A/HRC/13/33/Add.4 inflation.28 It is also worth noting that the minimum salary for workers in maquila factories is even lower than the minimum salary for other labour. 29. Apart from the areas in which it is insufficiently protective, labour legislation is often not fully implemented. The Labour Inspectorate, with a staff of 238 for the whole territory, is significantly under-resourced and hence unable to monitor compliance with labour legislation.29 In addition, it does not have the power to impose sanctions. The 1996 Agreement on Socio-Economic Aspects and the Agrarian Situation, as part of the Peace Agreements, provides for strengthening the Labour Inspectorate, and this should be treated as a priority.30 This is particularly important since a significant number of violent conflicts in the rural areas have their source in violations of labour rights which remain unremedied, and against which workers stage protests by occupying farmland. The Government could also consider treating violations of labour legislation as criminal offences, rather than merely as administrative offences, in order to ensure that the sanctions for violations will be truly effective and dissuasive. 30. While the failure to adequately monitor compliance with labour legislation is not new, it is now more urgent than ever, because of the gradual transition from the mozos colonos system (in which workers, mostly of Mayan origin, receive a combination of cash and a small plot of land for both housing and the cultivation of crops) towards a system of waged employment on large plantations. Indeed, in the context of industrialized agricultural methods and conversion to new crops, large landowners seek to redefine the borders of their finca and reconfirm their land titles. In this process, former mozos colonos become seasonal wage labourers, with no land of their own to cultivate food, and with no social protection whatsoever. Under these circumstances, the Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned that disproportionate force continues to be used against landless workers who resort to forms of protest against unpaid wages or other abuses that include the occupation of fincas. B. Mining 31. In his mission report, the previous Special Rapporteur expressed concern that the Law on Mining does not provide adequate protection for the rights of indigenous communities over their natural resources, including their rights to be consulted in accordance with International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 (1989) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.31 32. Given the concerns expressed by his predecessor, the Special Rapporteur was encouraged to learn that a discussion on amendments to the above-mentioned law is currently underway. This law, adopted by Congress in 1997, has been criticised for its preferential treatment of mining companies, as it provides for tax exemptions and the use of water free of charge. In addition, approval mechanisms for required environmental impact assessments are reportedly lenient. 33. The Special Rapporteur notes the debate on proposed amendments to the law in the context of the so-called High Level Commission composed of both Government and civil society representatives, established in 2006. He is also aware of the initiative by the 28 29 30 31 10 INCOPAS, “Informe de la sociedad civil: situación del derecho a la alimentación y otros derechos relativos en Guatemala”, September 2009, page 7. Ibid., page 3. Agreement on Socio-Economic Aspects and the Agrarian Situation, part III Land Situation and Rural Development, section H Labour Protection, para. 39 (c). E/CN.4/2006/44/Add.1, para. 28.