Guatemala Working Conditions

As I was reading the book, I found countless references to the low wages that the people of Honduras and other Central American countries are forced to live on (for instance on page 41) and I was curious if there were any laws regarding the wages of the workers in Honduras or if it were every man and company for himself. I looked at the Encyclopedia of the Nations, and found that the working conditions and wages in Honduras is horrendous. Back in the 1960's to 1980's workers were looked after, and Honduras was "the most heavily unionized country in Central America." In the 1990's, the unions declined, and now, whatever unions are left are ignored and harassed by companies. There are repeat cases of workers have gone to the government saying their employers fired them due to their involvement in unions, but nothing has been done about this as of yet. The minimum wage is the worst thing in my opinion. The lowest is $2.12 a day, and the highest is $3.47 a day. According to EN, "Even the highest minimum wage is insufficient to provide a standard of living over the poverty line." I find this terrible, that a country could take such little care of it's people. It's no wonder that 500,000 migrants cross the border every year. (howstuffworks.com)