Wednesday 7 August 2013

Act Now! Stop the destruction of trade union rights in Peru

A LabourStart Appeal by Eric Lee




Peru's new Civil Service Law aims to smash the power of the country's public sector unions. The law has already been passed by the country's Congress, and if it is approved by President Humala it will:

* remove the right of public sector unions to negotiate wages

* determine a model of union organisation in the sector

* allow for the implementation of reforms in the structure of employment and public services without any legislative consultation.

* deny the right to strike in essential sectors, without defining which sectors are 'essential'.

The Peruvian government is facing a growing movement of protests and strikes against corruption and poor pay in the country – it must not be allowed to shift the blame on to hard-working public sector workers.

If you believe that all workers have the right to independent unions and collective bargaining, please take a few seconds to send a message to demand that President Humala throws out the worst elements of this law.

PSI

Background


The unions’ National Committee, consisting of all the trade union confederations - CITE, CTE and UNASSE-, said that, despite its persistence, it has been unable to obtain any dialogue concerning  Art. 3 of ILO Convention 122 , neither with the Government nor the Congress, in order to reach some level of agreement.  The Committee places the responsibility for the lack of dialogue with the Government and Congress representatives. On 15 May, the National Assembly of Public Workers unanimously agreed to start a national state strike as of 29 May 2013.

The ILO sent its Technical Report to the government. It contained 136 specific observations regarding Draft No. 1846-2012-PE of the Civil Service Law, notifying that it did not abide by serious international conventions that protect the fundamental rights of workers who serve the state, and it permitted some regulatory aspects that can only be modified by Law. The fact that this contravenes national  labour and trade union commitments on FTAs, generated a string of international solidarity in the world and the inclusion of the Peruvian State in the Route of  Shame,  a campaign held during the  102nd ILO Conference in Geneva , Switzerland that brought together trade unions from around the world and included the deposit of a petition on the matter at the Peruvian embassy.

The national strike was resumed on 6 June in the city of Lima.

On 4 July, General Confederation of Workers of Peru - CGTP and State Confederations CITE, CTE and UNASE organised a National Day of action, when hundreds of thousands of workers took to the streets across the country to protest the law.

On 19 July, PSI sent a letter to the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala, denouncing restrictions on freedom of association imposed by law and requesting the repeal of the Law.  PSI welcomes the political will expressed by the Government for the installation of a dialogue process with the public sector trade unions

The General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) called for a march in Lima on 27 and 28 July to protest against the Civil Service Law. Hundreds of people marched from Plaza Dos de Mayo to the Congress.

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