The mass famine and drought in East Africa has affected me in ways that have truly made me think about what the whole climate change problem is all about. I suppose thinking about it and really writing it down can be difficult to transfer, so I apologise if much of this fails to make any sense. (more…)
Hi I’m Amy, this is my first blog an adaptation of an article I wrote for our student paper in Cardiff.
July saw the government release the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan for a sustainably low carbon future with reduced emissions, less energy dependency and a projection that 1.2 million will be working in the green sector by 2020. (more…)
‘I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over’ – these are the words of Mr. Warren Buffett, who ranked N.1 in Forbes 2008 World’s Billionaires list and is assessed with a net worth of 62 billion dollars. Mr. Buffett is the current owner of the transnational company Fruit of the Loom and, as we all know, the latest ‘1-foot bar’ he decided to step over was that small thing known as workers’ rights in Honduras.
Jerzees de Honduras – No Union in (y)our factory
Earlier this year Mr. Buffett received a copy of a letter sent by the Junta Directiva Sitrajerzeesh (Leadership Committee Sitrajerzeesh), who represents the workers in Honduran textile factory Jerzees de Honduras, to the US Workers Rights’ Consortium and Fair Labor Association. In this letter the Junta reported that a Fruit of the Loom subsidiary, Russell Corp, had ‘repeatedly misled its customers, the universities, and the public in the United States about their treatment of our union and our co-workers at its factories in Honduras.’
This letter was sent after 2 years of tension between employers and the workers at Jerzees, trigged by an increase of production quotas in 2007, which forced longer working hours and unpaid overtime. In June that year, the workers decided to form a Union. According to Moises Montoya and Norma Meija, its President and Vice President, the Union was initially able to help workers and improve conditions in the factory, however, eventually its practices were discouraged by management and Union members were often harassed, threatened and occasionally even fired. Finally, in October 2008, during negotiations about a requested pay rise, Russell announced it was closing Jerzees de Honduras and firing the 1,800 employees working there. Russell claimed the reason behind this decision was lack of demand for the products manufactured in that particular factory but the workers have dismissed this as a poor excuse since their factory has similar capacity and equipment to other factories in the country, all of which are non-unionised and still run normally. Jerzees workers have been demanding that the factory is reopened and re-hires all previous union and non-union workers, as well as guaranteeing negotiations with the Junta Directiva for collective bargaining agreement.
This month, and after an aggressive campaign by US and UK students – backed by the Workers’ Rights Consortium and People & Planet – Russell Corp has finally decided to re-enter negotiations with the workers, proving the bargaining power universities who have pledged to boycott the brand if workers’ demands are not fully met. Go us! But it is not over…
Military Coup – Take Zelaya out of the maquila
The complete disregard that Fruit of the Loom and Russell Corp have systematically shown towards the basic rights of employees at the bottom of their supply chain reflects the typical neoliberal and profit-oriented agenda of most multinationals and denounces the murky side of the oh-so acclaimed wonders of free market ideology – it denies individuals of their dignity and it corrupts social relations.
Considering the scenario above it is not surprising then that Russell Corp– as a part of the Honduran National Business Council – has publicly supported the recent military coup in Honduras that ousted Manuel Zelaya and instated Roberto Micheletti. But what was this coup about? And, why is it bad for Hondurans, and workers?
The international media’s coverage of the issue has often been conflicting and incoherent. At the same time that the United Nations has stated its disapproval of the new regime and governments worldwide have imposed trade sanctions on Honduran products, news agents have fuelled the idea that Zelaya’s deposition and forced exile was mainly caused by his defiance of the ‘country’s Congress and Supreme Court by trying to extend presidential term limits’. If Zelaya’s aim was in fact to extend presidential term limits this would entail an illegal change of the constitution which would legitimize the coup. So, did Zelaya really venture such a thing?
According to a report released by the Centre for Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights (CIPRODEH), he did not. The report declares that Zelaya’s only measure as President was to plan a Consulta Popular (Public Consultation), later renamed as Encuesta de Opinión (Opinion Poll) aimed at consulting the population on whether they agreed to have a fourth question on the voting ballot in the November elections, this year. The question would decide to call or not call an Asamblea Nacional Constituyente (Constitutional National Assembly) to discuss the possibilities of changing the constitution. These changes however, had nothing to do with extending the President’s term and were in fact aimed at ‘reducing historical social inequalities.’ The move was firmly supported by organisations that form the organised social movements in Honduras, as well as municipalities and the Partido Unificación Democrática (Democratic Union Party); but it was strongly opposed by the Partido Nacional (National Party), the Partido Democrata Cristano (Christian Democratic Party) and the ‘main economic agents of the country, including the most powerful media agents.’
The latter group, headed by Robert Micheletti, President of the National Congress, represents the powerful Honduran elite, a coalition of military man and business tycoons that have ruled the country’s economy and political life in oligarch-like manner for decades. Zelaya himself, an entrepreneurial rancher affiliated with the central liberal party, was initially seen as a fitting successor to other wealthy politicians who exercised their power to closely protect the interests of the elite.
But Zelaya turned out not to ‘fit’ so well. During his mandate, the ousted president raised the minimum wage by 60%, extended workers’ rights at the maquilas (factories) and attempted to redistribute resources and land. His measures were warmly welcomed by trade unions and workers, in a country where over 50% of the population lives under the poverty line. Conversely, they were sharply criticised by the dominant groups which were increasingly worried about Zelaya’s social programme and links with leaders of preeminent socialist countries in Latin American, such as Venezuela and Bolivia.
New Regime – Micheletti & Buddies
In this light, one can understand that rather than saving Honduras from a potential dictator, the new regime is a likely to burry Honduras even further under the corrupt and inhuman oligarchy that Zelaya was slowly trying to challenge. It is evident from the suppressed protests by civil society groups, trade unions and human rights activists that Zelaya was indeed a positive force in the country. Namely, the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLW) has reported that since the coup ‘[c]ivil and democratic liberties, including the right of freedom of association, are under attack, lethal force has been used against protesters’ and that although employers support the coup, the workers have been actively rebelling against Micheletti’s government.
Rings a bell? Yes, it ties perfectly with Russell Corp’s attitude towards its workers at the Jerzees de Hondruas factory, and it clarifies their public support of the illegal regime. When building our company for workers’ rights at Jerzees, it is important to look at the wider political landscape to understand the underlying premises that shape the state of labour rights across the globe. The important message, however, remains in the direct power that we have not over the political setting but over the supply chain that we have become a part of. Yes, we are part of.
Further Reading:
Forbes List: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Warren-Buffett_C0R3.html
Letter from Workers at Jerzees de Honduras to WRC: http://www.workersrights.org/university/memo/TranslationCGTLettertoFLAandWRC2-19-09.pdf)
Workers Testimony at ‘Boycott Russell’ blog: http://reininrussell.blogspot.com/2009/01/worker-testimony.html
Russell states support for Coup: http://en.maquilasolidarity.org/node/890/?SESS89c5db41a82abcd7da7c9ac60e04ca5f=tcpemb1h1eao35p5drj7jikef5#business
CIPRODEH Report: http://www.ciprodeh.org.hn/Publicaciones/reporte_ciprodeh.pdf
Article about role of Honduran economic elite in military Coup: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090831/grandin
International Textile and Garment and Leather Workers Federation press release:
http://www.itglwf.org/DisplayDocument.aspx?idarticle=15812&langue=2
Guardian opinion article on US dealings with Honduras and Latin America:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/12/honduras-coup-democracy-barack-obama
How many people know that a chemical found in breast cancer is also in most of their everyday cosmetic products?
First Blog so be gentle.
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