U.S. files labor rights complaint against Guatemala

[Omaha Steve]

http://peoplesworld.org/u-s-files-labor-rights-complaint-against-guatemala/

by: Pepe Lozano August 6 2010

The Obama administration filed a complaint against Guatemala last week over its lack of labor rights. The complaint, using provisions of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), is the first time Washington has pursued such a case against a free-trade partner.

"With this case, we are sending a strong message that our trading partners must protect their own workers, that the Obama administration will not tolerate labor violations that place U.S. workers at a disadvantage," U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk told steelworkers in Pennsylvania.



Kirk said the U.S. was "very concerned" that the problem of labor-related violence was becoming "increasingly serious" in Guatemala.

Last year, the International Trade Union Confederation named Guatemala the second most dangerous country for trade unionists after Colombia. In 2009, 16 labor leaders were killed in Guatemala.

A democratic government was restored to Guatemala in 1996 after a peace accord that ended nearly 20 years of civil war, but the government has remained divided and weak.

In April 2008, the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan worker organizations filed a public submission under CAFTA alleging the Guatemalan government violated its labor commitments, including failing to effectively enforce its labor laws.

FULL story at link.

[OrwellwasRight]

1. This is historic!

the US has never brought a labor case in the history if our FTAs. Of course, it might be a calculated move to buy union support for the Korea, Colombia, and Panama agreements, but what the heck. It's a great and overdue move.