In view of the information communicated by the Government and the trade unions of Guatemala and the short period of time elapsed since the 332nd Session of the Governing Body (March 2018), and taking note, on the one hand, of the considerable progress achieved, in particular in the establishment and functioning of the National Tripartite Committee on Labour Relations and Freedom of Association and, on the other hand, of the areas of the roadmap that still require urgent attention, on the recommendation of its Officers, the Governing Body:

(a) acknowledged the progress reached and urged the Government and the Guatemalan social partners, with the support of the International Organisation of Employers and the International Trade Union Confederation, and the technical assistance of the Office and of its representative in Guatemala, to continue the ongoing discussions with a view to submitting to the National Congress for approval a legislative proposal in full compliance with point 5 of the roadmap;

(b) urged the Government, together with the Guatemalan social partners, and with the technical assistance of the Office and of its representative in Guatemala, to continue to devote all the efforts and resources necessary to achieve the complete implementation of the other aspects of the national agreement aimed at settling the unresolved matters in the complaint and the roadmap;

(c) requested the Office to develop a comprehensive technical assistance programme to support the National Tripartite Committee on Labour Relations and Freedom of Association and help settle the unresolved matters;

(d) welcomed the agreement for a tripartite mission to observe progress and make recommendations with a view to ensuring that the commitment included in the roadmap, particularly the amendments to the Labour Code, are taken into consideration in accordance with the national tripartite agreement reached in November 2017;

(e) encouraged the international community to contribute to the abovementioned technical assistance programme by providing the necessary resources; and

(f) trusts that the required progress in all the areas above will allow closure at its 334th Session (October–November 2018) of the procedure initiated under article 26 of the ILO Constitution.

(GB.333/INS/4(Rev.), paragraph 38.)

Financial implications

The Governing Body decided that the cost of the tripartite mission, estimated at US$32,000, would be financed in the first instance from savings that might arise under Part I of the budget for 2018–19 or, failing that, through the use of the provision for unforeseen expenditure, in Part II. Should this subsequently prove impossible, the Director-General would propose alternative methods of financing at a later stage in the biennium.