NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #30/NN_1992_30.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/9355

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From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Proceso: Labor
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/** reg.elsalvador: 149.0 **/
** Topic: Proceso 542: Labor **
** Written  4:22 am  Dec 13, 1992 by [e-mail] in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
From: [e-mail] (Centro de Informacion Documentacion y Apoyo a la Invest. - UCAJSC)
Subject: Proceso 542: Labor

Center for Information, Documentation and Research Support (CIDAI)
Central American University (UCA)
San Salvador, El Salvador

PROCESO 542
December 9, 1992

LABOR:
Negative government attitude

     On December 2, during the weekly meeting of the Forum for
Economic and Social Consensus-Building, a group of workers from the
Blokitubos cement factory rallied outside the Planning Ministry to
protest the Labor Minister's conduct in the factory's ongoing labor
dispute (Proceso 541).
     The action served as an excuse for the Vice-Minister of
Planning, Francisco Flores (who was coordinating the meeting), to
announce that the government was withdrawing from the meeting. In
some morning dailies published on December 3, Flores was quoted as
claiming that the organizations insulted the government, and in
particular the Labor Minister, and that such a climate contravenes
the spirit which must prevail in Forum discussions. However, he
announced that he would attend the next week's meeting.
     The incident could be seen as a symptom of the tensions which
reign within the Forum, as well as of the government's attitude
toward seeking consensus around workers' problems. And on the
latter point, there have certainly been enough complaints
registered by trade union organizations.
     According to the unions, the government has shown no interest
in making the Forum an effective instrument for reaching consensus
with workers. Instead, the government would rather negotiate
bilaterally with business, if anyone. The Labor Ministry has been
the most heavily criticized on this issue, and in particular the
Labor Minister himself.
     Since September, workers have repeatedly petitioned the
Legislative Assembly to question the Minister about the case of the
Blokitubos union, as well as about the labor conflict in the Hotel
El Salvador. According to union sources, the Assembly has
repeatedly voted to call the Minister before the body; he simply
never appeared. PCN deputy Machuca recently declared that the
Minister must be pressured to respond to the Assembly's requests
for an appearance.
     Since October, the Labor Minister has also been the object of
several requests for his removal made by a number of organizations.
He is accused to refusing to award legal status to the Blokitubos
local, a union at the Capri furniture factory, a local at the
INSINCA textile factory (which is a member of FEASIES, whose
offices were machine-gunned by unknown persons on September 17),
the SIPES local at the International Airport, and the Hotel El
Salvador union (affiliated with SIPALAC).
     In this context of labor discontent, some organizations have
complained of the lack of government clarity on issues such as the
Agrarian Code. According to CONFRAS president Miguel Aleman, the
issue is being handled with very little transparency. Aleman claims
that the government has not allowed participation by agricultural
sectors in the discussions, although three requests for an audience
have been made; furthermore, says Aleman, the government is trying
to delay the passage of an Agrarian Code for as long as possible.
     Another focus of discord between labor and the government has
been the process surrounding the new Labor Code, since the
government wishes to discuss the proposed code as soon as possible,
while labor wants to see some International Labor Organization
treaties ratified first. The Intergremial labor coalition is
apparently more interested in seeing favorable conditions for union
organizing established as soon as possible.
     The government, in turn, as criticized some of the attitudes
of organized labor, labeling them confrontational and even "anti-
patriotic," as in the case of a petition drawn up by UNOC, UNTS and
FENASTRAS to get El Salvador barred from the Generalized System of
Preferential Tariffs which favor Salvadoran exports to the United
States. This will probably also be a sticking point in the Forum.
In any case, the Forum is not going anywhere, and there are no
clear signs that any important accords will be reached before
year's end, which harms workers' organizations the most.
     The government's withdrawal from the Forum last December 2
took place in a climate of constant complaints about its attitude
towards labor problems and towards the Forum for Economic and
Social Consensus-Building. And although the weekly meetings
continue as scheduled, the incident could demonstrate how easy it
is for the government to simply leave the negotiating table, which
severely harms the prospects for consensus-building which must take
place there.


** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **