Starbucks financed an independent study of working conditions in the Guatemala coffee sector in 2000. The study was undertaken by the Commission for the Verification of Codes of Conduct (COVERCO) and released in February 2000. It reported extensive violations of labor law in the areas of wages, health care, and hours.
COVERCO conducted another report on living and working conditions on Guatemalan coffee plantations in March 2003.
These reports represent the most comprehensive surveys of coffee workers in Guatemala in the modern era. While no compehensive studies of working conditions of coffee workers in Guatemala have been released since 2003, there have been no significant improvements according to general and anecdotal observations.
Coffee Workers in Guatemala (2000): A Survey of Working and Living Conditions on Coffee Farms; 2-00
Coverco's Report (2003) on living and working conditions for women and children on coffee plantations in Guatemala. Sponsored by USAID; 3-03.
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