The Union of Workers of the Bananera Rio Mame SA (SITRABARIMASA) has signed its ninth collective agreement with the multinational company Dole, which, following good faith negotiations, will provide considerable improvements for workers. This would mean that negotiations between trade unions and employers have concluded with collective agreements that will see benefits for workers at two separate banana plantations in Honduras.
The president of the union, Eduardo Min Montoya said “we managed to maintain the medical service, which has been a cause of conflict in other companies, and achieved a wage increase of 6% for all contracted workers for each of the three years of the agreement, plus a bonus of 11,000 lempiras (around £360)”. The inflation rate in Honduras is currently running at 4.8% and is forecast to fall to 3.8% over the next twelve months.
Meanwhile the Union of Agroindustrial and Similar Workers (STAS) has concluded its fifth two-year collective agreement with the company Guaruma Agroindustrial that will benefit more than 120 workers. The three farms that make up this national company used to belong to Chiquita subsidiary Tela Railroad Co. until Hurricane Mitch destroyed the crop in 1998 and the multinational abandoned the land.
As reported on bananalink.org.uk¸the agreement will see significant increases in salaries, while medical examinations for women and men are also sought in order to prevent cancer, and quality and production goals have been agreed for the workers.