Nicaraguan Workers demand reinstatement and backpay!
Workers in Nicaragua at the Chaprich-Mil Colores plant are struggling for reinstatement, as well as their outstanding salaries, severance, and benefits. The U.S. based owner Craig Miller has already fired 48 members of the independent union, refused to pay into national healthcare and continually denies workers their due salaries and vacation time.
With your support, Chaprich can be an opportunity for workers to forge a different path for the future of the maquila sector in Nicaragua, a future in which they tell foreign investors they can invest in Nicaragua, but only if they respect workers' rights, in particular, their right to organize and determine for themselves the conditions and terms of employment in their factories.
Tell Craig Miller to respect the fundamental labor and human rights of Nicaraguan Garment Workers!!
Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): GM, Chaprich-Mil Colores Mauricio Reyes Owner, Chaprich-Mil Colores Craig Miller
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: You MUST Respect Labor and Human Rights in Nicaragua!!
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
I recently learned about the struggle of workers at Chaprich-Mil Colores to gain respect for their basic rights, among them, the right to organize, the right to be paid in accordance with their contracts, and the right to their health benefits. I am outraged that, rather than being met with the respect and opportunity for negotiation that they deserve, up to 50 members of Sindicato Chaprich have instead been illegally fired or suspended. The recent firings, in conjunction with the continuing pattern of abuse of workers fundamental labor and human rights, are simply unacceptable. As such, I am writing to urge you to comply immediately with the workers' demands for reinstatement and pay of all outstanding salary, severance, and benefits.
In particular, I urge you to comply with workers demands for: 1. Reinstatement. Reinstatement of all fired workers and of suspended union leaders. 2. Payment of all outstanding salaries, severance pay, and benef! its, including: -Payment into Social Security so that workers can access medical care for themselves and their children. -Reimbursement for the medical costs, including all prenatal and postnatal care, and milk for newborns that workers unable to access their health benefits have been forced to pay out of pocket. -Payment of vacation time and the food bonus. 3. Time off for vacations. In accordance with Nicaraguan labor law, workers must be allowed 15 days of vacation for every six months of work. 4. Respect. Compliance with and respect for the labor and human rights of Nicaraguan workers, including the fundamental right to organize. 5. Negotiation. That you meet with Sindicato Chaprich to negotiate the aforementioned demands and additionally to set realistic production quotas.
As a U.S. investor in Nicaragua, you have an obligation to treat workers with the same respect expected by workers here in the U.S. Your disregard, not only! for the workers' collective bargaining agreement, but for Nicaraguan labor and social security laws as well as internationally recognized labor and human rights is an embarrassment to U.S. citizens everywhere. Please reinstate the fired and suspended workers, comply with their demands for pay of outstanding salary, severance, and benefits, and offer Nicaraguan garment workers the opportunity for work with dignity that they deserve.
Sincerely,
Your name
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What's At Stake: Chaprich-Mil Colores, owned by U.S. investor Craig Miller, has continued to show blatant disregard for the labor and human rights of Nicaraguan garment workers. Since Mil Colores was subject to an international campaign a few years back, it has changed location, changed name, and continued to engage in egregious labor rights violations. In April, Miller demoted a leader of the factory's only independent union after she returned from a two-week tour of the U.S. to expose labor rights violations at her workplace. Then, last month, Miller fired 48 members of the independent union, including several who are pregnant, and suspended two leaders in retaliation for their participation in a work stoppage to protest egregious violations at the factory. What were the union members protesting when they were fired? In December 2004 when the factory relocated, it refused to pay severance to the several hundred workers who were unable to transfer. Since the move, those who were able to transfer have not been paid their salaries on time, on several occasions have been paid inadequately or not at all, they have been ordered to meet unrealistically high production quotas, and have been denied their vacation time. Furthermore, Miller has refused to pay into Nicaragua's health insurance system, with the result that workers who fall ill, even from work-related incidents, cannot obtain basic medical care, while female workers are denied prenatal and postnatal care. Workers with serious injuries and illnesses have been forced to wait months before the factory has paid their medical costs, or else have been forced to pay out of their own pockets from their meager salaries. These abuses are outrageous and have to stop! Craig Miller has not only committed these abuses in violation of Nicaraguan labor law and the union's collective bargaining agreement, but also in violation of the specific orders of labor inspectors to remediate unacceptable conditions in the factory. Workers are fed up with Miller's pattern of abuses. They are asking for international support as they wage a local campaign to order Chaprich to give them back their jobs and to respect their right to work with dignity. The violations at Chaprich are important, not only for their effects on the lives of the workers themselves, but for what they represent for the future of the maquila sector in Nicaragua. While the garment industry in neighbouring countries is declining due to the end of the quotas set by the Multi-Fibre Agreement, the industry is growing in Nicaragua due to the (unfortunate) appeal of its low labor costs. As the maquila sector grows, factories will follow in the footsteps of the abusive factories like Chaprich. We must not let Miller get away with pushing the race to the bottom in Nicaragua! With your support, Chaprich can be an opportunity for workers to forge a different path for the future of the maquila sector in Nicaragua, a future in which they tell foreign investors they can invest in Nicaragua, but only if they respect workers' rights, in particular, their right to organize and determine for themselves the conditions and terms of employment in their factories.
Campaign Expiration Date: August 24, 2005
