UNISON INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND SITAG-PERU PROJECT QUARTERLY NARRATIVE UPDATE: FEBRUARY TO APRIL 2012 Actions, activities and

their outcomes: PROJECT COORDINATION

Between February and April, project activities took place in the SITAG-Peru office and in the various union committee rooms dedicated to training. Core staff funded through the project include the project coordinator and union organiser, an education officer, a legal defence officer (Legal Advisor), an administrator, a financial manager and a Womens Secretary - all hired by SITAG for the time being on a part time basis. The legal defence officer with responsibility for

promoting greater strength in the defence of labour rights receives an occasional salary. The project has enhanced the ability of the team, which has been unsustainable over the past
year due to limited resources, to provide services for the growing membership. Work carried out by the staff of SITAG-Peru is being supported by COLSIBA (Latin American Coordinating Committee of Banana and Agro-Industrial Workers Unions), Banana Link and UNISON West Midlands, who can coordinate international pressure in specific cases of labour right violations and solidarity activities.

LABOUR RIGHTS TRAINING

A Labour Rights course was held with 3 workshops taking place on the 8th, 15th and 22nd of April, attended by 26 union members (17 male, 9 female). Students from the Faculty of Law at the Universidad de Piura were in charge of facilitating the training. The workshops took place in San Vicente de Piedra Rodada and members of the following Associations took part: Huangal, UBOIC, Pueblo Nuevo, Huaquiquira, CEPIBO, Chalacala.

Training on April 8th

Training on April 15th

On April 10th a training day entitled Employment Contracts took place, led by the Head of the Work Area, Lawyer Juan Carlos Lama, in the suburb La Horca, aimed at male and female workers and small producers in the Association Unin y Progreso La Pea Chalacala.

Training April 10th On April 11th, at the request of the President of the Organic Banana Producers Association of Chalacala Baja APBOCHB, a training day entitled Trade Unin Freedom took place for all workers (15 male 3 female) and at the end of the training the Trade Unin Committee of this association was created. The President of the Trade Union Committee was sworn in by the President of the aforementioned small producers association.

Training on April 11th DIALOGUE AND NEGOTIATION SITAG has been increasing its efforts to engage in dialogue with the Associations that employ its members in the hope of securing permanent contracts (rather than the standard rolled-over three- or six-month contracts). A series of meetings have been held with different trade union committees to this end, and to resolve the outstanding social and labour problems in each association. In February SITAG hosted a visit from Banana Link and Nazemi (Fairtrade organization from the Czech Republic). A series of meetings were held with workers and associations to help facilitate the resolution of labour conflicts and raise awareness amongst association employers of the need to tackle these issues to satisfy consumer demands for fair practices at the other end of the supply chain. In March SITAG-Peru hosted a visit from the FLO Workers Rights Officer. A series of meeting were held with SITAG members and small producer associates to report on

labour issues on Fairtrade certified farms and develop plans for the FLO Peru pilot project aimed at addressing these issues as part of the ongoing work of the FLO Workers Rights Advisory Committee. FLO has agreed to invest resources in a local independent mediator to facilitate union/association negotiations and constructive dialogue. FLO has also written a letter to the certified associations reminding them of their responsibilities as employers under Fairtrade standards. After a series of unfair sackings over the last few months, SITAG has been able to secure the reinstatement of members of their branch committees who had been sacked. Five workers of the Union y Progreso Farmers Association laid off in January - on the pretext that their contracts could not be renewed - are to be reinstated following an appeal to the Dole subsidiary that markets the Associations bananas to intervene. Those laid off included key members of SITAGs branch committee. The next day, the local labour authorities ordered the reinstatement of workers from the APPBOSA and Montenegro Associations, also members of the unions branch committees. The resolutions from the Labour Ministry also ordered the employers to compensate for lost wages and costs. Other unfair dismissal cases are still in progress. A series of events also took place in order to promote the national campaign for repeal of the anti-union Law N 27360 for the Promotion of Agriculture OVERALL RESULTS In the last 3 months SITAG has 120 new affiliations 80 men and 33 women A new Union Committee has been created with 40 workers from the Association Chacala. The union affiliation fee of S/4 per month is being paid by 63 more affiliates (33 in BOS and 30 in Union and Progresso) representing an increase of s/252 (60) per month in union income. Letters have been sent out to other associations to request payment of affiliation fees. Existing alliances are being strengthened through meetings with the CTCP union confederations, governmental and civil society organisations through the national campaign for the amendment of Law 27360
Relations have been strengthened with FLO and their Workers Rights Officer

LEGAL DEFENCE

towards the resolution of labour issues on certified farms

International solidarity relations have been strengthened as a result of hosting a

delegation from the UK (Banana Link) and Czech Republic (Nazemi), providing these campaigning NGOs with key information and testimonies to raise awareness amongst European consumers and the trade union movement. SITAG-Peru capacity to maintain relations with European civil society has already increased through the project. KEY PRIORITIES TO TAKE FORWARD Gathering more affiliation fees from members to secure financial autonomy Further increasing women's membership and involvement in union activities A specific training programme for young and women branch level leadership Securing a higher proportion of permanent contracts across the industry Preparing collective bargaining agenda(s) with the membership Achieving better dialogue with key associations