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Urgent Action: SITRAPETEN Union Members Evicted from Central Park
Solidaridad con Guatemala de Austria, Collectif Guatemala, Rompiendo el Silencio, NISGUA
12/23/2009

SITRAPETEN Unionists Evicted from Central Park

(sample letter below)

On December 10 and the night of December 11, members of the union SITRAPETEN were violently evicted from Central Park in Guatemala City. For the past 15 months, workers from the water bottling and distribution plant for Agua Pura Salvavidas, owned by the Castillo Brothers Corporation, have been living in an encampment set up in Central Park to protest their illegal dismissal in May 2008. The dismissal immediately followed the group's successful attempt to unionize.

Background:
In February 2007, a group of workers from the Peten distributor organized themselves to form a labor union and filed an application with the Ministry of Labor. The union was originally created to strengthen the bargaining position of the workers and their ability to ensure that their labor rights were upheld. In May 2008, after five rejected attempts, the union was oficially registered with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. According to union members, this delay was due to strong pressure exerted by the Castillo Brothers Corporation on the Ministry. The Peten distributor used the delay in order to liquidate the business and file for bankruptcy just four days before the SITRAPETEN union was ratified by the Ministry of Labor. The distributor was closed and its workers forced to sign contracts renouncing the union. While other workers were transferred to other plants and offered new contracts, those affliated with SITRAPETEN were all dismissed. In order to exert some form of pressure, the members of SITRAPETEN set up an encampment in front of the company's central offices.  After a lack of progress, they moved the encampment to Central Park, Guatemala City. For 15 months the group occupied a space in front of the National Palace in peaceful resistance, demanding justice in their labor case. During this period, members of SITRAPETEN were the victims of a series of threats and intimidations in addition to being subjected to pressure and company representatives' attempts to pay leaders to leave the union.

Recent Events:
On December 9, at 11:30pm, a municipal judge and members of the National Civil Police (PNC) arrived in Central Park to talk to SITRAPETEN members. The judge, who had no jurisdiction in the matter, announced that an eviction order had been issued. The eviction order was never actually presented, however several representatives of SITRAPETEN quoted the judge as mentioning ?verbal notification?. At the time, the unionists insisted that their constitutional rights to demonstrate and protest be respected and that a high level dialogue take place in order to settle the dispute.

The next day, the judge returned accompanied by one hundred riot police officers to forcibly carry out the eviction, which lasted about two hours. With support from the Municipal Transit Police, the PNC entered and removed all the belongings of the workers, who were attacked with tear gas to force them to abandon the site.

Members of SITRAPETEN, along with supporters, later returned to the area to continue their peaceful protest.  The riot police returned at 11:30pm to evict the group, again using tear gas on several people present, including members of the Human Rights Convergence. On the night of December 15, the union members tried to return to their spot in front of the National Palace, and were imediately surrounded by riot police who threatened to evict them once again.

An event in the plaza hosted by the television program ?la Academia?, produced by Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca, was used as the pretext for the eviction.

The excessive use of police personnel used to carry out an eviction of unionists demanding respect for labor rights is concerning.  For 19 months, members of SITRAPETEN have maintained their encampments without the necessary income to support themselves or their families.

After a dialogue with the Deputy Minister for Community Support from the Interior Ministry, it was agreed that the union members could return to the plaza, where the union members continue to live in a precarious situation.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals in Spanish or your own language to the Guatemalan authorities, with copies to the respective embassies (proposals attached):

*  Urging the government to respect SITRAPETEN members' right to protest, and to halt to any future eviction attempts.
*  Calling for a quick resolution in the labor case, as well as the issuance of orders to reinstate the union members by the corresponding authorities.
*  Calling for the payment of back wages to SITRAPETEN members, as well as payment of  compensation for damages suffered.
*  Calling for a thorough investigation of the role of the judge and the National Civil Police during the evictions.
*  Calling for immediate action by government agencies to ensure the safety of trade unionists and uphold their constitutional right to protest.
*  Calling for a thorough investigation into the anti-union policies of the Castillo Brothers Corporation.

SEND APPEALS TO:

Lic. Alvaro Colom
Presidente de la Republica
Casa Presidencial, 6a Avenida 4-18, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Telefax: (00502) 2221 4423 oder (00502) 2238 3579 

Lic. Jose Amilcar Velasquez Zarate
Fiscal General de la Republica y Jefe del Ministerio Publico
8a Avenida 10-67, Antiguo Edificio del Banco de los Trabajadores, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Telefax: (00502) 2411 9124 / (00502) 2411 9326 

Sr. Raul Antonio Velasquez Ramos
Ministro de Gobernacion
6a Avenida 13-71, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Telefax: (00502) 2413 8658 

Sr. Edgar Alfredo Rodriguez
Ministro de Trabajo y Prevision Social
7a avenida 3-33, zona 9, Edificio Empresarial
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala

SAMPLE LETTER

To the President of the Republic, Alvaro Colom; the Attorney General and Director of the Public Prosecutor's Office, Jose Amilcar Velasquez Zarate; the Home Secretary, Raul Antonio Velasquez Ramos; and the Ministry of Labor and Social Services, Edgar Alfredo Rodriguez.

I write to you regarding the violent eviction of members of the trade union SITRAPETEN from the Plaza de la Constitucion, which took place on the 10 and 11 December 2009. The eviction was carried out by the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC - National Civil Police) who were following the orders of the municipal judge, who doesn't have authority to give such orders in this case. During the eviction the precarious shelters of the trade unionists were destroyed, along with all of their personal possessions.

According to my sources, the trade unionists have been camping in the central square for 15 months as a peaceful form of protest, as is their constitutional right to do, following the violation of their labor rights by the distrubution company for Agua Salvavidas, property of the Corporacion Castillo Hermanos. Throughout this period the union members have been subject to a series of threats and intimidations, as well as ongoing attempts by company representatives to buyout union members. The relevant tribunals and the Ministry of Labor have taken time to resolve the different stages of the case, and have made decisions which favor the company, based on questionable arguments.

The recent eviction could be seen as a consequence of the delay to definitively resolve the labor case and the lack of compliance with the constitutional framework, above all with relation to trade union rights.  Equally concerning is the PNC's disproportionate use of violence during the eviction carried out with the Municipal Police Force. The eviction was ordered by the municipal judge, who was acting under political pressure and without jurisdiction in the case, which amounts to a clear abuse of authority. The confiscation of the personal possessions of the trade unionists has been reported to the public prosecutor's office as aggravated robbery.

For these reasons, we respectfully and attentively would like to request:

-          That the constitutional right of the members of SITRAPETEN be guaranteed and that there be no further attempt to evict the trade unionists.

-          That the courts timely and definitively resolve the labor case and rule in favour of the trade unionists' reinstallation.

-          That the payment of the lost wages of the trade unionists be paid and that they receive compensation for damages.

-          That the Ministerio Publico (Public Prosecutor) carries out an in-depth investigation into the criminal responsibility of the municipal judge and the National Civil Police in the evictions.

-          That the authorities take immediate measures to guarantee the security of the trade unionists and their families.

-          That an extensive investigation be carried out into the anti trade unionist policies used by the Corporacion Castillo Hermanos in their companies.

Yours sincerely, 
 

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