In July US/LEAP reported that no progress had been made in
discussions between management and the union in relation to
the closure of the Tainan factory in El Salvador, which had
been the focus of an international campaign for the past several
months. However, discussions are expected to continue in the
hope that a resolution can be found, and therefore, in the meantime,
the international campaign has been put on hold.
Please find below
For more information on this case, please contact US/LEAP <www.usleap.org>
or the Campaign for Labor Rights, clr@afgj.org.
Background on Tainan campaign
Source: Campaign for Labor Rights Monthly Index
June 27, 2002
Tainan - Gap Factory in El Salvador
On April 26th the management of the Tainan factory in El
Salvador announced that the factory's doors would be permanently
closed and that workers who had been suspended would NOT be
returning to their jobs. The workers in the Tainan factory have
been organizing a union, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria
Textiles (STIT), for almost two years. STIT obtained legal recognition
in July 2001 and had just submitted a request to the Labor Ministry
for collective bargaining rights when the management made the
announcement that it would close the factory. Tainan then began
to dismantle machinery in the factory and initiated the legal
process of dissolving the company. The company had been suspending
workers since last August claiming lack of orders, though the
union has evidence that the factory was receiving work and sending
it to other factories. Suspensions escalated sharply at the
beginning of April after a meeting between the Labor Ministry,
the company, and the union in which the company announced that
it would offer full severance benefits to anyone who would voluntarily
resign. If workers didn't resign, they would be suspended. Tainan
El Salvador produces for a number US retail companies including
the Gap, Ann Taylor, Dress Barn, Columbia Sportwear, and others.
Tainan Enterprises operates factories in China, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Taiwan, and El Salvador. It has operated the factory in El Salvador
for two years. Just as the union in El Salvador requested permission
for a collective bargaining agreement, the parent company claimed
it had insufficient orders for its Salvadoran plants and is
closing the one facility that has an active union organizing
campaign. At the same time, Tainan's other plants are operating
at full production with overtime work at some. The workers at
Tainan El Salvador suffer forced overtime, harassment, and low
wages at the factory. Those who support the union hope that
a union will empower them to both speak out and end the on-going
violations of their rights.
No Resolution from Tainan Negotiations, Discussions Continue
US/LEAP Update 7-22-02
Meetings held in El Salvador on July 10th and 11th between
senior management from the Taiwan office of Tainan Enterprises
and STIT, the union that held legal recognition at the Tainan
factory in El Salvador, reached no solution on the closing of
the El Salvadorian plant. However, the company has pledged to
continue discussions to find a resolution. Tainan El Salvador
closed at the end of April just after the union applied for
the legal right for a collective bargaining agreement at the
plant. The meetings in El Salvador were proposed by and facilitated
by Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International Textile,
Garment, and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF). STIT also
requested the presence of US/LEAP and Focus on Globalization,
a Taiwanese-based international worker rights organization,
as international advisors for the negotiations. International
Campaign Suspended In recognition of Tainan Enterprises' engagement
in negotiations, the international campaign against Tainan Enterprises
has been suspended, provided negotiations continue in good faith.
Focus on Globalization has also agreed to suspend the campaign
as long as discussions continue in good faith. The international
campaign succeeded in pressuring Tainan Enterprises to coming
to the table to discuss the reopening of the El Salvador plant.
International Delegates Accused of Sabotage
The ITGLWF and other international supporters arrived in
San Salvador for the meetings just after the chemical contamination
of a few different textile factories in a free trade zone outside
of San Salvador. Over the next few days, the press reported
that the President and the Vice President of El Salvador and
the president of the Maquila Association had accused international
trade unionists of orchestrating the chemical contamination.
The accusation was that the visitors were there to discredit
the maquila industry in El Salvador and had orchestrated the
chemical contaminations that sent hundreds of workers to the
hospital to prove a point. In direct communications, the accusers
said that they were misquoted and had not accused the international
delegates of sabotage. Tainan Enterprises is a Taiwanese-based
company that recently closed its textile factory in El Salvador
rather than negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. The
factory has been closed since the end of April. STIT is demanding
that Tainan Enterprises reopen the plant and respect the union's
request to negotiate a contract.
For more information, contact US/LEAP <www.usleap.org>
or the Campaign for Labor Rights, clr@afgj.org
