Date of publication: October 31, 2008
Source: ITUC OnLine
Brussels, 31 October 2008 (ITUC OnLine): A delegation of Guatemalan
trade union representatives, including the General Secretaries of the
ITUC-affiliated CGTG and CUSG, is to take part in a mission organised by the International Trade Union Confederation. The mission, which will run from Monday 3 to Thursday 20 November and will visit various European member states, is a follow-up to the international trade union
conference held in Guatemala in January on "The Role of Trade Union
Organisations in the Fight against Impunity".
The delegation's mission is to request aid and cooperation from the
international community and European institutions. Aid is needed by the
government of President Colom to strengthen its institutions, to
consolidate the rule of law, to bring an end to impunity and to
establish a tripartite dialogue - producing concrete results - between
the government, employers and unions. The success of this dialogue is
crucial to workers' free exercise of their basic rights.
The mission will also ask governments and the European Union to give
political support to the International Commission against Impunity in
Guatemala (set up following an agreement between the United Nations and
the Guatemalan government) so that it can investigate the parallel
groups acting inside and outside the Guatemalan State. These parallel
powers constitute an active threat to good governance by the Guatemalan
authorities.
Trade union rights are far from respected in this Latin American
country. Guatemala is one of the most dangerous countries in the world
for trade unionists. Corruption, drug trafficking and maras (criminal
youth gangs) affect the everyday lives of workers in Guatemala. It is
estimated that violence claims close to 6000 lives a year and that an
average of two women suffer violent deaths every day - the term
"feminicide" has become part of everyday language in Guatemala.
Guatemala also has one of the worst records, globally, as regards the
number of unresolved murder cases. It is against this background that
Pedro Zamora, General Secretary of the Guatemalan Port Workers' Union,
was murdered, whilst heading a campaign against the privatisation,
without worker consultation, of Puerto Quetzal. Zamora's case has become emblematic, but it is far from isolated. "The fight against impunity and organised crime is the fight of all," said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder. "The international community and the European Union must do everything in their power to end impunity," he added.
The delegation will go to the headquarters of the European Union in
Brussels before travelling on to London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin,
Copenhagen, Amsterdam and, finally, Geneva.
Manuela Chavez, ITUC coordinator of the mission, tel. + 32 487 36 69 74
Manuela.chavez@ituc-csi.org [1]
The ITUC represents 168 million workers in 155 countries and territories
and has 311 national affiliates. http://www.ituc-csi.org [2]
http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI [3]
For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on the
following numbers: +32 2 224 0204 or +32 476 621 018.