 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stop Union Busting in El SalvadorLabor Alerts: a service of Campaign for Labor RightsLabor Alert posted April 29, 2002
In this alert:
[Information in this Alert provided by US/LEAP, www.usleap.org/ www.usleap.org, and CEAL (Center of Labour Studies and Support in El Salvador)]
TAINAN FACTORY CLOSING TO BUST UNIONOn April 26th the management of the Tainan factory in El Salvador announced in an article in the local newspapers that the workers who have been suspended due to lack of work in the plant since the beginning of April would NOT be returning to work and that their suspensions are in fact firings. The workers in the Tainan factory have been organizing a union, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria Textiles (STIT) or the Industrial Union of Textile Workers, in the second of the two plants at Tainan for almost two years. STIT obtained legal recognition in July 2001 and had just submitted a request to the Labor Ministry for collective bargaining rights when the management made its announcement of factory closure. Along with the announcement of closure, Tainan began to dismantle machinery in the factory and initiated the legal process of dissolving the company, but the Labor Ministry of El Salvador denied permission for dissolution until all the workers have accepted their severance benefits. However, it seems that the company can simply give the money owed to the workers who have not accepted severance benefits to the Labor Ministry for that institution to distribute the factory can then close down in the meantime.
CLOSURE CONTRADICTS FIRST MESSAGES, EVIDENCE OF OUTSOURCINGThe company had been suspending workers since last August claiming lack of orders, though the union has evidence that the factory was receiving work and sending it to other factories. Suspensions escalated sharply at the beginning of April after a meeting between the Labor Ministry, the company, and the union in which the company announced that it would offer full severance benefits to anyone who would voluntarily resign. If workers didn t resign, they would be suspended. The company cited lack of orders as the cause for the suspensions and openly blamed the union as the reason customers are not placing orders with Tainan El Salvador. Tainan El Salvador produces for many US retail companies it has most recently been producing for Target, Kohl s, and the Gap. The Gap and Target cite product demand as the reason they do not have orders with Tainan El Salvador and have verbally denied that the union has any bearing on whether or not orders are sent to the factory. Tainan Enterprises primary customer world-wide is the Gap. The announcement of closure directly contradicts what representatives of Tainan Enterprises, Tainan El Salvador s parent company in Taiwan, told AFL-CIO representatives and Taiwanese worker rights activists in a meeting in Taiwan on April 19, 2002. Tainan told the delegation that the factory would only be closed temporarily and that the company would rehire the workers once production resumed.
UNION BUSTING IS DISGUSTINGTainan Enterprises operates factories in China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Taiwan, and El Salvador. It has operated the factory in El Salvador for two years. Now, just as the union in El Salvador requests permission for a collective bargaining agreement, the parent company says it has insufficient orders for its Salvadoran plants and is closing the facility that has an active union organizing campaign. Tainan Enterprises must resume operations in Salvador immediately (shift orders, get new orders), rehire all union workers, and negotiate in good faith. Anything less indicates that Tainan Enterprises is a union-busting manufacturing company. The workers at Tainan El Salvador complained of suffering forced overtime, harassment, and low wages at the factory. Those who support the union hope that a union will empower them to both speak out and end the on-going violations of their rights.
TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT THE WORKERS AT TAINAN EL SALVADOR!
Suggested Actions:1. Contact Tainan Enterprises in Taiwan. Ask the parent company to respect worker rights by reopening the factory, rehiring all the union workers, and negotiating with the union in good faith. Contact: Mr. Tony Yang; Tainan Enterprises, 320, Sec. 3, Chung San Rd., Nan Hsin Tsun, Kuei Jen Hsiang, Tainan Hsien, Taiwan, R.O.C. Fax: 011-886-6-230-6722. General e-mail: lindy@mail.tainantn.com.tw. 2. Contact the Taiwanese government. Inform the Taiwanese government of your concerns about worker rights violations at Tainan and ask the government to urge the company to respect worker rights, rehire all union workers, reopen the factory, and negotiate with the union in good faith. Suggest that Tainan is giving Taiwanese companies in the region a negative reputation. Contact: His Excellency Ho, Ping fu, Ambassador of the Republic of China in El Salvador at Email: sinoemb4@sv.cciglobal.net. Copy to: 1) Ms. Victoria H.P. Hsieh, Economic Advisor of the Taiwanese Embassy in El Salvador by email: moeasal@sal.gbm.net or fax to (503) 264 6099 and 2) Mr. San Quei Lin, Senior Labor Officer, Economic Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Washington, DC by fax: 202-363-6294.
TAINAN BACKGROUNDProvided by Centro de Estudios y Apoyo Laboral - CEAL (Center of Labour Studies and Support in El Salvador), translated by US/LEAP
Chronology of Events:1. During the earthquakes in January and February 2001, Tainan forces its workers to continue working disregarding the national emergency. Two of the union leaders speak on behalf of other union members and direct these concerns to Tainan. For this reason, both leaders are suspended on February 26, 2001. Their names are Joaquin Alas Salguero and Ruben Ulises Orellana. 2. Both leaders become affiliated with the union, STIT, and shortly after directing their allegations to the regional representatives of Gap, an agreement is reached on March 19, 2001. Tainan legally recognizes both leaders as their employees, although the plant pays their salaries at the entrance and does not allow them to return to work. 3. Although faced with great difficulty and with diverse and covert anti-union actions, an affiliation campaign takes place with STIT inside Tainan, 4. During the visit of President Chen Shui-Bian of Taiwan, on May 23, 2001, a division of STIT is organized inside Tainan. The union members direct letters to both the President and his ambassador in El Salvador. 5. In July, 2001 STIT obtains legal status as a union from the Labor Ministry. 6. Beginning August 7, 2001 strong action takes place insofar as to re-admittance of both union members/leaders Joaquin and Ruben. On August 26, 2001 STIT organizes its first strike based on the threat of 60 suspensions, most of which are union members. 7. On October 17, 2001 the first worker suspensions take place of whom the majority are union members. Legal actions and protests take place by STIT, which consequently are suspended on October 30, 2001. 8. On November 30, 2001 as a result of the threat of a major campaign against GAP and interventions with the El Salvadorian government by AFL-CIO, US/LEAP, FITTVC and other organizations, Tainan signs an accord with STIT as to readmit the two union leaders. Both leader return to Tainan on December 10 and new agreements are reached allowing for a better dialogue between the workers and Tainan. 9. Shortly after peaceful negotiations, however, new claims of more staff suspensions and firings take place. This is due in part to the Labor Ministry incompetence in complying with the previous allegations on October 2001. STIT begins direct actions inside Tainan on March 6, at the same time that a series of demands take place at the national and international level. Later in the month, the union launches an effort to sign up workers in order to reach the numbers needed to demand collective bargaining agreements (50% + 1 of one plant). Tainan would be one of the first to do this in El Salvador s maquila sector. 10. Mr. Wu Tao Chang, manager of Tainan, and his consultant, Mr. Carlos Silva, announce on April 5th the beginning of more suspensions, arguing that the labels Kohl s, Target and Gap had not placed any order and that such order were not profitable for Tainan. Suspensions only affect the unionized section TS2 of Tainan El Salvador s operations. The union presents evidence that there is no lack of orders and the company is outsourcing to other factories. On April 22 suspensions begin taking place in TS1. This was further proof of what looked like a complete withdrawal of Tainan from El Salvador.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
