Interim Report - Report No 373, October 2014

Case No 2445 (Guatemala) - Complaint date: 31-AUG-05 - Closed

Allegations: Murders, threats and acts of violence against trade unionists and their families; anti-union dismissals and refusal by private enterprises and public institutions to comply with judicial reinstatement orders; harassment of trade unionists

1. 310. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2013 meeting, when it presented an interim report to the Governing Body [see 368th Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 318th Session (June 2013), paras 411–424].
2. 311. The Government provided partial observations in communications dated 4 and 8 July 2013 and 14 March and 7 and 25 May 2014.
3. 312. Guatemala has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 313. At its June 2013 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 368th Report, para. 424]:
   • (a) The Committee regrets that, despite the time that has elapsed since its last examination of the case, the Government has not sent observations on all the allegations pending from its examination of the case at its March 2010, March 2011 and June 2012 meetings. Emphasizing that some of the alleged events are extremely serious and occurred in 2004, the Committee urges the Government to send all the information requested without delay.
   • (b) With regard to the investigations into the murder of union official Mr Julio Raquec, the Committee urges the Government to take all necessary steps to identify the instigators and perpetrators of this murder and the motives for the crime and to ensure that the guilty parties are prosecuted and punished by the courts. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments.
   • (c) With regard to the situation of Mr Julio Raquec’s widow, the Committee expects that the Government will take the appropriate steps to guarantee her safety and that of her children.
   • (d) With regard to the death threats against members of the Trade Union Association of Itinerant Vendors of Antigua, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate steps to establish a protection mechanism for the persons who receive these threats and to institute an independent and expeditious judicial inquiry into these allegations without delay. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of these actions.
   • (e) As regards the allegations concerning the attempted murder of trade unionist Mr Marcos Álvarez Tzoc, the Committee once again requests the Government to keep it informed with respect to the enforcement of the penalty imposed by the ruling of the Court of Criminal Judgment and urges the Government to take immediate steps to establish a mechanism to protect Mr Marcos Álvarez Tzoc.
   • (f) As to the remaining allegations, in the absence of the Government’s observations, the Committee yet again reiterates its recommendations, which are reproduced below:
     • – the Committee once again requests the Government to communicate the outcome of the inquiries carried out by the national police and the Prosecutor General for Human Rights into the allegation concerning the selective surveillance and theft of laptop equipment belonging to Mr José E. Pinzón, Secretary-General of the CGTG;
     • – with regard to the alleged dismissal of workers at the El Tesoro Estate (municipality of Samayac) for submitting lists of claims during negotiations on a collective agreement, despite a judicial reinstatement order, the Committee again requests the trade union to which these trade unionists belong, to request the competent legal authority to implement the reinstatement order; and
     • – with regard to the alleged threats against the employees of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation who participated in a protest in front of the building against the constant abuse by the administration (according to the allegations, the General Directorate’s chief maintenance officer threatened that they would be reported and subsequently dismissed, if they were five minutes late back to work, and then took photographs of them) and with regard to the intimidation by security officers against the members outside the room where the union’s general assembly was to be held, the Committee regrets that the Government has not sent its observations and urges it to do so without delay.
   • (g) The Committee firmly expects that the commitments assumed by the Government in the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 26 March 2013 between the Government of Guatemala and the Workers’ group of the ILO Governing Body will be translated into actions and tangible results with respect to the allegations still pending in this case. The Committee urges the Government to inform it of the results of these actions as soon as possible.
