Since the discussion of the collective pact began, in February 2024, different legal actions have been presented: first, to lift the confidentiality of the draft of the document that is in negotiation; Then, to declare unconstitutional some articles of the current agreement; And now several amparos arise against the actions that the Union of Education Workers of Guatemala (Steg) carries out in protest of the decisions of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).
The National Civic Movement (MCN) presented in May 2024 an amparo in the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) so that the collective pact that is negotiated between the Steg and the MINEDUC out of public knowledge. A year later, in May of this year, the public hearing was carried out for the exhibition of arguments. Representatives of the organization and the Public Ministry participated in the event, while the Mineduc did not attend.
“It is a right of citizens to be able to have access to public information, to all kinds of information that is handled by the public administration, and of all state institutions,” said Pablo Guerra, Citizen Training Coordinator of the MCN.
On the other hand, in November, the movement presented to the CC an action of unconstitutionality against article 1 of the Ministerial Agreement that allowed to keep in reserve the content of the collective pact. The public hearing was also developed.
So far, None of the resources has been resolved. According to Guerra, this is worrisome because there is a risk that the negotiation between the Steg and the MINEDUC will first end.
“We know about the burden and judicial default in the Guatemala justice system, and that the processes are late, but they should be carried out with releasing, because there is a danger that we are left without matter,” he added, so they ask the Courts to resolve attached to law.
In demand for knowing what is negotiated in the collective pact of the Magisterium, also in May 2024, the lawyers Édgar Ortiz and Javier Urízar presented to the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) an amparo action to reveal said negotiation. This was denied, but in January of this year the CC resolved an appeal that revoked that decision and ordered the resource to meet again.
According to Ortiz, the main argument to request the amparo was that the collective pacts are of public interest, so it is not possible to declare the reservation of the information, and that article 30 of the Political Constitution recognizes the obligation that all acts of the administration are public, except military issues, diplomats of national security or sensitive information. On the other hand, article 35 recognizes the free expression, which also includes the freedom of information flow, he added.
“Although the CC orders the Supreme Court to know again the amparo we present, because initially they had suspended it – by procedural reasons, not in the background – we have found that, since January, the Supreme Court has not taken the slightest initiative to continue with this procedure. That speaks of the lack of interest that is to protect the basic rights of the Guatemalans,” said Ortiz.
In May 2024, President Bernardo Arévalo also sent a consultation to the CC on whether the negotiations were confidential, but it refrained from issuing an opinion, because the questions were not constitutional.
Against Class Suspension
While the resources filed so that the project of the Collective pact The magisterium is public, the negotiations between the Steg and the Mineduc continue every Wednesday. The articles that are there to be discussed are those that have an economic impact for the Ministry, as indicated by the minutes that are raised after each meeting, to which Free press It has had access.
One of those articles is related to the salary increase for teachers; However, the education authorities decided that the increase will be 5% as of June 1. In addition, they asked the Attorney General’s Office (PGN) to present to the CC an action of INCONSTITUTIONALITY AGAINST SEVEN ARTICLES of the pact that directly affect Mineduc rectory regarding educational public policy.
The union has been dissatisfied with these decisions and, since May 19, Lteachers affiliated with STEG are in permanent assembly. Since May 26, a group of trade unionists from different departments acampa in the Plaza de la Constitución, in Zone 1 capital. This affects students of 5,800 schools who have not received classes since then.
The fourth and fifth courts of the labor bouquet have granted provisional amparos in favor of the PGN, with which the Steg members are sought to return to the classrooms and depose the measures of fact.
Amparo actions were granted on June 3 and 4. The PGN presented, on June 9, a resource to meet the ordered in the amparos.
Anabella Giracca, Minister of Education, has said that, by not deposing the de facto measures, the teachers “breach” with the amparos that have been granted to return to teach. Until this June 10, andl MINEDUC had raised 5,632 disciplinary minutes to teachers that have not fulfilled their functions.
Reforms to the Law
Through a law initiative presented this June 12, the Seed bench seeks to reform the Law of Access to Public Information to prohibit the confidentiality of collective agreements of working conditions in the public sector.
It also seeks that there are sanctions for those who force or intimidate State workers to participate in mobilizations of a union nature.
In addition, the reform contemplates that information on payrolls, wages, bonds and emoluments perceived by employees and workers of the State is public.