December 2004
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Without An Effective Law, Security Companies Have The Green Light To Violate Labor Rights In Honduras
Very little has been written about security companies here in Honduras, and worse yet, very little about the labor rights violations that they have committed against their own security guards. In Honduras, despite the fact that in theory the Ministry of Labor looks out for the rights of the working class, security guards continue to have their right exploited as employees.
There are companies that get reprimanded for their treatment of workers, but this amounts to nothing more than subtle warnings. The whole world knows that this type of unjust treatment exists, but no one does anything to change the policies that have allowed for such labor terrorism to exist. These companies are allowed to get away with only paying their employees when they feel like it while imposing on them ridiculously, overwhelming work schedules.
One of the voices running throughout the corridors in the Ministry of Labor as well as the labor courts concerning this issue is that of the employees of Delta Security Services, although, no one seems to be listening. Delta started operating in Honduras in 1996, providing security services to a large number of State institutions and is considered one of the biggest security companies in the country. They also happen to be one of the companies with the most complaints presented against them by their employees citing labor rights violations.
And the work inspectors? This is the question asked by the ex-director of the Honduran National Institute of Agriculture (INAH), Anibal Delgado Fiallos, in an article she work for a national newspaper; "In the denounced cases they act with indignant submission, writing up legal documents to accommodate and please company owners. They humiliate the worker, putting him/her into a disadvantaged position when fired without just case, denying them their rights and compensation. Economic power when poorly used belittles the worker. The worst about this case is that the Ministry of Labor is aware of the situation and does nothing to change it; it remains silent, condoning the actions of these owners and company representatives that are made against their workers.
According to their testimonies, the biggest obstacle that the security guards in Tegucigalpa face is the lack of any Delta Security representative to whom they can bring their complaints. The flip side of this is that once an employee makes charges against the company in the Ministry of Labor, labor inspectors are forced to confront the same problem when trying to summon the company. Delta Security has lacked, for many years, a legal representative who can be summoned by the courts.
For the representative of the Second Labor Court in Tegucigalpa, Reina Solórzano, the legal representatives of security companies hide themselves from being summoned. This is becoming a growing norm that needs to change. These companies need to be given sound legal advice, someone recommending them to take every possible measure to revise periodically the charges that exist against them in order that they may be resolved.
Ex
trade-unionist says:
Labor Rights Violations Are Allowed By Government
There are many criticisms made about the Secretary of Labor, as well as about the labor laws that exist. When asked about the labor rights of the working class established in the Constitution of the Republic as well as the Code of Labor, the ex president of the Unitarian Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH), Oscar Rodriguez, started talking.
Rodriguez categorizes this dilemma as, "politics of a shifting government." There are many restrictions made against the working class. The laws that we have allow many rights that in practice restrict the worker.
In 1997, while Rodriguez was president of FUTH, he assisted a group of security guards from Wackenhut Private Security and another from Sistec Security Company who had their labor rights violated. The group's intent was to form two separate security guard trade unions.
According to Rodríguez, for 8 years the Federation knew of this group's application requesting approval to become an official trade union that was brought before the Ministry of Labor. Although the application was accepted, the union was never legally recognized nor were their rights validated. With time the group dissolved. Rodríguez says that all measures were taken to help this group become an official trade union, nevertheless, all efforts ended in vain.
The workers from Wackenhut, with the support of the Federation, presented all documentation and requirements necessary for inscription as a trade union, and yet were still unable to reach the outcome they were hoping for. In the end they were denied official status.
"The alternative is to fight for the rights that are now recognized by law. The immediate fight that we must confront is to not lose the little rights we have that currently exist," says Rodriguez, who is convinced that the contents of the Labor Code was mostly written to favor those in power. He stresses that there is a great need to fiercely defend the little written in favor of the workers.
Justice needs to be at the center of efforts for Reconciliation
In practice, the rights established in the Laborer Law must go hand in hand with justice, starting with the Secretary of Labor. The employees who work there impart and reiterate the assertions regarding the authorities of this Ministry, that this institution only takes on the role of reconciliation between the Capital and labor, not between companies and employees.
Gladis Lanza, coordinator of Women´s Committee for Peace as well as ex union worker from the National Electric Energy Company (NEEC), weighs a legal battle in defense of her worker´s rights since the early 90s when she was illegally fired from her position at NEEC at the same time that she was presiding over the trade union there.
"Yes, I know of cases within the Secretary of Labor that have not been investigated properly and because of this the workers lose precisely because there isn´t any interest on the part of this Ministry to do in-depth investigations, therefore, company owners keep winning these cases," says Lanza.
She adds that she knew of a case where women from a cleaning company were fired, "and in that situation the Ministry of Labor gave the women the amount that the company´s lawyer had suggested without fully investigating how much the company really owed these women. They accepted the estimate given by the company as correct, only looking at the details that the owner had given."
Lanza pointed out that the the Ministry of Labor does not have any position that focuses on the justice defense. The ministry only responds to what is literally written in the Law, but what they need to do is look at what is just or else what are we doing here? If justice is being look at according to the law, if the situation of the workers is being taken into consideration then the workers will not be at a disadvantage when confronting company owners.
Articles:
Interviews:
Selvin
Martinez
-Labor Inspector
Carlos Ayala
-Lawyer from
Secretary of Labor