El Salvador - Anti-union practices at the Salvadorian Institute for the Development of Women

In January 2018, various members of the USTTISDEMU (Unión Sindical de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras del Instituto Salvadoreño para el Desarrollo de la Mujer), the union representing workers at the Salvadorian Institute for the Development of Women, filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office against Vanda Pignato and Yanira Argueta, the president and the director of the Salvadorian Institute for the Development of Women, among others, for violating freedom of association and hindering freedom of assembly during 2017. The trade union has been denouncing these practices since 2016, but the situation remains unchanged. The members of the USTTISDEMU complained that their pay had been deducted for the work carried out to defend labour rights. They also denounced that employees had been transferred and disciplined, in violation of the legal provisions protecting trade union representatives and the right to freedom of association.