New Report on Violence Against Guatemalan Workers

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) reported this week on the Guatemalan government's failure to ensure workers' right to form and join trade unions without the risk of punitive action and in some cases death.

Although Guatemala has ratified both ILO conventions on trade union rights, workers have continued to face punishment and discrimination. The ITUC report finds that this treatment is especially common on the banana plantations and the export processing zones, also called "maquiladoras." The banana sector has faced violent raids at different union headquarters and multiple union leaders have been assassinated or have disappeared.

Five trade unionists were assassinated in 2007 and the ITUC reports at least twelve in 2008 in a context of total impunity. The report also found discrimination of indigenous groups and women and an increasing problem with child labor