Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 395, June 2021

Case No 2768 (Guatemala) - Complaint date: 14-JAN-10 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body

1. 34. The Committee last examined this case, which concerns allegations of unilateral amendment by the authorities of the statutes of two trade unions and anti-union discrimination through the use of polygraph tests in hiring workers, at its October 2013 meeting [see 370th Report, paras 445–455]. On that occasion, the Committee once again requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the statutes of the two trade unions include the reference to their affiliation with the (new or original) Trade Union Federation of Workers of Guatemala (UNSITRAGUA) (recommendation (a)) and to inform it of the conclusions reached and actions taken by the authorities as a result of the reports of the use of polygraphs for anti-union purposes (recommendation (b)).
2. 35. With regard to recommendation (a), the Committee notes that, in its communication of 19 September 2019, the Government states that: (i) the trade unions concerned are entirely at liberty to include in their statutes their affiliation with another organization and always have the opportunity to amend their statutes in accordance with the law and the rules of procedure established under the statutes; (ii) the Union of Independent Traders of the Cahabón Municipal Market is inactive, as its last registration of an executive committee was in 2009; and (iii) the Trade Union of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences amended some aspects of its statutes in 2016 without including on that occasion a reference to its affiliation to the original or new UNSITRAGUA.
3. 36. The Committee duly notes these elements. In this respect, the Committee observes that: (i) in a previous examination of the case, it had noted the Government’s indication that the reference to the trade unions’ affiliation to UNSITRAGUA had been deleted from the statutes as the unions had not clearly indicated the federation with which they wished to be affiliated because there was a problem of two federations wishing to have the same name [see 363rd Report, para. 633]; (ii) in the interim, the Committee noted in the context of Case No. 2708 [see 392nd Report, para. 52] that the difficulties related to the existence of two federations wishing to have the same name had been resolved; (iii) the information provided by the Government shows that the two trade unions did not contact the Government again to specify which of the two organizations, that at the time were homonymous, they wished to be affiliated with; and (iv) the Government recognizes that the aforementioned trade unions are at liberty to affiliate themselves with the higher-level organizations of their choosing at any time. In the light of the foregoing elements, the Committee trusts that the Government will ensure that any application for registration of statutes containing references to affiliation with a higher-level organization is processed rapidly and without let or hindrance, in line with the autonomy that must be enjoyed by trade union organizations. The Committee will not continue its examination of this allegation.
4. 37. With regard to recommendation (b), the Committee notes that in the aforementioned communication, the Government states that in accordance with the Constitution and the legislation in force, use of polygraph testing in hiring workers is an act of labour discrimination and that the Labour Inspectorate is the body responsible for dealing with specific cases and taking appropriate action in this regard. Recalling that in its previous examinations of this case, the Committee expressed its fear that the use of polygraph tests during hiring interviews may lead to anti-union discrimination [see 363rd Report, para 640], the Committee welcomes the overall position expressed by the Government. The Committee trusts that the submission to the competent authorities of any situations involving the possible use of polygraph tests for anti-union purposes will result in the authorities promptly undertaking the corresponding investigations. In the light of the foregoing, the Committee will not continue its examination of this allegation.
5. 38. Observing that since the last examination of the case, the Committee has received no additional elements from the complainant organizations and having duly noted the information submitted by the Government, the Committee considers this case closed and will not pursue its examination.