IUF
Uniting Food, Farm and Hotel Workers World-Wide
Banana Strike in Colombia
Posted to the IUF website 25-May-2004Share this article.
THE IUF THANKS YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. HOWEVER NO ACTION ON YOUR PART IS NECESSARY.
THE FOURTEEN-DAY STRIKE ENDED IN UNION VICTORY. A NEW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT MEETS ALL THE UNION'S BASIC DEMANDS AND PRESERVES PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT FOR WORKERS IN THE SECTOR. FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE.
Faced with management demands to sub-contract and casualize labor in the banana plantations of Urab�, Colombia, the IUF-affiliated union SINTRAINAGRO voted on 13 May by a 99.3% majority of its members to strike if necessary to maintain union rights and conditions of employment. AUGURA, the Association of Banana Producers of Colombia, is demanding these changes, which would substantially weaken the union. Sub-contracted and casualized workers in Colombia have no rights to collective bargaining or union representation.
Sixteen thousand SINTRAINAGRO members launched the strike on May 26.
SINTRAINAGRO has played a vital role in re-establishing peace and civil society in Urab�-Antioquia, a rural province that has been ravaged by civil war. Many leaders and members of the union have been assassinated during this struggle. For that reason the union is requesting that messages be sent to the government of Colombia, demanding that it intervene to guarantee the right to collective bargaining and to union recognition in the face of AUGURA's intransigence.
We ask you to send a message in Spanish to the Colombian President and Minister of Social Protection that reads in translation:
In the face of the strike by banana workers belonging to SINTRAINAGRO in the Urab� region, we appeal to you and the government to seek means of dialogue and understanding that will permit collective bargaining between the parties and guarantee the survival of the Union.
Click here to send the message. Then click on envi� tu mensaje solidario. At the bottom of the page please insert your name (Nombre), City (Ciudad), Country (Pais), and e-mail address (E-mail). Finally click on Enviar to send.