William Tejeda, brand new general secretary of the Union of Nestlé Workers of San Francisco de Macorís (SITRANESTLESF), spoke with Sirel about the union’s recent elections.

-How were the elections at SITRANESTLESF and what was the outcome?

-Last Jan. 29 we had elections for the union’s authorities, and two lists presented candidates: one was headed by Francis Tavera, who had already served as general secretary of our union; and the other was headed by me. I’ve also held the position of general secretary in two previous terms.

The union currently has 109 members, of which 107 were in attendance at the Assembly and voted; the other two sent an explanation in writing, giving personal or family reasons for their absence.

The Electoral Commission was formed by Juan de Dios Ortega, as chair, Bernabel Matos, as secretary, and Juan Ramón Durán (who no longer works at Nestlé), as third member.

-What was the outcome of the election?

-Our list won, with 82 votes, which is 79.6 percent of all votes. Our union still has direct representation --as opposed to proportional representation—and the majority we obtained gives our list full control of the steering committee. The members were immediately sworn in by the Electoral Commission, so I’ve already started my one-year term as general secretary of SITRANESTLESF.

-What tasks will the new steering committee be focusing on?

-We’re going through a very delicate situation in our country, with rising fuel prices, and the union has been participating in discussions and giving its opinion on this issue, because we feel the union needs to have an active role in Dominican society, in order to fight for improved conditions for all our people.

The first task we have ahead of us is re-launching our union’s education and training programs, as well as the Housing Plan, and reviving demands for the effective granting hundreds of pensions that private social security operators refuse to recognize.

Moreover, we have a benefits agreement with the company, in effect since 2009, which we have not been able to update. We’re hoping that with outside intervention from certain renowned Dominican personalities, whom we’re appealing to, we’ll be able to solve this in no time.

Our proposal is to contribute to the company’s management, steering it towards achieving welfare for everyone involved. Our aim is to make the company understand that their profit is obtained through the efforts of all its workers, and that we’re entitled to a greater share in those benefits.

-How is the relationship with the company?

-Last December we had a meeting with Nestlé’s Caribbean Direction, where we were promised that 2011 would be a year of highly peaceful labor relations and, above all, a year of high productivity for the company.

The union has taken on the responsibility --and we’ve discussed it with the workers-- of putting this company among the best in the country, but we also believe that that has to be done giving workers their fair share of the results of these efforts.

I would like to thank IUF Latin America for their ongoing support, and in particular Bernabel Matos, Gerardo and Patricia, and the entire team at the regional office.