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Mr. Afranio
Mancilla
Finca El Dorado
Apartadó
Colombia
Ref.: Alarming
labor situation at Finca El Dorado
Mister Mancilla,
We have been
informed by our affiliate, the National Union of
Agroindustry Workers of Colombia (SINTRAINAGRO),
of persistent problems at the banana plantation
Finca El Dorado of your property.
I am very well
acquainted with Urabá. My first direct contact
with the region was in 1995, when violent
illegal groups were massacring banana laborers
and unarmed civilians on a daily basis.
Today, those
groups are no longer terrorizing Urabá as they
did in the past. This victory over brutality was
achieved through the mobilization of the people,
who could no longer bear the violence that was
devastating families by the thousands and took a
stand.
These actions also
succeeded in eliminating certain practices that
poisoned labor relations and pitted the parties
against each other as enemies. In recent years,
SINTRAINAGRO and the association of
banana producers (AUGURA) have moved
forward together in an interesting collaboration
aimed at seeking solutions through social
dialogue, building on mutual respect and
tolerance.
Proof of this is the process
leading up to the signing of the last collective
bargaining agreement, where negotiation prevails
as the chosen method in contrast to the
confrontational strategy of the past.
In this current
state of affairs, it is surprising to see what
is happening at your plantation: not only is the
collective bargaining agreement being breached,
things have gone so far as to be a threat to the
workers’ HUMAN DIGNITY.
I do not need to
go into details here. You know very well what I
am referring to. I do, however, wish to warn
you, Mr. Mancilla, that if there are no
significant improvements in the way your workers
are treated and if the labor practices that
violate the collective bargaining agreement are
not changed, you will feel the full extent and
impact of the actions of our 391 organizations
distributed throughout 124 countries.
Sincerely yours,
Gerardo Iglesias
Regional Secretary
Managua, August 5,
20011
Cc:
President of the
Republic, Dr. Juan Manuel Santos
Vice President of
the Republic, Dr. Angelino Garzón
United Workers’
Federation (CUT)
Ministry of Social
Protection
Roberto Hoyos
Ruiz, President of AUGURA
Guillermo Rivera,
President of SINTRAINAGRO
International
Labour Organisation
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