Letter from Buenos Aires

It’s not all sweets at Arcor Group

The dream of having the world at your hands has come true… for some, at least. Others, the vast majorities, continue to be left empty-handed.

To keep their profits constantly on the rise, transnational corporations lower their costs by shrinking salaries and providing increasingly precarious working conditions for their workers.

The transnational corporation Arcor began operating back in 1951, in the city of Arroyito, province of Cordoba, Argentina. By 2006 it had become the world’s leading candy producer, and today it owns 41 industrial plants distributed throughout five Latin American countries. While Arcor expands its share of a market that knows no borders, its workers are confined within the limits of casual labor, enjoying none of the economic benefits reaped by the transnational corporation.

More than 30 union leaders from Brazil, Argentina and Chile, gathered today for the Second International Workshop of Arcor Workers, have resolved to form the Latin American Coordinating Committee of Arcor Workers (COLTARCOR), which is born with the participation of 18 trade unions from three countries of the region.

The purpose of this Coordinating Committee is to launch a collective effort with the aim of creating the Latin American Federation of Arcor Workers, a space where these labor organizations can meet and look for new solutions based on what they know best: unity, solidarity, and joint struggle.

Buenos Aires, September 16, 2008