Campaign calls for universal worker's rights in Fyffes' supply chain
"Fyffes is the number one importer of bananas to Europe, and among the largest global marketers for supersweet pineapples and winter season melons. But evidence collected from Fyffes’ subsidiaries – Anexco in Costa Rica (pineapples) and Suragroh in Honduras (melons) - demonstrates serious violations of labour rights, including, failure to pay minimum wages and social insurance; exposure of workers to hazardous agrochemicals; failure to respect freedom of association including threats, harassment and sacking of union members; and blocking collective bargaining processes," the campaign claimed in a press release.
In the case of Suragroh, Banana Link and the International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) have alleged breaches of the UK’s Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code for failure to respect unions, provide a safe workplace and pay living wages.
"Fyffes has failed to engage in ETI faciliated mediation to remedy these substantiated complaints. The Honduran Labour Inspectorate has also found non-payment of minimum wages and other statutory benefits, while a 2015 report by the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed allegations that Suragroh failed to pay the minimum wage, among a lengthy list of other violations."
"Workers are also exposed to hazardous chemicals without adequate training or protective clothing. In December 2015, about 100 women suffered poisoning, 14 of whom were hospitalised, after they were accidentally dropped off downwind of herbicide and chlorine spraying in an adjoining plot."
Along with calling on Fyffes to respect workers’ rights in their supply chains, the campaign is also calling on the company to end the discrimination against union members at Anexco and Suragroh, and to recognise unions at both subsidiaries and to engage in collective bargaining with these unions to provide the opportunity for workers to be represented in negotiations on pay and working conditions on plantations.
"Despite Fyffes’ claim on its website that 'if something isn’t working, we change the way we do it', the company has failed to take responsibility in Costa Rica and Honduras and change the way they do things," the press release stated.
Jacqui Mackay of Banana Link said: “Fyffes profess to ‘respect, protect and remedy human rights’. Those in Fyffes supply chains without work and struggling to survive because they dared to join a trade union would question the strength of this commitment.”
Jacqui Mackay
Banana Link
info@bananalink.org.uk
Tel: 01603 765670
Mob: 07971 633606