Port Industry Update, Issue 6, April 2007

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Contents:

Section Update
Health and Safety
Industry trends
Americas & The Caribbean
Asia Pacific
Africa and Middle East
Europe

1. SECTION UPDATE

JUSTICE FOR PEDRO ZAMORA AND STEPQ, GUATEMALA

Pedro Zamora, former General Secretary of the ITF-affiliated Puerto Quetzal Dockers’ Union (STEPQ) in Guatemala was brutally murdered on 15th January 2007. He was ambushed as he collected his young sons from a hospital appointment. About 100 bullets were fired at his car, some 20 of which hit Pedro. According to several witnesses who saw his body, he had also been shot at close range in the head. Pedro’s 3-year-old son was grazed by a bullet in the attack. Subsequent to Pedro’s murder, five of the surviving leaders of the union and their families received death threats.

Pedro’s murder needs to been understood in the context of his and STEPQ’s struggle against ongoing trade union repression and intimidation in the Port of Quetzal, and the union’s campaign to be consulted on and involved in the future development of the port. The union tried to resolve these problems through dialogue with the port authority but it refused to cooperate. Consequently, STEPQ initiated industrial action in October 2006 and in the early hours of the morning of the 9th, 300 armed riot police occupied the port. Following continued industrial action backed up by international protests coordinated by the ITF, the government indicated that it was ready to come to the negotiating table. On 10 January 2007, the union’s Executive Committee participated in a meeting at the Congress of the Republic in Guatemala City. The union was informed at this meeting that 9 dockers unfairly dismissed by the Port of Quetzal in October 2006 would be reinstated, allegedly against the wishes of the port authorities. A dark-coloured Toyota Yarcel was reported to have followed the union members as they drove away from the meeting. From that date until his death, Pedro told his colleagues that he was followed every day.

The ITF launched a global campaign for Justice for Pedro Zamora - ‘no a la impunidad’ - calling on unions worldwide to help it put pressure on the Guatemalan authorities to ensure that Pedro’s killers were brought to justice, and to protect the five STEPQ leaders. A high level delegation comprising ITF officials; a Venezuelan Deputy (Member of Parliament); ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) representatives; and Spanish, Guatemalan, El Salvadorean and US trade unionists also travelled to Guatemala to make these demands.

Since then, the campaign has gained momentum and made a number of gains including: 1) Nine union members who were dismissed on 10 October 2006 for taking part in legitimate trade union activities during the dispute at Puerto Quetzal have finally been reinstated. The reinstatement of the nine workers had been one of the demands of the ITF/ITUC delegation to Guatemala; 2) A representative of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) has given an assurance that it will not give money to projects in Puerto Quetzal until it has investigated the allegations of human rights abuses. CABEI, which has members in Spain and Latin America, is a potential source of funding for port restructuring projects in Guatemala; 3) The World Bank country manager for Guatemala has recognised the importance of involving the union, which represents the majority of Puerto Quetzal workers, in any future talks on port restructuring thereby strengthening the union's right to be consulted. She also assured the union that she would raise the issue with the Guatemalan authorities; 4) US Congressman George Miller, a Democrat from California, has sponsored a sign-on letter which was sent on 7th March to all other United States Congressional offices for signature. Calling for international condemnation of Pedro Zamora’s assassination, for protection of STEPQ leaders and for trade union rights, Millers’ letter states that: “many of the critics of the CAFTA agreement were concerned that businesses in Central America would compete for foreign investment and jobs because of relatively low wages and violations of workers' right to organize. Regrettably, the labor rights regulations in Chapter 16 of the agreement simply require governments to implement their existing labor laws with no recourse to address broader human and labor rights violations. The threats against Mr. Zamora would constitute one such violation. His killing, if connected to his labor activity, constitutes another”; 5) The ETF is also supporting the campaign by lobbying the European Union (EU) as it supplies a significant share of the budget for improving justice and security under the Guatemalan government's development programme 'Vamos Guatemala'. In addition, the EU is a major donor in relation to other elements of the programme on human rights, the peace process, and dialogue and democracy. In mid-March, the ETF set up a series of important and highly successful meetings between one of the leaders of STEPQ, Oscar Gonzalez, and key MEPs. The European Parliament passed a joint resolution on Guatemala on 15 March during its plenary session. The resolution referred to recent shocking cases of murders and human rights abuses, and following lobbying by the ETF, Pedro Zamora’s murder was given special mention. The resolution was supported by all political groups. Follow-up steps include a European delegation to Guatemala in April and May, during which further contacts with STEPQ would be made. In addition, the Subcommittee on Human Rights expects to host a hearing on Guatemala, to which Guatemalan trade unionists would be invited with a view to further exchange of information; and 6) Oscar also had a series of successful meetings with Spanish politicians that were organised by Spanish affiliates, CC.OO and UGT.

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