Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the comments of 25 August and 1 September 2003 by the Trade Union of Workers of Guatemala (UNSITRAGUA) on the application of the Convention.

Part II (Engagement and recruitment of migrant workers), Articles 5 to 19 of the Convention. Recalling its comments of 2001 on Convention No. 97, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that an ad hoc committee has been set up to ensure the protection of migrant workers and provide them with technical training. The Government adds that the abovementioned committee is currently in negotiations with representatives of the Governments of Canada and the United States with a view to obtaining temporary agricultural jobs in those two countries. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the activities of the above committee and to report on developments in the negotiations to obtain jobs abroad. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the engagement and recruitment of migrant workers, both national and foreign, and to indicate the number of these labour migrants, their working conditions and the types of plantations in which they are employed. The Committee notes that, according to UNSITRAGUA, the recruitment of temporary plantation workers is carried out as a rule by recruiters most of whom are not registered with or authorized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The recruiters look for workers in indigenous communities located far away from the places of employment, where the workers have no roots and so do not seek job stability. Furthermore, the workers are transported standing in the bodywork of trucks which are totally unsafe. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in response to these allegations and to indicate the number of recruitment agencies that have been approved and the number of persons recruited by them.

Part IV (Wages), Articles 24 to 35. The Committee notes that, according to UNSITRAGUA, there are instances in the banana sector of enterprises setting production targets for their workers which are remunerated by the minimum wage. Furthermore, the workers have to exceed the normal working day in order to meet the targets and obtain the minimum wage. If they fall short of the target (because they have worked at a normal pace and kept to the regular eight-hour working day), they are paid only for what they have produced and the wage they receive is lower than the statutory minimum wage rate.

UNSITRAGUA further alleges that in the sugar-cane plantations of the municipality of La Gomera (Escuintla), workers are made to work 13 hours a day for a wage of 6 quetzales per tonne of cut sugar cane. It alleges similar practices in the coffee plantations of San Pedro Necta (Huehuetenango), where for a 14-hour day workers are paid 10 quetzales per quintal of coffee harvested. Furthermore, in both the above cases the workers are not protected by the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security, are not provided with accommodation and are not paid for their weekly rest day. This is compounded by the recurrent practice of tampering with the scales used to weigh the coffee and the sugar cane in order to pay the workers even less.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information in response to the above allegations. It reminds the Government that, where the method for determining minimum wages is based essentially on piecework, great care must be taken to ensure that workers can earn enough to maintain an adequate standard of living and that their output (and hence their pay) is not unduly restricted by circumstances that are unrelated to their own efforts.

Drawing attention to its comments of 2003 on Convention No. 131, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the minimum wage rates applying to plantation workers, and to supply reports of labour inspections carried out in this sector to supervise compliance with minimum wages. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the number of plantation workers who are covered by statutory minimum wages and the number of those subject to minimum wages set by collective agreement.

Part V (Annual holidays with pay), Articles 36 to 42. The Committee notes that, according to UNSITRAGUA, many agricultural enterprises do not comply with the obligation to grant paid annual holidays, or fail to comply in full by counting non-working days in reckoning holiday due. Furthermore, in most cases the bonus created by the Government in Decree No. 37-2001 is excluded from the payment made for holidays. UNSITRAGUA further alleges that banana, cardamom, coffee and African palm plantations hire temporary workers or pay workers on a piece-rate basis in order to avoid paying holidays. The Committee requests the Government to respond to these allegations in its next report.

Part VII (Maternity protection), Articles 46 to 50. The Committee recalls its comments concerning Convention No. 103, and again expresses the hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to bring the legislation on maternity protection into full conformity with the provisions of the Convention, particularly regarding the mandatory nature of post-natal leave and the entitlement to cash benefits and medical care during maternity leave. The Committee notes that according to the Government, studies are being conducted with a view to extending maternity benefits to six regions in the interior of the country which at present have no such services. The Committee requests the Government to report on all developments in this area and to indicate any other measures adopted or envisaged to ensure maternity protection in plantations.

Parts IX and X (Right to organize and collective bargaining; freedom of association), Articles 54 to 70. Please refer to the Committee’s comments of 2003 on Conventions Nos. 98 and 87. The Committee recalls its comments of 2002 on Convention No. 141, in which it requested the Government to specify the manner in which policies and reforms were encouraged to facilitate the establishment of trade union organizations for all agricultural workers. The Committee hopes that the Government will respond to this point in its next report.

Part XI (Labour inspection), Articles 71 to 84. The Committee notes that the Labour Statistics Bulletin of 2000, published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, contains no information on labour inspection in plantations. It requests the Government to provide statistical information on inspections carried out in plantations, including contraventions of labour standards (for instance, working time, wages, health and safety and the employment of minors) and the penalties imposed. The Committee reminds the Government of its observations of 2002 on Conventions Nos. 81 and 129, particularly the comments made by two workers’ organizations on the status, duties and working conditions of labour inspectors. The Committee hopes that the Government will respond to these observations in its next report.

Part XII (Housing), Articles 85 to 88. The Committee notes that the Government has still not provided information on minimum standards and specifications of accommodation to be provided for plantation workers, as required by Article 86 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken or envisaged to bring the national legislation into full conformity with the provisions of the Convention in this respect.

Part XIII (Medical care), Articles 89 to 91. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided the information it requested in its previous comments concerning the medical assistance given to workers in plantation enterprises and work centres with more than ten but less than 25 employees. The Committee requests the Government to reply to this point and to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to encourage the provision of adequate medical services for plantation workers and their families.

Part IV of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information in its next report on the practical application of the Convention, for instance: (i) official studies on social and economic conditions in plantations; (ii) statistical information on the number of enterprises and workers covered by the Convention; (iii) copies of collective agreements applying in this sector; (iv) the number of workers’ and employers’ organizations in the sector, and any other information allowing the Committee to ascertain whether plantation workers enjoy living and working conditions that are consistent with the provisions of the Convention. Lastly, the Committee asks the Government to provide additional information showing the importance of the plantation sector to the national economy, for instance in terms of gross domestic product, exports or the economically active population.