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Noboa Banana Workers Reinstated, Win Medical BenefitsNew Campaign BeginsDecember 16, 2002TAKE ACTION to support banana workers in Ecuador and the rest of the region! Send a postcard to President-elect Gutierrez: US/LEAP has already designed postcards addressed to President-elect
Gutierrez, which are available from its website at www.usleap.org/postcard.html.
Download, print, and fill out the postcards before sending them to: US/LEAP will collect the postcards, and send them to FENACLE so that
the union can personally present them to President-elect Gutierrez in
January 2003. New President Offers New OpportunitiesIn October 2002, Ecuador elected Lucio Gutierrez as the next president of the country. Gutierrez defeated Alvaro Noboa, the owner of the Noboa Corporation. Ecuadorian labor unions believe that President-elect Gutierrez will be more sympathetic to worker rights than either his predecessor or Alvaro Noboa. FENACLE and Banana Link have initiated an international campaign to send postcards to the President-elect to persuade him to respect worker rights in the banana industry. The campaign also aims to remove the obstacles from Ecuador's labor laws that block workers from organizing unions in the banana industry and in other sectors. The campaign is part of an international effort to let President-elect Gutierrez know that respect for worker rights in the Ecuadorian banana industry is a high priority for American and European consumers, especially because of the dismal standards that Ecuador is setting throughout the rest of the banana industry. Background to the StruggleAfter more than 11 months of harassment, firings, and two brutally violent attacks on striking workers, managements at the Los Álamos, Ecuador plantations met with representatives of the workers' union, FENACLE, on November 26, 2002. The Cliadi, Nero, and Beducorp managements -- which are subcontracting companies owned by the Noboa Corporation -- agreed to reinstate some of the fired workers, and register them to receive government health benefits. According to the deal, workers will be reinstated pending their joint approval by the union and respective management. Also, workers that do not wish to return would receive their severance pay. It was further agreed upon that current Los Álamos employees will receive health benefits through the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute, which was a key demand in the workers' struggle. Union organizing on the plantations -- where Noboa's Bonita brand is produced -- began in February 2002. And in early March, workers from Los Álamos petitioned the Ecuadorian Ministry of Labor to recognize their recently-formed union. In retaliation, Noboa management fired 124 workers, including several union leaders. It was not until late April that the Ministry of Labor recognized the three Los Álamos trade unions. According to Ecuadorian workers' organizations, however, three more union activists were reportedly illegally fired on May 2. Four days later, largely in response to the firings, the workers of the Los Álamos plantation group declared a strike. Then, on May 16, striking workers were attacked twice by armed thugs. Ten workers were shot, but only one was seriously injured. It is a measure of relief for the injured worker that the new agreement provides that, "though [management is] not responsible for the unfortunate accident," those most severely injured by the violent attacks in May 2002 will receive compensation for their medical expenses and back wages. In addition, when injured workers are again healthy, they will be permitted to return to work at the Los Álamos plantations. In the case of Mauro Romero who lost his leg in the attack, he will be ensured a job consistent with his physical capacity. In terms of meeting the workers' primary demands, the struggle against the Noboa Corporation has been largely unsuccessful. However, the campaign has succeeded in drawing international attention to the lack of worker rights in Ecuador's banana industry. Specifically, people are beginning to warn that Ecuador is leading a race to the bottom for banana workers throughout Latin America. Ecuador is the world's largest exporter of bananas, and yet less than 1 percent of its banana workers are unionized. By contrast, unionized banana workers in Colombia and throughout Central America typically earn significantly higher salaries in addition to health, housing, and education benefits. Therefore, Ecuador is setting a disastrous example that corporations can get away with sweatshop conditions in the fields: low pay, lack of union recognition or benefits, as well as intimidation, harassment, and violence directed at workers. WITH YOUR HELP, WE CAN STOP THIS RACE TO THE BOTTOM! JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN! The latest agreement reached in November 2002 followed an international campaign that included:
Two European organizations that focus on human rights in the banana sector, Banana Link and EUROBAN, also arranged a briefing for the European Parliament. Additionally, a number of delegations to Ecuador were organized, while representatives from the FENACLE union toured the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. The International Union of Foodworkers, the Campaign for Labor Rights, and other groups supported the campaign by sponsoring an international letter writing campaign that urged the Noboa Corporation to negotiate with the workers' union. For more detailed background information, visit the U.S./Labor in the Americas Project (US/LEAP) website www.usleap.org/Banana/bananatemp.html Information in this Labor Alert provided by the U.S./Labor Education in the Americas Project (US/LEAP) www.usleap.org |
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