LABOUR RIGHTS INDEX 2022

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lri 2022 Country Profiles

Guatemala

Trade Union Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2022 (LRI 2022) is a de-jure index covering 135 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2022. The Index does not take into account COVID-19 related labour market measures in its scoring.

Guatemala’s overall score is 54 out of 100. The overall score for Guatemala is lower than the regional average observed across Latin America and The Caribbean (71). Within the Latin America and The Caribbean region, the highest score is observed for Paraguay (82.5).

Guatemala ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1952 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1952.

Labour Rights Index 2022

54/100

LRI Country Score

0/100

Trade Union Indicator

3.15 %

Trade union density rate (%)

- %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

5.38

SDG indicator 8.8.2

5

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

Violation

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

No

0

§102 (r), Constitution 1985; §215 Labour Code (Decree No. 1441); CEACR C87 Obs. 2021

A / B

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

No

0

§6, Constitution 1985; §38-56, Labour Code (Decree No. 1441); Decreto Numero 2-2012; USDOS CRHRP 2021

D

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0

§104 & 116, Constitution 1985; §239-244, Labour Code (Decree No. 1441); CEACR C87 Obs. 2021

B

Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?

No

0

§390(2) & 430 of the Penal Code No. 17-73; CEACR C87 Obs. 2021

A / B

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index 2022

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/  

Trade Union Indicator
The trade union indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100. 

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT. 

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT. 

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT. 

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March.  For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link. 

To find an ITUC affiliate in your country, please check the LINK:

Violations

National Labour Legislation / ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)
§215 of Labour Code (Decree No. 1441)

ARTICLE 215. *
Unions are classified by their nature into urban and peasant and into:
a) Unions, when they are made up of workers of the same profession or trade or, if they are employers, of the same
economic activity;
b) Company, when they are made up of workers from various professions or trades, who provide their services:
1. In the same company.2. In two or more equal companies.
c) Industrial, when they are made up of workers from various professions or trades who provide their services in companies of
the same industry and represent half plus one of the workers and/or entrepreneurs in that activity.
* Reformed by Article 7 of Decree Number 18-2001 of the Congress of the Republic.

CEACR C87 Obs. 2021

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that for many years it has been requesting the Government to take measures to:
-amend section 215(c) of the Labour Code, which requires a membership of “50 per cent plus one” of the workers in the sector to establish a sectoral trade union;
-amend sections 220 and 223 of the Labour Code, which establish the requirement to be of Guatemalan origin and to work in the relevant enterprise or economic activity to be eligible for election as a trade union leader;
-amend section 241 of the Labour Code, under the terms of which strikes have to be called by a majority of the workers and not by a majority of those casting votes;
-amend section 4(d), (e) and (g) of Decree No. 71-86, as amended by Legislative Decree No. 35-96 of 27 March 1996, which provides for the possibility of imposing compulsory arbitration in non-essential services and establishes other obstacles to the right to strike;
-amend sections 390(2) and 430 of the Penal Code and Decree No. 71-86, which establish labour, civil and criminal penalties in the event of a strike by public officials or workers in certain enterprises; and
-ensure that the various categories of public sector workers (hired under item 029 and other items of the budget) enjoy the guarantees afforded by the Convention.

Violations

US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021 (USDOS)
USDOS CRHRP 2021

The law provides for the right of workers, except for security force members, to form and join trade unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. The law, however, places some restrictions on these rights. For example, legal recognition of an industrywide union requires that the membership constitute a majority of the workers in an industry and restricts union leadership to citizens. Ministries and businesses are required to negotiate only with the largest union, as determined by annual membership. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer interference in union activities and requires employers to reinstate workers dismissed for organizing union activities. A strike must have the support of the majority of a company’s workforce. Workers are not restricted to membership in one union or one industry.

The president and cabinet may suspend any strike deemed gravely prejudicial to the country’s essential activities and public services. The government defined essential services more broadly than international standards, thus denying the right to strike to many public workers, such as those working in education, postal services, transport, and the production, transportation, and distribution of energy. Public employees may address grievances by means of conciliation for collective disputes and arbitration directly through the labor courts. For sectors considered essential, arbitration is compulsory if there is no agreement after 30 days of conciliation. In the maquila sector, employees organized work stoppages particularly around occupational health and safety issues and failure to pay workers during the pandemic; however, these work stoppages did not rise to the level of strikes as officially recognized by the government or labor rights NGOs. In September and October, there were work stoppages in Puerto Quetzal and Santo Tomas de Castillo ports. In the case of Puerto Tomas de Castillo, police used force to remove workers from blocking entrances to the factory as part of the work stoppage, and after the work stoppage several union leaders were fired.

