> Things might be looking up, here's the latest.
> Yours,
> Joan
> U.S./Labor Education in the Americas Project
> P.O. Box 268-290
> Chicago, IL 60626
> 773-262-6502
> Fax: 773-262-6602
> usleapja at mindspring.com
>
> NEW LABOR MINISTER PUSHING DEL MONTE IN NEGOTIATIONS; POTENTIAL STRIKE
> AGAINST IMPUNITY WITH JUDGE CHANGE FALLS FLAT, GSP THREAT MAY STILL HOLD.
>
> February 23, 2000
>
> Earlier this month, Bandegua (the Del Monte subsidiary in Guatemala),
> the
> new Guatemalan Labor Minster, and other important actors sat down to
> discuss
> the case concerning Morales, Guatemala. This meeting is due to the
> international pressure on the company, U.S. pressure on the Guatemalan
> Government, and the efforts of the new Labor Minister in Guatemala, Juan
> Francisco Alfaro Mijangos, who began negotiating with the company in
> mid-January. The new Labor Minister was formerly the General Secretary of
> CUSG, the union confederation to which SITRABI is affiliated. It is yet
> to
> be seen what these negotiations will achieve. Continued pressure on the
> company is warranted, so stand by for a call to escalate the campaign if
> the
> conflict isn't settled shortly. In the meantime, requesting local
> produce
> managers to take Del Monte bananas off the shelves for two weeks to put
> pressure on the company is still requested.
> Meanwhile, the criminal case against the armed men who assaulted union
> members has not begun to protect the civil rights of the people of
> Morales.
> After the election of the new Guatemalan President, Alfonso Portillo, the
> Guatemalan Government has taken steps on the case. New judges have been
> assigned and additional charges have been filed, but it is unclear
> whether
> these developments represent real progress or are just intended to appear
> as
> progress. No one is behind bars, no one has been charged with the most
> serious crime of kidnapping, a thug is still reportedly operating one of
> Del
> Monte’s plantations, and the Guatemalan Government has done nothing to
> provide security for the workers remaining in Morales. The US Trade
> Representative has not yet announced whether or not it will put
> Guatemala’s
> Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits on probation because of
> the
> impunity enjoyed by the violent intimidators.
>
> Overview of the Criminal Case
>
> The criminal judge of Puerto Barrios, Edy Caceres, issued arrest
> warrants
> shortly before Christmas against just four of the roughly 200 people
> involved in the October 13 incident. However, the warrants charged the
> men
> with sedition, which seems to be a tactic by the government to give the
> appearance of action while not actually altering the circumstances.
> There
> is abundant evidence against these men for illegal detention of citizens,
> kidnapping, breaking and entering, theft of private property, and car
> jacking but there is no evidence that any of these men committed
> sedition.
> In early January, the Public Ministry reportedly asked for additional
> warrants which were again granted by Judge Edy Caceres with charges of
> sedition for which there is no evidence. In late January, another 5 men
> were issued arrest warrants and were called to court where they were
> given a
> bond of 30,000 Quetzales, or about US$3,900 each and released.
> The sporadic issue of arrest warrants and continued misplaced charges
> support the view that the Guatemalan courts are not using the correct
> application of the law to protect the safety and freedoms of the members
> of
> SITRABI and people of Morales. The historic impunity for labor and human
> rights violations is holding strong.
>
> Background Summary
>
> Last October, the banana union in Guatemala, SITRABI, planned to use
> their
> right to take 10 days of unpaid time off to protest the illegal firings
> of
> over 900 workers on the Del Monte plantations in Morales, Guatemala. The
> walk out was thwarted, however, when 200 men armed with high caliber and
> assault weapons surrounded union headquarters the night before the
> planned
> walk out. The armed men forced the five executive committee members and
> 20
> union members to call off the strike, resign from the union and the
> company,
> and flee from their homes under threat of death. The union leaders and
> their
> families are still in safe homes in Guatemala City.
>
> The illegal firings and violent retaliation have prompted a strong
> international reaction. The U.N. agency overseeing the peace process in
> Guatemala, MINUGUA, called the incident one of the most serious
> violations
> of human rights in post-war Guatemala and urged the government to
> investigate and arrest those responsible.
>
> In late December, US/LEAP reported a link between Fresh Del Monte Produce
> and the violent intimidation of its workers in Guatemala. According to
> sworn testimony provided to the Guatemalan national police, the chief of
> security for Del Monte=s Guatemalan subsidiary, Bandegua, was one of the
> 200
> armed men who forced the resignation of Del Monte union leaders at
> gunpoint
> in October. Despite the fact that an arrest warrant has been issued,
> sources say the security chief has been working on Del Monte=s Guatemalan
> plantations since October.
>
> Union leaders have also reported that the alleged “commander@ of the 200
> armed thugs, Mr. Obdulio Mendoza Matta, has been running one of Del
> Monte=s
> plantations previously worked by the ousted union. Mr. Mendoza has
> reportedly hired workers and supervises production at the Arapahoe
> plantation, one of the three plantations in the Bobos district of Morales
> that are at the center of the conflict between Fresh Del Monte and the
> union. “The company has apparently decided to reward those who forced its
> union leaders to resign at gunpoint and flee for their lives,” notes
> Enrique
> Villeda, the banana union=s Secretary of Conflicts.
>
> The Campaign
>
> As announced in previous alerts, an international campaign has been
> launched
> to pressure Del Monte to meet the workers= demand to negotiate a
> resolution
> with the union and to pressure the Guatemalan government to end the wall
> of
> impunity with regards to violence against trade unionists. DEL MONTE’S
> APPARENT INTEREST IN FINDING A RESOLUTION ONLY STRENGTHENS THE NEED FOR
> GRASSROOTS SUPPORT!
>
> Organizations involved in the international campaign include the
> Geneva-based International Union of Foodworkers, the AFL-CIO, members of
> the
> European Banana Action Network, the U.S./ Labor Education in the Americas
> Project, the Campaign for Labor Rights, Witness for Peace, NISGUA, and
> others.
>
> RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
>
> 1) Make a call to your local supermarkets and school cafeterias to see
> if
> they sell Del Monte bananas and ask any that do to stop stocking the
> bananas
> for two weeks to put pressure on the company. We encourage strengthening
> this request by mentioning organizational affiliations and the
> possibility
> of leafleting (if applicable, of course), but do not let the lack of
> these
> factors stop you from making a quick call. Please let us know if you
> participate in this action (so we know the level of the response) by
> contacting Joan Axthlem at US/LEAP at usleapja at mindspring.com or
> 772-262-6502.
>
> 2) Contact Fresh Del Monte Produce: Urge the company to negotiate a
> resolution with the union. Mr. Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Chief Executive
> Officer, Fresh Del Monte Produce, 800 Douglas Entrance, North Tower, 12th
> Floor, Coral Gables, FL 33134. Tel: 305-520-8400; Fax: 305-442-1059.
>
> 3) Contact the Guatemalan Embassy in Washington: Urge the government to
> take immediate action to prosecute those responsible for the violent
> intimidation of union leaders or risk losing US trade benefits.
> Ambassador
> William Stixrud, Embassy of the Republic of Guatemala, 2200 R St., N.W.,
> Washington, DC 20008. Tel: 202-745-4952; Fax: 202-745-1908; Email: (new!)
> info at guatemala-embassy.org