Labor Dept. Review of Peru TPA Labor Violations Finds Formal Consultations Unnecessary

The U.S. Department of Labor "does not believe formal consultations are needed" in response to claims that the Peruvian government wasn't living up to labor provisions of the Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA), it said in an Aug. 30 report on the allegations. The review was initiated in response to allegations that the Government of Peru violated the PTPA Labor Chapter by failing to comply with the legal requirements for collective bargaining by denying the union’s request to submit their dispute to arbitration after a prolonged negotiation and conciliation process has failed to resolve the dispute. It was filed in December 2010 by a Peruvian union, the Sindicato Nacional de Unidad de Trabajadores de Superintendencia Nacional de Administración Tributaria.

While the Labor Department found Peru "failed to comply with the Collective Bargaining Law" by not beginning direct negotiations in 2008-2009 and 2010-2011, there was "important legal ambiguity during the period at issue prevents a finding" against Peru, it said. Also, Peru has made "significant progress in addressing the underlying issues" and continues to work closely with the U.S. on such issues, the Labor Department said.

(See ITT's Online Archives 11072562 for summary of initiation of the Labor Department's review.)