Today, 16 March we are 35 hours into the hunger strike by Coca Cola workers in Colombia, for the defence of the right to work and against serious attacks by the multinational. Here is our information for national and international public opinion.

1. At 10.30 a.m. on 15 March (4 hours after the strike started), compañero Euripides Yance the President of the Barranquilla branch of SINALTRAINAL was threatened over the telephone. The caller intimidated those on hunger strike. This situation made us fold up the public tent at 6 p.m. and move the participants to the trade union headquarters in the city. Today our comrades have returned to the entrance of the Coca Cola plant, where they are continuing with the protest.

2. And on 15 March, from 6 a.m. the Ministry of Social Protection attended the Coke plants in Cúcuta and Bucaramanga, with the pretext of supposed strikes or illegal work stoppages. The officials returned to the Cúcuta plant at 7 a.m. under the same pretext. We are concerned with this interest by the Ministry of Social Protection in presumed work stoppages, since we have never announced that production will be halted.

3. Management at the Cúcuta and Bucaramanga leaves the plant gates open all the time; something which has never occurred before. This is strange, and it seems designed to allow access into the plants of persons hostile to the workers out to cause damage, creating difficulties for our protest which is being carried out in a peaceful manner. We do not forget that in the past strange people have come into the plant, leaving graffitti in the washrooms which were paramilitary threats against the union leaders.

4. The attitude of middle management in the plants has been to try and provoke the workers, trying to spread bad feeling against the hunger strikers who are staying there in tents.

5. During the morning hours of today, 16 March, two Toyota Prado vans with dark windows, one grey with number plate OBR 049 and the other white with number plate BOH 961, showed up at our protest in Cali. This happened several times, giving concern and upset to the hunger strikers. This situation has already been denounced to the authorities.

6. Compañero Eberth Suarez the President of the Cali branch of the union received threatening calls on his mobile phone this morning.

The above events worry us deeply, there could well be an attempt to destabilise the conflict; more especially since the corporation is being reluctant to talk with the workers.

Once again we denounce the pro-boss attitude of the Ministry of Social Protection that authorised the closure of 10 Coca Cola plants and the collective sacking of workers when this corporation is one of the most profitable in the country and the world. Government policy is contradictory in that it authorises the closure of profitable production whilst unemployment is growing in Colombia.

The corporation is substituting direct employees with exploited sub-contractors supplied through [so-called] associated work co-operatives and pimp labour supply agencies, so by-passing the collective work agreements.

Once again we demand that the corporation immediately respects the rights of its workers as protected in the national constitution and we seek a solution to this labour conflict.

Please send messages to:

COCA COLA FEMSA
Juan Manuel Arbelaez (Director de Recursos Humanos)
Armando Gómez (Jefe de Relaciones Laborales
Telefonos 2942800 y 4011413 fax. 4011687
 agomari@femsa.com.mx y  cocacola@hotmail.com

DEFENSORIA DEL PUEBLO
COLMAN PEREZ (Defensor del Pueblo)
GUSTAVO ROBAYO
Teléfonos: 3147300 y 5708331

MINISTERIO DE PROTECCIÓN SOCIAL
Dr. DIEGO PALACIO BETANCURT (Ministro)
Dra. LUZ STELLA VEIRA (Jefe de Unidad e Inspección)
Teléfonos: 3365066 y3410631 *

Yours sincerely,

EDGAR PÁEZ M.
National Executive
SINALTRAINAL - Colombia



* Colombia Solidarity Campaign adds:
And to Jose Nunez Cervera Coca Cola European Public Affairs e-mail  jnunezcervera@eur.ko.com

and Martin Norris, Communications Director, Coca-Cola, UK  mnorris@eur.ko.com


With copies to e-mails:  areainternacional@sinaltrainal.org;  StopKillerCoke@aol.com ;  colombia_sc@hotmail.com