This significant
statement, which ratifies the terms of the
agreement reached in Guatemala, was signed
by Ed Potter, Global Labor Relations
Director at The Coca Cola Company, and Ron
Oswald, IUF General Secretary, and reads as
follows:
|
IUF and Coca-Cola joint memorandum in
relation to agreement reached on January 31,
2006 at INCASA Coca-Cola bottler in
Guatemala.
At the meeting between the IUF and Coca-Cola held in Atlanta
on October 20, 2006 both parties again took note of the agreement reached on
January 31, 2006 between INCASA (a local franchised bottler in Guatemala) and
SITINCA/FESTRAS (the IUF affiliate in Guatemala). This agreement guarantees
unions rights following a period of labour conflict (agreement attached as
annex).
Recognizing the importance of this agreement, coming as it
does after a sustained period of confrontation, the IUF and Coca-Cola have
agreed to maintain close contact with their respective local counterparts and to
take urgent action in the event there are allegations of any breach of the local
agreement. |
The need for this
ratification arose from the persistent and
severe violations of labor and union rights
by the bottler INCASA, despite the
agreements signed. The proposal to endorse
the January 2006 agreement was made in
Atlanta by David Morales, General Secretary
of FESTRAS, in representation of and backed
by Rel-UITA.
The next step will be for
INCASA to implement the agreements -without
tricks or hesitations-, under the vigilant
and committed watch of The Coca Cola Company
and the IUF who will guarantee their
enforcement.
According to recent
information provided by David Morales, these
new guidelines have not yet been heard by
the general manager of INCASA, Jaime Alberto
Osorio López, who last October 25 held a
meeting of “Solidarismo” in Huehuetenango to
discourage workers from joining the union,
while last Sunday 12 bonuses were
distributed to those who agreed to join the
“solidarismo” movement, an act which is
interpreted as a bribe aimed at keeping
workers out of the union.
Despite these continued
anomalies, the workers of SITINCA, the Trade
Union Federation of Food, Agroindustry and
Related Industry Workers of Guatemala (FESTRAS),
and Rel-UITA are still very confident that
the agreements ratified in Atlanta will soon
be fully in force in Guatemala and will be
legally applied in practice.
Rel-UITA welcomes the
commitment undertaken and will exert its
best and greatest efforts to keep watch and
ensure that it is fully implemented.
