U.S. stirred by Guatemala labor rights

U.S. stirred by Guatemala labor rights    The U.S. government on Tuesday took the next step in a dispute regarding Guatemala's failure to enforce its labor laws by requesting the establishment of an arbitral panel under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).
   This is the first labor case the United States has ever brought under a trade agreement.
   'While Guatemala has taken some positive steps, its overall actions and proposals to date have been insufficient to address the apparent systemic failures. We need to see concrete actions to protect the rights of workers as agreed under our trade agreement, and we are prepared to act to obtain enforcement of those rights when and where necessary,' said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement.
   In April 2008, the AFL-CIO and six Guatemalan worker organizations filed a public submission under the CAFTA-DR alleging the Guatemalan government had violated its CAFTA-DR labor commitments by failing to effectively enforce its labor laws. After reviewing the submission, the U.S. Labor Department issued a public report finding significant weaknesses in Guatemala’s enforcement of its labor laws.
   In an attempt to resolve its concerns, the United States requested consultations under the CAFTA-DR labor chapter on July 30, 2010. Consultations were held in Guatemala in September and December 2010. The U.S. government then requested a meeting of the Free Trade Commission on May 16. The commission met June 7.
   'Intense work ensued to reach agreement on an adequate enforcement plan, but those efforts have not succeeded. The U.S. government is therefore now moving to the next step of formation of an arbitral panel,' said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.