   • (h) The Committee draws the Governing Body’s attention to the extreme seriousness and urgent nature of this case.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 314. In communications dated 7 and 25 May 2014, the Government sent information on the status of the investigations into the murder, on 28 November 2004, of Mr Julio Rolando Raquec Ishen, Secretary-General of the Trade Union Federation of Informal Workers. As noted in the previous communications sent by the Government in this regard and taken into consideration by the Committee during its last examination of the case, prior to the murder the victim’s widow was the target of extortion by gangs. It is indicated once again that the accounts given by eyewitnesses, especially the victim’s widow, made it possible to identify one of the suspects, whose identity was confirmed by another person who was allegedly passing by the scene of the crime; however, given the lack of cooperation from the widow, and in the absence of other evidence, it is not possible to prosecute the suspect, and for this reason the investigation is considered to have been exhausted, pending new lines of investigation. In a communication dated 30 July 2014, the Government sent the report of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) on the status of the investigations into the deaths of trade unionists in Guatemala, in which the CICIG provided an analysis of the investigations conducted by the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Guatemala into 56 of the 58 murders reported to the Committee on Freedom of Association, including the murder of Mr Julio Rolando Raquec Ishen. The CICIG report indicates that the motive for the crime was the victim’s resistance to extortion in the area in which he lived and that the case is under investigation.
2. 315. In a communication of 8 June 2013, the Government provides information supplied by the Metropolitan Prosecution Service of the Office of the Public Prosecutor regarding the theft of the portable computer equipment belonging to Mr José E. Pinzón, Secretary-General of the CGTG. The Metropolitan Prosecution Service indicates that, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 7-2011), considering that to date there is no evidence that would lead to a conviction of the individuals responsible for the crime, and that because of the time that has elapsed it is not possible to introduce any new evidence, the case has been set aside.
3. 316. In the communications referred to above, the Government also reports that, as of this year, the Office of the Public Prosecutor is participating in a working group set up by the Ministry of Labour involving representatives of the judiciary, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give effect to Convention No. 87, which involves resolving the crimes committed against trade unionists. The Government further indicates that it has engaged a group of investigators and support staff which, under the guidance of the relevant prosecution services and the Public Prosecutor, to speed up the investigation and resolution of such crimes.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 317. The Committee regrets that, despite the time that has elapsed since its last examination of the case, the Government has not sent observations on all the allegations pending from its examination of the case at its March 2010, March 2011, June 2012 and June 2013 meetings. Emphasizing that some of the alleged events are extremely serious and occurred in 2004, the Committee again urges the Government to send in the very near future all the information requested.
2. 318. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the investigations into the murder of trade union leader Mr Julio Rolando Raquec, which indicates once again that the motive for the crime could be the extortion of money suffered by the victim’s widow. The Committee also notes the report of the CICIG which analyses the investigations conducted by the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Guatemala into 56 of the 58 murders reported to the Committee on Freedom of Association, and which indicates that the motive for the murder of Mr Raquec was the victim’s resistance to extortion in the area in which he lived and that the case is under investigation.
3. 319. The Committee once again regrets that, despite the investigations having identified a suspect, they have not led to those responsible being prosecuted or punished. The Committee observes in particular that the Government makes no mention of the new efforts to obtain the cooperation of the eyewitnesses to the murder, even though in its last examination of the case it noted the Government’s indication that it hoped that a second eyewitness to the crime would cooperate in future. The Committee recalls that the absence of judgments against the guilty parties creates, in practice, a situation of impunity, which reinforces the climate of violence and insecurity, and which is extremely damaging to the exercise of trade union rights [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, fifth (revised) edition, para. 52]. The Committee emphasizes that it is essential in combating impunity for those who planned and carried out this murder and the motives of the crime to be clarified once and for all and for the perpetrators to be prosecuted and punished by the courts. In addition, the Committee deeply regrets that it has not received further observations from the Government with regard to the measures taken to ensure the safety of Ms Mérida Coy, the widow of Mr Julio Raquec, and that of her children. The Committee once again expects that, regardless of whether or not Ms Mérida Coy participates in the investigation into her husband’s murder, the Government will take, without delay, the appropriate measures to ensure her safety and that of her children. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments.
4. 320. With regard to the allegation concerning the selective surveillance and theft of portable computer equipment belonging to José E. Pinzón, Secretary-General of the CGTG, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government indicating that the Metropolitan Prosecution Service of the Office of the Public Prosecutor shelved the case relating to the theft of computer equipment because there is no evidence that would lead to the identification of the individuals responsible for the crime and because, given the long period of time that has elapsed, it was not possible to introduce any new evidence.
