Upon not reaching an agreement in the conciliation stage during negotiations for the Collective Bargaining Agreement, in a meeting convened last December 1^st by the union, workers decided to call a strike that was to start on December 14 and continue for an indefinite period. However, one last meeting between the workers and management was still pending. This meeting was held last Thursday the 7^th and in it the Union of Brewery Workers of Backus & Johnston secured management’s approval of some of the key points in the Agreement, such as a general raise and the equalization of wages, among others.

In conversation with Sirel, Raúl Acerro, general secretary of the Union of Brewery Workers of Backus & Johnston, gave details of the agreement achieved.

We have reached an agreement with the company.  We will continue our negotiations about some of our claims

We obtained a general raise of 4 soles (1.24 dollars), effective from September 15 to April 31, and those who earned less will receive an increase of 4.5 soles starting on April 1^st. In addition, workers at the Chiclayo plant will receive a raise of 5 soles, workers at the Trujillo plant a 3 soles raise, and those at the Lima plant will obtain a 4 soles raise, as a way to equalize wages. Moreover, an additional increase by shift will be effective as of September 15, which will mean a 3 soles raise for the second shift and a 4 soles raise for the third shift.

“The achievements in terms of dependency allowance –Acerro continued– were as follows: the spouse allowance is increased by 8 soles, the child benefit by 5 soles, and, in addition, the education grant provided annually will be increased by 140 soles (43 dollars). As this negotiation concluded amicably, each worker will receive an extraordinary bonus of 1,500 soles (465 dollars) and the company has given its word that it will fully respect the workers’ rights and will not fire anyone,” he highlighted.

Explaining the company’s change in attitude, which until then had been intransigent, the general secretary said: “The international support was very important. The fact that an article published by Rel-UITA (see article) referred to the fatal accident suffered by a fellow worker hired under an outsourcing scheme at the Lima plant and this conflict’s connection with SabMiller’s Code of Ethics, were no doubt factors that influenced the negotiation. The company realized the importance of the international solidarity backing our workers and the specific actions taken in defense of labor rights.

We are truly grateful for the support provided by Rel-UITA in this instance, as we are usually powerless in such situations, because we don’t have the resources that management has, like the obvious support they receive from other employers: the owners of the media. We have few spaces to speak out in and this is, without a doubt, one of them,” he concluded.

In Montevideo, Amalia Antúnez © Rel-UITA December 14, 2006