Corporations Target Flower Workers' Union!

Splendor Flowers and Dole Try to Prevent Workers from Unionizing in Colombia: write a letter today!

[This alert comes from Untraflores, the national flower workers' union in Colombia, and the International Labor Rights Fund]
February 25, 2005, Posted March 6, 2005

In November 2004, workers founded a new independent union at Splendor Flowers, a Colombian flower plantation belonging to the multinational Dole. The company has said that it will oppose the legalization of Sintrasplendor, which is pending in the Ministry of Social Protection, and that it has already hired a team of lawyers to do this. Protest this violation of freedom of association!  Write the Ministry today to insist they legalize the Sintrasplendor union despite the company's attempts to use its economic and political power to prevent it. See below for more background information.

*Please write to the Ministry of Social Protection* asking for the rapid legalization and registration of Sintrasplendor, which has already complied with all of the necessary legal processes.

The Ministry should base its decision on the only two conditions specified by Colombian labor law:

1. The union was created with at least 25 members
2. The union's statutes do not violate the Constitution or national laws. 

*Sample letter*

Ministerio de la Protección Social
Ministro: Diego Palacio Betancourt
Cra. 13 Nº 32-76
Bogotá Colombia
Email: dpalacio@minproteccionsocial.gov.co
Fax: 0115713360182

Estimado Ministro,

Le escribo acerca de la solicitud entregada por el Sindicato de Trabajadores de C.I. Splendor Flowers Ltda., Sintrasplendor, para obtener la legalización de este nuevo sindicato de trabajadores de flores.

Entiendo que la empresa Splendor Flowers ha amenazado los afiliados de Sintrasplendor con despedirles, y que también presiona a los trabajadores a unirse con otro sindicato que la empresa misma apoya e influya. Ahora han contratado con un equipo de abogados para prevenir que Sintrasplendor sea registrado por el Ministerio de Protección Social. Estos son violaciones graves del derecho a la libre asociación.

Como Sintrasplendor ya ha cumplido con todos los pasos legales necesarios, le insto que inscriba a la mayor brevedad en el registro sindical a Sintrasplendor. Esta decisión debe atenerse exclusivamente a las dos únicas condiciones contempladas en la ley laboral colombiana: 1) Que el sindicato haya sido conformado con menos de 25 miembros, y 2) Que sus estatutos no atenten contra la Constitución Política y la Ley.

Estaré atento a la resolución de este caso.

Respetuosamente,

[your name]

TRANSLATION:

Honorable Minister,

I am writing with regard to the application filed by the Sindicato de Trabajadores de C.I. Splendor Flowers Ltda., Sintrasplendor, for legal recognition of this new flower workers' union.

I understand that Splendor Flowers has been threatening to fire Sintrasplendor affiliates, and is pressuring workers to instead join a different union that they support and influence. Now they have also hired a team of lawyers to try to prevent Sintrasplendor from becoming registered by the Ministry of Social Protection. These are grave violations of the workers' right to freedom of association.

As Sintrasplendor has already complied with all the legal requirements, I urge you to approve the legalization and registration of Sintrasplendor without delay. This decision should be based only on Sintrasplendor's fulfillment of the conditions specified by Colombian labor law: 1) that the union was created with at least 25 members, and 2) that the union's statutes do not violate the Constitution or national laws. 

I will continue to follow this issue closely.

Sincerely,

Send copies to:

Ministerio de la Protección Social
Ministro: Diego Palacio Betancourt
Cra. 13 Nº 32-76
Bogotá Colombia
Email: dpalacio@minproteccionsocial.gov.co
Fax: 0115713360182
 
C.I. Splendor Flowers Ltda.
Sergio Merino Jaramillo
Edgar Duque Lesmes
Calle 93 Nº 19-26
Bogotá Colombia
Fax: 0115716185759
 
Dole Fresh Flowers
Mr. John Schouten, President
10055 NW 12 Street
Miami, FL 33172
Fax: 3055912081
 
Untraflores
Aidé Silva Mateus, Presidenta
Esperanza Cerero, Secretaria general
Email: untraflorescol@hotmail.com

*Background*

Timeline:
On November 11, 2004, the Sintrasplendor union was founded at C.I. Splendor Flowers, a plantation belonging to Dole. It was started by 27 workers, and today has almost 700 affiliates. On November 16, they presented the legally required documentation to the Labor Inspection office in Facatativá (Cundinamarca).

On December 2, the Labor Inspectorate requested some clarifications on the Founding Assembly and some modifications to its statutes.

On January 22, 2005, Sintrasplendor held a General Assembly to discuss the Labor Inspectorate's objections, and respond to the requests for more information. On January 27 they turned this information in to the Labor Inspectorate.

On February 11, the Labor Inspectorate decided to send the documentation to Bogotá, so that the Bogotá office could determine whether or not to legalize the union.
 
Company response:
Splendor Flowers has used various forms of persecution against the union, including: threats that union affiliates will be fired (they already fired Gloria Oliveira, despite the fact that she had legal protection as a union founder, which means the company should have asked a labor judge for permission before firing her); assigning extra work on days when the union has planned assemblies and other activities; hostility, including via the presence of members of the Armed Forces and police at union activities held off company property.

The company supervisors, engineers, and managers pressure workers to join a different union that it promotes. The company has given this union, Sinaltraflor, transportation and space. The company also promises to give gifts to workers who resign from Sintrasplendor and join Sinaltraflor, thus violating national and international legal norms that guarantee freedom of association and prohibit employers from intervening in workers' free selection of unions. The company signed an illegitimate collective bargaining agreement with the other union, in order to prevent Sintrasplendor from being able to collectively bargain.

Company managers have said that they will oppose the legalization of Sintrasplendor, and that they have already hired a team of lawyers to do this.