On June 30, the Colombian Minister of Social Protection revoked the legal registration of Sintrasplendor, a trade union in the rapidly expanding flower industry in Colombia.
The union has 500 members who labour in sweatshop-style conditions with virtually no health and safety standards. An example of this is that workers had been calling for better transport to bring them to the factory, but in July of this year three people were killed, and many seriously injured in a bus accident caused by overcrowding on a bus that was clearly unfit to be on the road. What's more, workers complain of arbitrary dismissal, irregular pay, termination of contracts if workers are not well or fall pregnant, and absence of sick pay.
The workers are employed by Splendor Flowers, a company producing flowers for Dole, the largest fresh fruit company in the world, which controls one quarter of the global banana market. While Dole claims that it “respects the freedom of the individual worker to join the union of his or her choice” eighty workers at Splendor Flower were sacked for supporting the independent union. Later workers were told they could end up in jail for joining the union and that they would be sacked after the union was de-recognised again.
Sintrasplendor was formed last November, as a reaction to the company-sponsored “yellow” union which failed to protect and improve working standards. After Sintrasplendor won legal recognition last March, Splendor’s lawyer presented an appeal against the decision to the Colombian government, claiming that the union had been intimidating management. This appeal is believed to have an important bearing on the Colombian government decision to de-recognise the union.
Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist, with more union members assassinated there than are killed in the rest of the world combined.
The workers urgently need your help. Please respond quickly.
Click on the link below to send a postcard to the Colombian Minister for Social Protection calling for legal recognition of Sintrasplendor's union status to be reinstated.
