combined membership of 10 million
workers.

For more information, contact: Neil Kearney (General Secretary) at
32/475932487 (mobile) or ITGLWF Secretariat at tel: 32/2/512.2606, fax:
32/2/512.0904 or office@itglwf.org

• 110 Trade Justice
• 116 Human Rights
• 204 Manufacturing