Ecuadorean strikes

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Country profiles

Ecuador

The story of the Ecuadorean workers' strikes

July 2001:   "Are there any journalists from Ecuador reading this, then I will be happy if you will contact me.   For some weeks the workers on the banana-plantation called la Hacienda Italia have been on strike, because the company has thrown their shop steward out.      His name is Fidel Alvarado.      He is the Secretario General del Comit de Empresa.     La Hacienda Italia is owned by Frioport S.A. - a company owned by Tvind.    And the boss at la Hacienda Italia and Frioport S.A. is a member of the Teachers Group, Ole Toft Andersen.   The workers on la Hacienda Rio Culebra went on strike in solidarity with them.     Also la Hacienda Rio Culebra is a Tvind-owned plantation - owned by the Tvind-company Ecpomartes S.A.     By the workers at Rio Culebra have now stopped their solidarity-strike.    Some of the trade unions have - as far as I have learned - formally complained to the government about the working conditions and anti-trade union attitude on the plantations owned by the Danish citizens.    I hope some Ecuadorian journalists can give me more information about the strike and the Tvind-plantations in Guayquil.

Sept 2002:  Strike against Tvind in Ecuador has stopped

230 workers on the TG-owned banana plantation Rio Culebra in Ecuador went on strike in the early summer. Now they are back in work because of the TG-managers threat of sacking them all. Some of the shop stewards has not been allowed to return to work. The strike was a protest because the manager did not pay the workers their salaries. And unlawfully the manager had not paid the health insurance for the workers. The Danish trade union, SID (General Workers Union) supports the banana workers union in Ecuador, FENACLE. And in a meeting with SID the TG-boss, Soren Sorensen (manager of all the TG-banana plantations in Belize) promised to better the conditions for the workers on the Rio Culebra-plantation in Ecuador. Since then nothing has happened. According to SID the workers got their salaries in the form of rubber cheques. And the manager,  Danish TG-member Bjarne Hjorth, still has not paid the health insurance. SID found out when a worker on the plantation was bited by a snake. His comrades took him to the hospital - but he was thrown out because there was not paid for him by the plantation. The TG has at least two more banana-plantations in Ecuador.

Sept 2002  -  workers sacked

Monday morning (Sept 2nd) the 230 workers on the Rio Culebra-banana plantation was met by armed guards when the were coming to work. The TG-manager Bjarne Hjorth sacked all the workers. Many of the workers live on the plantation. So not
only don't they have a job anymore - don't have a place to live either.

Dec 2002  -  After a long strike last summer 90 workers has been sacked from the Tvind-owned banana plantation Rio Culebra in Ecuador.  The 90 workers and their families is now totally without any income. Tvind has offered them a small compensation - a few hundred dollars. The workers have refused. According to the law the compensations offered by Tvind is all too small. For instance the shop steward Limber Alvarez, who have been working on the plantation for 14 years, should have had 7.500 dollars in compensation - he was only offered 200 dollars. The Tvind-owned plantation have still not
payed the social security for the workers - a total amount of 140.000 dollars. Tvind has just sold half of the 700 hectares belonging to Rio Culebra. According to local sources the are in a proces of selling the rest also. Another Tvind-plantation in Ecuador, Santa Rita, has been sold recently. 70 workers got sacked - without any compensation.

Frede Jakobson

July 2001:   "Are there any journalists from Ecuador reading this, then I will be happy if you will contact me.   For some weeks the workers on the banana-plantation called la Hacienda Italia have been on strike, because the company has thrown their shop steward out.      His name is Fidel Alvarado.      He is the Secretario General del Comit de Empresa.     La Hacienda Italia is owned by Frioport S.A. - a company owned by Tvind.    And the boss at la Hacienda Italia and Frioport S.A. is a member of the Teachers Group, Ole Toft Andersen.   The workers on la Hacienda Rio Culebra went on strike in solidarity with them.     Also la Hacienda Rio Culebra is a Tvind-owned plantation - owned by the Tvind-company Ecpomartes S.A.     By the workers at Rio Culebra have now stopped their solidarity-strike.    Some of the trade unions have - as far as I have learned - formally complained to the government about the working conditions and anti-trade union attitude on the plantations owned by the Danish citizens.    I hope some Ecuadorian journalists can give me more information about the strike and the Tvind-plantations in Guayquil.

Sept 2002  -  workers sacked

Monday morning (Sept 2nd) the 230 workers on the Rio Culebra-banana plantation was met by armed guards when the were coming to work. The TG-manager Bjarne Hjorth sacked all the workers. Many of the workers live on the plantation. So not
only don't they have a job anymore - don't have a place to live either.

Dec 2002  -  After a long strike last summer 90 workers has been sacked from the Tvind-owned banana plantation Rio Culebra in Ecuador.  The 90 workers and their families is now totally without any income. Tvind has offered them a small compensation - a few hundred dollars. The workers have refused. According to the law the compensations offered by Tvind is all too small. For instance the shop steward Limber Alvarez, who have been working on the plantation for 14 years, should have had 7.500 dollars in compensation - he was only offered 200 dollars. The Tvind-owned plantation have still not
payed the social security for the workers - a total amount of 140.000 dollars. Tvind has just sold half of the 700 hectares belonging to Rio Culebra. According to local sources the are in a proces of selling the rest also. Another Tvind-plantation in Ecuador, Santa Rita, has been sold recently. 70 workers got sacked - without any compensation.

Frede Jakobson

Frede Jakobson

Frede Jakobson

Frede Jakobson

Frede Jakobson

Frede Jakobson

Frede Jakobson

Frede Jakobson

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