The Constitutional Court (CC) gave a legal setback to union leader Joviel Acevedo after declaring the unconstitutionality of some articles of the negotiation of the collective agreement signed between the Ministry of Education (Mineduc), during the government of Alejandro Giammattei, and the Guatemalan Education Workers Union (STEG).
The CC successfully resolved an action promoted by the Attorney General’s Office and eliminated from the collective agreement articles that recognized STEG’s powers related to the representation of teachers and consensus processes.
The resolution explains that the requirement for consensus within the Joint Board, based on its conciliatory nature and conceived as a mechanism for social dialogue and institutional cooperation, It cannot be interpreted in the sense that the educational policy or the administrative decisions of the Mineduc are subject to union consent.
It clarifies that consensus only applies within the framework of the conciliatory function, limited to specific labor conflicts.
The resolution affirms that the powers of direction, organization and decision-making over the public educational function continue to be exclusive and non-delegable to Mineduc, in accordance with article 154 of the Constitution.
Furthermore, mixed boards do not replace the state leadership, but rather promote harmonization between the collective interests of workers and the functions of public administration. In that sense, these boards operate as instruments of consensus that strengthen social participation within the framework of legality and the administrative hierarchy, without altering the constitutional distribution of powers.
Article 47 of the Collective Agreement on Working Conditions signed between the STEG and the Mineduc must be understood in the sense that the Joint Board only generates binding agreements for the parties involved in it and that the execution of what has been agreed is channeled through the corresponding administrative bodies, preserving the non-delegability of the public function and the supremacy of the constitutional order.
In this sense, the delegates of the parties can only resolve matters within their scope of competence. The agreements cannot contradict the Constitution or the law, and the execution of what has been agreed must necessarily be channeled through the competent administrative authorities.
Last May, the Union of Joviel Acevedo conditioned the withdrawal of the summons against Mineduc in exchange for negotiating and signing a new collective agreement.
The Mineduc and the STEG have maintained a legal battle that has led Acevedo to demonstrations and other actions.
Proof of this is that on May 28, the Mineduc handed over to the Pluripersonal Labor and Social Welfare Court for the Admission of Claims of the Department of Guatemala the file of 160 teachers to begin the dismissal process, after completing the administrative cycle within the institution.
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