The law prohibits employer retaliation against workers engaged in legal strikes. If authorities do not recognize a strike as legal, employers may suspend or terminate workers for absence without leave. A factory or business owner is not obligated to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement unless at least 25 percent of workers in the factory or business are union members and request negotiations. Once a strike occurs, companies are required to close during negotiations. Strikes were extremely rare, but work stoppages were common.

Violations

ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)
USDOS CRHRP 2021

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that for many years it has been requesting the Government to take measures to:
-amend section 215(c) of the Labour Code, which requires a membership of “50 per cent plus one” of the workers in the sector to establish a sectoral trade union;
-amend sections 220 and 223 of the Labour Code, which establish the requirement to be of Guatemalan origin and to work in the relevant enterprise or economic activity to be eligible for election as a trade union leader;
-amend section 241 of the Labour Code, under the terms of which strikes have to be called by a majority of the workers and not by a majority of those casting votes;
-amend section 4(d), (e) and (g) of Decree No. 71-86, as amended by Legislative Decree No. 35-96 of 27 March 1996, which provides for the possibility of imposing compulsory arbitration in non-essential services and establishes other obstacles to the right to strike;
-amend sections 390(2) and 430 of the Penal Code and Decree No. 71-86, which establish labour, civil and criminal penalties in the event of a strike by public officials or workers in certain enterprises; and
-ensure that the various categories of public sector workers (hired under item 029 and other items of the budget) enjoy the guarantees afforded by the Convention.

Violations

National Labour Legislation / ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)
§390(2) & 430 of the Penal Code No. 17-73

ACTIVITIES AGAINST THE INTERNAL SECURITY OF THE NATION

ARTICLE 390. They will be sanctioned with imprisonment from one to five years and a fine of
three hundred to three thousand quetzals, who:

1st. Propagate or promote by word or in writing, or any other means, doctrines that
tend to destroy, through violence, the political, social and legal organization of the
Nation.

2nd. Execute acts that have the purpose of sabotage and the destruction, paralysis or
disruption of companies that contribute to the economic development of the country, with the
purpose of harming national production, or important public utility services.

3rd. Help or contribute to finance the organization, development or execution of the
activities sanctioned in the preceding numbers.

4th. Maintain relations with foreign persons or associations, in order to receive
instructions or aid, of whatever nature, to carry out any of the
punishable acts contemplated in this article.

“COLLECTIVE ABANDONMENT OF FUNCTIONS, POSITIONS OR JOBS

ARTICLE 430. Officials, public employees, employees or dependents of
public service company, who collectively abandon their position, work or
service, will be punished with imprisonment from six months to two years.

If the abandonment produces damage to the public cause or in the case of bosses, promoters or
organizers of the collective abandonment, those responsible will be imposed twice the
indicated penalty.”

CEACR C87 Obs. 2021

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that for many years it has been requesting the Government to take measures to:
-amend section 215(c) of the Labour Code, which requires a membership of “50 per cent plus one” of the workers in the sector to establish a sectoral trade union;
-amend sections 220 and 223 of the Labour Code, which establish the requirement to be of Guatemalan origin and to work in the relevant enterprise or economic activity to be eligible for election as a trade union leader;
-amend section 241 of the Labour Code, under the terms of which strikes have to be called by a majority of the workers and not by a majority of those casting votes;
-amend section 4(d), (e) and (g) of Decree No. 71-86, as amended by Legislative Decree No. 35-96 of 27 March 1996, which provides for the possibility of imposing compulsory arbitration in non-essential services and establishes other obstacles to the right to strike;
-amend sections 390(2) and 430 of the Penal Code and Decree No. 71-86, which establish labour, civil and criminal penalties in the event of a strike by public officials or workers in certain enterprises; and
-ensure that the various categories of public sector workers (hired under item 029 and other items of the budget) enjoy the guarantees afforded by the Convention.