The Peruvian beer company Unión de Cervecerías Peruanas Backus y Johnston – controlled by the giant Anglo-South African SAB Millar – will experience a hard blow. Beer sales in Metropolitan Lima will be affected as a result of the 48-hour strike started today by workers of the firm San Ignacio SA, in charge of distribution and sales, where the union’s (SITRASANIGSA) general secretary was
laid-off last December 30th.

From 7 AM, San Ignacio’s workers arrived in their uniforms holding banners with the claims “stop arbitrary lay-offs”, and  “fair sales quotas”. They gathered at the Backus employees’ facilities located at Alameda de los Descalzos, an ancient promenade in Lima’s Rimac district, originally built by Viceroy Juan de Mendoza y Luna. One of Backus’ establishments has been operating nearby since 1879.

 Walter Lozada, the general secretary of the union (SITRASANIGSA) informed Sirel that they will be doing a sit-down at the entrance of Backus’ modern beer plant located in the Ate district, 14 kilometers east from the Lima’s Historic Center, in the lowlands of the Rimac valley.

According to the union leader, the stoppage will be affecting 60 sales districts in Lima, where each salesperson sells between one thousand and one thousand five hundred beer boxes daily, at an approximate cost of 11.60 US dollars per box. “This, multiplied by 2 days of will imply a considerable amount of income lost. This measure will also be a way to show the company that our work should be appreciated”.

He stated that, before the first month of the year ends, salespeople should pick up the bottles that were distributed to customers during the Christmas season, which were not charged for. The plant is in need for this, apart from the credits granted for year-end parties that should now be recovered.

When addressing his fellow-workers, Lozada said: “all workers should be entitled to express themselves freely, and nobody can oppose the freedom to unionize because that implies non-observance of national laws like Peru’s Political Constitution, and of ILO’s international regulations. Today, we have to make Backus/SABMiller see that its workers are united and will not be run roughshod over”.

“This is the first time that San Ignacio’s operators and salespeople – those who walk 10 to 14 hours daily in search of sales to fill the coffers of Backus/SABMiller,  and the ones actually in charge of ensuring the transnational corporation’s income – have come together to demand respect”, he said.

Lozada thanked IUF for accompanying the workers and for making their situation known.

Since its founding over 2 years ago, SITRASANIGSA has had to face anti-union policies in the company, which included lay-offs of union leaders and members as a clear demonstration of the corporation’s arrogance and disrespect towards the right of workers to unionize.