Photo: In September 2024, Public Services International (PSI) condemned the murder of Ronaldo Gómez Godoy of the National Health Union of Guatemala.
Last year, Republica reported: “Guatemala will receive the visit of an international delegation [from August 19 to 23, 2025] as part of the follow-up to the roadmap on freedom of association. The mission is made up of representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). …The main objective [of the delegation] is to analyze progress, identify challenges and define priorities for action to strengthen freedom of association and collective bargaining in Guatemala.”
At that time, Prensa Latina also reported: “This [delegation] comes as a result of an invitation from the government [in March 2025] focused on freedom of association and collective bargaining, the president [Bernardo Arevalo] explained at a press conference… The Minister of Labor, Miriam Roquel, recalled that a complaint was filed against the State of Guatemala in 2012 for non-compliance with Convention 87 on freedom of association and protection of the right to organize. She explained that the complaint alleged the deaths and threats against leaders of various unions, as well as dismissals, and that a route was established the following year.”
LaHora.gt explains: “ILO Conventions 87 and 98 are pillars of freedom of association, establishing the fundamental rights of workers and employers to organize, form trade unions and bargain collectively.” Convention 87 relates to the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, while Convention 98 outlines the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining.
In the context of the delegation visit, Prensa Comunitaria also reported on the “persecution of agribusiness unions” in Guatemala.
Their article highlighted: “The most recent case is that of the Escuintla Banana Workers’ Union (SITRABE) on the Frutera del Pacífico plantations, part of the Agroamérica group. Since its formal establishment in June 2024, this union has faced a constant pattern of harassment: unjustified dismissals, arbitrary transfers, intimidation, surveillance, increased targets as punishment, and offers of money or promotions to break up the organization.”
Now, LaHora.gt reports: “In anticipation of the actions to be taken in 2026 by labor unions in Guatemala, the head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (Mintrab), Miriam Roquel, explained that the International Labor Organization (ILO) will deliver its analysis of the union situation by November.”
ITUC report
In the 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index: The World’s Worst Countries for Workers, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) documented: “Trade unionists were killed in five countries: Cameroon, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, and South Africa.”
That report further noted:
“Ronaldo Geovany Gómez Godoy, a member of the National Union of Health Workers of Guatemala (SNTSG), was killed on 23 September 2024 by hired assassins.
On 5 September, teacher René Sucup Morán, a union leader of Sindicato de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores de la Educación de Guatemala (STEG), was murdered by a hitman. The union had documented a series of attacks and intimidation against STEG leaders since May 2024, when it organised a nationwide campaign to demand meaningful collective bargaining negotiations.
On 15 June 2024, Anastacio Tzib Caal, a leader in the network of textile maquila unions in Guatemala, was gunned down. At the time of writing, no arrests had been made.”
Illustration: In 2025, ITUC graded Guatemala at Rating 5 NO GUARANTEE OF RIGHTS.
We continue to follow this.
