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   Honduras

EN DIÁLOGO

With José Rodríguez Vélez

Same employer,

same problems

    

In 2009, CABCorp (PepsiCo), announced an agreement with  PepsiAmericas, through which it took over the operations in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.

By means of this strategic alliance, both enterprises have carried out an exchange of shares: PepsiAmericas has obtained 18% of CABcorp shares, in exchange for all the shares of PepsiAmericas in those Caribbean countries.

 

The very well known CABCorp anti-unionism has taken the affiliated workers to the MSS (according to its abbreviation in Spanish, the United Labour Union Movement) from Puerto Rico, to seek contact with other union organizations of enterprises controlled by this transnational. To get to know the problems that the Puerto Rican CABcorp workers are facing, Sirel has dialogued with José Rodríguez Vélez, president of the MSS.

 

 

- Why is it that you and another MSS director, Israel Díaz, are in Honduras?

- When CABCorp acquired the shares of PepsiAmericas, we immediately tried to get in touch with other unions of enterprises controlled by the transnational.

 

We had a first contact with Rel-UITA (according to its abbreviation in Spanish, the International Union of Food workers in the Latin American Region) and then we got in touch with the STIBYS (according to its abbreviation in Spanish, the Union of Beverage Industry and Allied Workers).

 

We are now in Honduras to exchange experiences and information, because we know that we have the same employer and, thus, the same problems.

 

- What kind of problems do you have with CABCorp in Puerto Rico?

-In March 2010 we signed an agreement and as the Management of the Enterprise has realized how strong the Union is, it has started to put pressure on us.

The key word is solidarity. Solidarity cannot remain abstract, it has to be put into action. The problems STIBYS may have ought to be our problems and viceversa.

 

The main problem that we are having is outsourcing. Outsourcing is a corporative policy of this transnational and both the STIBYS and the MSS, have to confront this antiunion policy.

 

- How many workers are outsourced in the plant in Puerto Rico?

-At present we are representing around 300 operators and in the last months CABCorp  has tried to outsource the delivery sector. Until now it has outsourced only six positions, but what worries us is that it has started a process that has to be stopped with our struggle.

 

- Are there any violations of the collective bargaining?

-CABCorp is implementing really severe sanctions to offenses committed and when there are free places, it prefers to give them to people from the outside because they give them less benefits than those stated in the collective bargaining.

 

Moreover, in October 2010, the Enterprise tried to change many conditions that we had negotiated and we are getting prepared for the strike.

Finally it retracted and this result was achieved by our determination and also because our demonstration was made known through an interview that Rel-UITA made to us.

 

-What is the importance of being here to exchange information and know the work that the STIBYS does?

- The key word is solidarity. Solidarity cannot remain abstract, it has to be put into action. The problems STIBYS may have ought to be our problems and viceversa.

 

My intention is to be able to disseminate in Puerto Rico what is happening in Honduras with the workers of CABCorp (PepsiCo) and protest when there are problems to put pressure on the employer. So that it knows we are united.

 

Besides, it is important that together with UITA we try to organize workers of the same transnational in other countries of the region. For us the unionism is a tool to have better life quality and working conditions.

 

- Are you interested in knowing in a deeper way what UITA does?

-One of the main objectives of our visit is to get to know UITA’s work, since in Puerto Rico we also represent workers of other industries that have to do with foods.

 

Porfirio Ponce (STIBYS), Mario García (STIBYS), Fernando Espinales (STIBYS), Javier Suazo (STIBYS), Israel Díaz (MSS), Marcial Cabrera (FUTATSCON - UITA), José Rodríguez (MSS)

En Tegucigalpa, Giorgio Trucchi

Rel-UITA

6 de junio de 2011

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: Giorgio Trucchi

 

 + INFO

 

 

  UITA - Secretaría Regional Latinoamericana - Montevideo - Uruguay

Wilson Ferreira Aldunate 1229 / 201 - Tel. (598 2) 900 7473 -  902 1048 -  Fax 903 0905