Workers' c ontributions to the fund would be increased to equivalent or greater than their employers'. The government estimates that the new pension system would provide most retired workers with a pension equivalent to 70 to 75 percent of their last wage. Worker organizations and many pensioners reject the proposed changes, and took to the streets October 22 and 23 to make their views known. Among other aspects of the proposed law, the groups ridicule the new retirement age noting that in Guatemala, the average worker dies well before 65. The workers are not alone in their criticisms.
Some economists say there is no reason to change the present system.
Women's Law Has Popular Support Guatemala City, October 24. More than 60 organizations and individuals signed a petition today calling on Congress to vote in favor of the Law for the Integral Dignifying and Promotion of Women and the Family, which seeks to enshrine in law international ly recognized women's rights. The bill, which has been before the House's Committee on Women, the Family and Minors for more than two months, seeks to incorporate into the Guatemalan legal corpus the minimum obligations regarding women that Guatemala has assumed in several internation al agreements and platforms. The international conventions are very large. And here in Guatemala, even though they've been ratifie d, they've never been complied with.