On May 2, after a week of negotiations, the Sole Union of Workers of Industria Nacional de Refrescos SA (SUT-INARSA) signed a new collective bargaining agreement with Coca-Cola FEMSA, which guarantees job stability and significant economic improvements for workers.

Negotiations were held under a climate of mutual respect, allowing the bargaining committees to move forward smoothly and reach an agreement quickly on the 74 clauses that make up the new agreement, which will have a term of two years, as of May 4 last.

“At first we were a little uncertain over how Coca-Cola FEMSA’s bargaining committee would react to our demands. But as we progressed in the bargaining process we realized that conditions were ripe for reaching a satisfactory agreement,” Daniel Reyes, general secretary of SUT-INARSA, told Sirel.

According to Reyes, in addition to having succeeded in the main goal of securing job stability for the workers, in the economic clauses the union’s bargaining committee obtained a raise of 20 percent in average.

The union was also able to obtain paid meals, work uniforms, transport fare, and eyeglasses for the workers, as well as significant increases in the retirement benefits for workers with over 22 years on the job, in the assistance provided in the event of family death, and in health benefits, among other issues.

Last march, the union and Coca-Cola FEMSA had negotiated and signed a wage revision, which included a 7.5 percent general raise for all areas, an improvement in commissions, and a reclassification of positions and posts in the Production area.

“I want to congratulate our bargaining committee for its success in guaranteeing job stability in the company, and securing substantial improvements in economic terms.”

“Now we are going to start discussions with the company on other issues we did not want to include in the collective bargaining process, such as reducing the number of outsourced workers, restructuring routes, and improving working conditions in the Production and Sales areas.”

“Investment is needed for new equipment in the line production and for the purchase of delivery vans and trucks,” Reyes added.

According to the general secretary of SUT-INARSA, in recent years the number of outsourced personnel has been reduced by 50 percent. There are currently some 180 outsourced workers in the Sales, Operations and, to a lesser extent, Production areas.

The SUT-INARSA bargaining committee is presently conducting meetings by area to inform all union members of the details of the newly-signed collective bargaining agreement.

The company Industria Nacional de Refrescos SA (Coca-Cola FEMSA) employs 710 workers, 444 of whom are members of SUT-INARSA.

Lastly Daniel Reyes highlighted the support that the union has received from the IUF and the Latin American Federation of Coca-Cola Workers (FELATRAC), which, he said, “have been in permanent contact with us and were always ready to give us their full solidarity.”