Ecuador: request for solidarity
bananas | 21.05.2002 12:23
APPEAL FROM FENACLE IN ECUADOR:
Guayaquil, May 16 2002
Two striking workers shot - Urgent solidarity needed
Private armed units have this morning shot two banana workers in Ecuador. The workers have been on a legal and non-violent strike at the plantation complex Los Alamos since May 6. Armed men broke through the gate and the picket line of the striking, unarmed workers, forcing their way into their private homes. They took 25 workers hostage, threatening to kill them. The workers were forced into a container, but other workers came to the rescue and stopped the truck from leaving the plantation. The hostages were freed by their colleagues. Two resisting workers were wounded by a shotgun, one of them was later taken to hospital where amputation of his leg couldn’t be avoided.
The armed units admit being paid by the company Noboa, owned by the presidential candidate, Alvaro Noboa. 1200 workers at Los Alamos are striking to achieve a first collective agreement.
The actual situation 6pm local time Thursday, was that the armed units occupy the main part of the plantation and neither the police nor the government have reacted in spite of several appeals from FENACLE, the national union federation seeking to organize banana workers. The union has asked for police protection of the striking workers for 10 days.
In the present situation, where Ecuadorian authorities accept violent company aggression, solidarity action from trade union and human rights organisations is urgently needed.
The most important action to protect the lives of the workers is to send international observers immediately, if possible.
FENACLE asks its allies to consider any kind of union action that can increase the pressure on the Noboa company, exporting the brand Bonita, to stop the violence and start negotiating to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. The striking workers have not received wages for weeks and are in urgent need of economic help. Contributions can be sent to the Fenacle
The armed attack against the strike is an attempt to suppress the young and growing union organizing in Ecuador, the worlds largest banana exporting country. The struggle for basic labour rights in Ecuador is decisive for the situation of all Latin American banana workers. Any possible support is needed within days as the situation is getting more difficult for the workers.
For more information, please contact Guillermo Touma, president of Fenacle:
Tel. (+593) 42414076
Fax. (+593) 42414077
On behalf of Guillermo Touma, Fenacle
Jesper Nielsen
SiD (General Workers Union in Denmark)
Regional office for Central America and the Caribbean
(Writing on behalf of Guillermo Touma, Fenacle, because he had to stay with the striking workers overnight)
Guayaquil, May 16 2002
Two striking workers shot - Urgent solidarity needed
Private armed units have this morning shot two banana workers in Ecuador. The workers have been on a legal and non-violent strike at the plantation complex Los Alamos since May 6. Armed men broke through the gate and the picket line of the striking, unarmed workers, forcing their way into their private homes. They took 25 workers hostage, threatening to kill them. The workers were forced into a container, but other workers came to the rescue and stopped the truck from leaving the plantation. The hostages were freed by their colleagues. Two resisting workers were wounded by a shotgun, one of them was later taken to hospital where amputation of his leg couldn’t be avoided.
The armed units admit being paid by the company Noboa, owned by the presidential candidate, Alvaro Noboa. 1200 workers at Los Alamos are striking to achieve a first collective agreement.
The actual situation 6pm local time Thursday, was that the armed units occupy the main part of the plantation and neither the police nor the government have reacted in spite of several appeals from FENACLE, the national union federation seeking to organize banana workers. The union has asked for police protection of the striking workers for 10 days.
In the present situation, where Ecuadorian authorities accept violent company aggression, solidarity action from trade union and human rights organisations is urgently needed.
The most important action to protect the lives of the workers is to send international observers immediately, if possible.
FENACLE asks its allies to consider any kind of union action that can increase the pressure on the Noboa company, exporting the brand Bonita, to stop the violence and start negotiating to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. The striking workers have not received wages for weeks and are in urgent need of economic help. Contributions can be sent to the Fenacle
The armed attack against the strike is an attempt to suppress the young and growing union organizing in Ecuador, the worlds largest banana exporting country. The struggle for basic labour rights in Ecuador is decisive for the situation of all Latin American banana workers. Any possible support is needed within days as the situation is getting more difficult for the workers.
For more information, please contact Guillermo Touma, president of Fenacle:
Tel. (+593) 42414076
Fax. (+593) 42414077
On behalf of Guillermo Touma, Fenacle
Jesper Nielsen
SiD (General Workers Union in Denmark)
Regional office for Central America and the Caribbean
(Writing on behalf of Guillermo Touma, Fenacle, because he had to stay with the striking workers overnight)
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