Violation of women’s rights in Guatemalan Maquilas

Trade unionists, workers and activists reported the constant violations of labour rights and precarious working conditions in the textile factories in tax-free industrial zones in Guatemala, known as maquiladoras or maquilas. There are currently 184 textile maquilas in this Central American country, 66 of which belong to South Korean investors. They employ a combined total of 70,000 people, 80 percent of whom are young women, according to a source with the Guatemalan Exporters Association’s (Agexport) Apparel and Textile Industry Commission (Vestex).

Yanis complained about the heavy workload and that her employers did not respect her legal right to breastfeeding breaks thus violating Guatemala’s labour code which grants nursing mothers the right to breastfeeding breaks and prohibits physical exertion for pregnant women.

Maquiladoras have been enjoying a tax-free status for 10 years under a law designed to foment the export assembly industry. The system enables corporations to cut their costs, including the costs of labour. Since the plants do not require heavy investment in infrastructure, if a problem arises, or when the 10-year tax-free period is coming to an end, they merely shut down and reopen in another industrial park with a new name, at no cost whatsoever.

The main complaints against these factories are the long (12 to 14 hour) working days, without breaks; non-payment of wages; the illegal practice of requiring applicants to take a pregnancy test; and violations of social security laws. There are also complaints of maltreatment of workers.

Ana María Monzón, working with the Centre for Human Rights Legal Action’s (CALDH), who took part in a study of maquilas carried out in several different industrial parks, said many of the workers, packed into poorly lit and ventilated factories, complained that they were not given water, to keep them from asking for permission to go to the bathroom and thus briefly stop working. There were also reports of discrimination against those workers who developed tendencies to form unions.

"There is a long list of trade unions that have been crushed in the maquilas. The right to organise is severely compromised in the sector," said Marco Vinicio Hernández, defender of workers’ rights in the Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos (Guatemala’s ombudsman’s office).

Although there are provisions of checking by a group of inspectors dedicated for this purpose, Hernández points out that the inspectors’ mandate was weak and that they did not act on complaints in a timely fashion, "because they are more on the side of the employers than the workers."

According to official statistics, 56 percent of Guatemala's population of 12.7 million lives below the poverty line, although non-governmental organisations (NGOs) put the proportion closer to 80 percent. Unemployment and illiteracy rates are high across the board, but are highest among native women. (Officially, 40 percent of the population is indigenous, although NGOs say the proportion is around 65 percent.)

The maquiladora industry has enabled many indigenous women to get away from domestic labour. In the factories, they earn the national minimum wage of 183 dollars a month, plus a 33 dollar bonus, which according to trade unionists, however, is not always paid.

"Maquilas are important for this country, given the lack of public policies aimed at generating jobs. That explains the tolerance of abuses," said Hernández, who complained about the lack of "adequate enforcement of labour rights."

A CALDH report says labour inspectors usually persuade women not to seek payment of the back pay that they are owed by their former employers, telling them it would require a lengthy, slow process and complicated paperwork. The inspectors also warn them that their names will be added to "black lists" that circulate among the companies, which will keep them from being hired again by any maquila.

The obstacles to union organising and black lists are not exclusive to Guatemala, as was made clear by representatives of NGOs from El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras in a Jul. 18 hearing on the issue in Washington, during the 128th session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

The activists addressing the hearing said inspectors draw up their reports based on interviews with the company owners, and that because the fines are not proportional to the violations of labour rights, the companies prefer simply to pay them rather than make reparations for the damages caused.

Because of the lack of adequate health and sanitary conditions, the women working in the maquilas often suffer from swelling of the feet and legs, hair loss, skin rashes, constant cold and flu symptoms, urinary infections and gastritis.

One frequent health risk is needles breaking off and poking through the workers’ fingers, said Monzón, who also said there have been cases of stimulants being given to workers, to keep them awake in order to meet production goals.

Some 20 textile factories closed their doors last year, "leaving the workers on the street without an income or right to unemployment coverage," Victoriano Zacarías, secretary-general of the National Workers Federation. And 10 have already closed so far this year, he added.

Every day at noon, the doors of the maquilas, which remain locked and closely guarded since 7:15 AM, open up and spew out hundreds of workers.

The street turns into a sea of humanity as the women try to find a spot in the shade to eat their lunches. They eat quickly, sitting on the ground. Many take advantage of the short lunch periods to visit the bathroom before returning to a long afternoon in front of their machines, which will end whenever their bosses let them go.

Released on: 14 August 2007
Resource: www.ipsnews.net