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Escalating anti-union violence in Guatemala has claimed three banana workers involved in union organizing in the past year. Most recently, Izabal Banana Workers Union (SITRABI) member Enrique Cruz Hernandez was shot while on his lunch break.

The plantations where the men worked and organized are owned by subsidiaries of Del Monte. Despite tight security on the banana plantations, little information has come out about the murders.

The killings came on the heels of a conference in Guatemala convened by the International Trade Union Confederation that addressed pervasive impunity for violence against union members.

The ITUC condemned the failure to prosecute the murderers of Guatemalan union members and called on recently elected President Alvaro Colom to reverse Guatemala’s history of gross human and labor rights violations.

Guatemala ranks next to Colombia as the most dangerous place to carry a union card. This year, the violence against union members has included eight murders, one attempted murder, and the gang rape of a union leader’s daughter.

President Colom has mouthed support for enforcing labor laws and bringing justice to the victims of anti-union violence, but little has been done in the banana workers’ cases. Pressure the Guatemalan government to investigate and prosecute crimes against the banana plantation organizers. Contact the Guatemalan Embassy in the U.S. by calling 202-745-4952. Write to the American Embassy in Guatemala at: Embajada de los Estados Unidos de América, Avenida Reforma 7-01, Zona 10, Guatemala, Guatemala.

Expiration Date:
Sun, 08/31/2008 - 9:59pm