The company’s antiunion practices, its intransigent attitude and the appalling working conditions it subjects its workers are pushing SINTRAINAGRO to take radical union actions to pressure it.

 

The National Union of Agroindustry Workers of Colombia (SINTRAINAGRO) recently denounced the appalling working conditions at the banana plantation Finca El Dorado, owned by Inversiones Mancilla Ortiz, and management’s constant violation of the collective bargaining agreement.

 

Sirel spoke with SINTRAINAGRO president Guillermo Rivera, who reported that “the situation at Finca El Dorado has not changed since our communication last week: the company is still failing to observe minimum labor standards and is violating several clauses of the collective bargaining agreement.”

 

This banana plantation has a long history of violation of labor rights. It doesn’t pay social security benefits and calculates Sunday and holiday wages as it pleases.

 

According to Rivera, “right now, the workers, along with the union, are filing the corresponding complaints with the competent state bodies and making their situation known to national and international public opinion.”

 

We’re waiting for the deadline set by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, which is mediating in the conflict, to expire, and if there is no solution by the end of the week, we will bring activities to a standstill and occupy the plantation,” Rivera concluded