5. 321. With respect to the remaining allegations, in the absence of the Government’s observations, the Committee once again reiterates its previous recommendations, as reproduced in paragraph 4 of the present report.
6. 322. When it last examined this case, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that the Public Prosecution Services of Guatemala had decided to institute a high-level round table with the country’s main trade union federations to analyse cases of violence against trade unionists and of the signing on 26 March 2013 of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Guatemala and the Workers’ group of the ILO Governing Body, in which the Government of Guatemala undertook, among other things, to: institute independent and expeditious judicial inquiries as soon as possible to determine responsibilities and punish those who planned and carried out the murders of trade union members; and guarantee the safety of workers through effective measures to protect trade union members and leaders from violence and threats so that they can pursue their union activities. The Committee also notes the new information provided by the Government with regard to the engagement of a group of investigators and support staff by the Office of the Public Prosecutor to help speed up the investigation and resolution of crimes against trade unionists, as well as to the cooperation between the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the CICIG. While it welcomes this information, the Committee regrets, however, that the commitments and efforts mentioned have not been translated into tangible results with respect to the allegations still pending in this case. The Committee once again firmly expects that the commitments assumed by the Government in the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 26 March 2013, as well as the efforts made to implement it, will be translated into tangible results with respect to the allegations in this case. The Committee urges the Government to inform it of the outcome of these efforts without delay.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 323. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) With regard to the investigations into the murder of union leader Julio Raquec, the Committee once again urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to identify once and for all the instigators and perpetrators of this murder and the motives for the crime and to ensure that the guilty parties are prosecuted and punished by the courts. Additionally, the Committee once again expects the Government to take, without delay, the appropriate measures to guarantee the safety of Mr Julio Raquec’s widow and that of her children. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard.
   • (b) The Committee regrets that, despite the time that has elapsed since its last examination of the case, the Government has not sent observations on all the allegations pending from its examination of the case at its March 2010, March 2011, June 2012 and June 2013 meetings. Emphasizing that some of the alleged events are extremely serious and occurred in 2004, the Committee expects the Government to send all the information requested in the very near future. In this regard, the Committee once again reiterates the following recommendations:
     • – with regard to the death threats against members of the Trade Union Association of Itinerant Vendors of Antigua, the Committee once again urges the Government to take immediate steps to establish a protection mechanism for the persons who receive these threats and to institute an independent inquiry into these allegations without delay. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of these actions;
     • – with regard to the allegations concerning the attempted murder of trade unionist Marcos Álvarez Tzoc, the Committee once again requests the Government to keep it informed with respect to the enforcement of the penalty imposed by the ruling of the Court of Criminal Judgment and urges the Government to take immediate steps to establish a mechanism to protect Mr Marcos Álvarez Tzoc;
     • – with regard to the alleged dismissal of workers at the El Tesoro Estate (municipality of Samayac) for submitting lists of claims during negotiations on a collective agreement, despite a judicial reinstatement order, the Committee again requests the trade union to which these trade unionists belong to request the competent legal authority to implement the reinstatement order; and
     • – with regard to the alleged threats against the employees of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation who participated in a protest in front of the building against the constant abuse by the administration (according to the allegations, the General Directorate’s chief maintenance officer threatened that they would be reported and subsequently dismissed, if they were five minutes late back to work, and then took photographs of them) and with regard to the intimidation by security officers against the members outside the room where the union’s general assembly was to be held, the Committee regrets that the Government has not sent its observations and urges it to do so without delay.
   • (c) The Committee once again firmly expects that the commitments assumed by the Government in the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 26 March 2013 between the Government of Guatemala and the Workers’ group of the ILO Governing Body, as well as the efforts made to implement it, will be translated into tangible results with respect to the allegations still pending in this case. The Committee urges the Government to inform it of the outcome of these actions as soon as possible.
   • (d) The Committee draws the Governing Body’s special attention to the extreme seriousness and urgent nature of this case.