U.S. smacks Guatemala over worker rights

The United States accused Guatemala this week of failing to live up to the labor standards spelled out in the countries' trade agreement, pursuing a case that could lead to fines if Guatemala doesn't move to better protect its workers.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said he was moving ahead with the case in hopes that Guatemala, a partner of the U.S. in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, CAFTA, would make "concrete improvements" in enforcing labor laws already on its books.

"When CAFTA was signed, both parties promised to enforce their own labor laws and respect international labor standards. Unfortunately, this has not been the reality for Guatemala's workers," said Richard Trumka, president of the American AFL-CIO labor federation.

Source: Huffington Post