Yesterday, Monday 19, a delegation of union representatives met with the Under-Secretary of Labor, requesting that the Labor Ministry contact Nestlé to discuss the eleven recent layoffs by the company in the Santo Domingo ice cream factory

As the Minister of Labor, José Ramón Fadul, was working outside Santo Domingo, the delegation formed by Francis Tadera, General Secretary of the Union of Workers of CODAL (SITRACODAL-Nestlé), located in San Francisco de Macorís, Sergido Castillo, President of the National Federation of Food, Hotel, Beverages and Tobacco Industry Workers (FENTIAHBETA), Flaudio Tapia, General Secretary of the Nestlé Ice Cream Workers’ Union (SINTRANESTLED), and Ramón Durán, SITRACODAL Demands and Conflicts Secretary, met instead with the Under-Secretary of Labor, whom they asked to send a letter to Nestlé on behalf of the Ministry communicating the irregularities committed with recent dismissals. Today, Tuesday 20, the union demands will be considered by Minister Fadul.

In addition, yesterday the union representatives also had an internal meeting to discuss and adopt an Action Plan, which was launched with a press conference held this morning with the attendance of numerous media. At the conference, organized next to the National Council for Labor Unity (CNUS), the workers read the labor movement’s stand with respect to the unjustified dismissal of eleven workers victims of Tropical Storm Noel.

The Action Plan includes an activity for tomorrow, Wednesday 21, which will consist of the hanging of black bands and signs on the walls of the three Nestlé factories in the Dominican Republic, demanding the reinstatement of the fired workers and as a sign of mourning for the company’s insensitive and rash attitude.

Lastly, on Thursday 22,a mass mobilization will be held in front of Nestlé’s Santo Domingo offices, in support of the above demands. At the end of the mobilization, the trade unions will meet to conduct an evaluation and decide on the next steps to be taken in this conflict.