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When life is
at stake
IUF
International negotiations go beyond a mere agreement |
Guatemala Letter *
On a sunny
afternoon in Guatemala City a number of weeks ago armed men entered the
house of José Armando Palacios. On finding he was not at home, they tied up
his nine-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son.
Holding a
gun to the children's heads, they demanded to know the whereabouts of their
father. The children did not know.
They didn't
even know their father's crime until the armed men told them. "We are going
to get that son of a bitch for trade unionism and he is going to die."
José
Armando is a member of SITINCA, a joint trade union of workers of a
Coca-Cola bottling plant in the south of Guatemala and of a coffee
producer called Incasa. Since joining the union and becoming a particularly
active member - convincing other workers to join and, at times, putting a
stop to the production line in a factory when a worker's rights had been
violated - he has been subject to threats, an attempt on his life and the
visit of armed men to his house.
When this
strategy of intimidation failed to dissuade him from his union activities,
the company simply fired him.
When he
asked for an explanation, the company told him they just did not like him.
He, along with 10 other dismissed workers and union members, is currently
fighting to be reappointed.
In
Guatemala, only 1.7 per cent of workers are affiliated to a union. Those who
are, like José Armando, find that in their struggle to defend workers'
rights, they are putting not only their jobs at risk, but also their lives
and those of their families.
Despite the
signing of peace accords in 1996, which brought an end to the country's
36-year civil war in which thousands of social activists were "disappeared"
and many more were forced into exile, little has changed for the trade union
movement. According to some, the situation has worsened.
"On one
hand the threats and persecution against us continue today and while during
the civil war, when a trade unionist was killed you could blame the army and
the state, now when a trade unionist is killed the government simply
attributes it to common crime, allowing companies to act with total
impunity," explains Juan Francisco Orellana, secretary general of SITINCA,
"and then on the other hand there is the new union-bashing strategy of
companies with the rise of solidarismo, which has been extremely damaging
for the trade union movement."
Solidarismo
is a strategy used by companies throughout Central America to weaken the
union movement.
Employees
are invited by the company to join a form of workers' association offering a
range of facilities, including access to credit and regular parties. It does
not permit them to challenge the company on issues such as wages and working
conditions or allow collective bargaining.
The
International Labour Organisation (ILO) argues that it does not meet the
requirements of free association.
In the
Coca-Cola bottling plant here it has been extremely effective. The trade
union which at one point had 500 members has lost 398 of them to the
solidarista movement, some allegedly under threat of loss of their jobs, or
of the closure of the plant if their union activities continue.
Despite the
difficulties, José Armando and Juan Francisco remain resolute. "We are
continuing our fight, because we know that without a union organisation we
would lose all that we have gained in our struggle so far.
"Although
our gains have been small, for us it represents a 33-year long struggle for
workers' rights and dignity, and we can't afford to give it all up now
because of a little bit of fear," says Juan Francisco.
And there
is some hope. Earlier this year Coca-Cola issued a statement
following a meeting with the International Union of Food and Allied Workers
(IUF) in which it acknowledged that all Coca-Cola workers are allowed
to exercise their rights to union membership without pressure or
interference. The IUF is currently holding negotiations with the company to
change this statement into an international covenant. While Coca-Cola
headquarters in Atlanta may feel very far away for this small union at a
bottling plant in the south of Guatemala, if the firm agrees to create such
an international covenant it could change their lives.
And for
José Armando, it could actually save his life.
By
Fionuala Cregan
Novembre 1,
2005
* Published
by The Irish Times - Oct 14, 2005
