Jul - Navidad - Christmas - Noël

It's not Christmas for all of us and maybe it is time to think about the Christmas spirit when reading this from INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ITUC) homepage:


"SITRAPETEN members assaulted and dislodged

Brussels, 18 December 2009 (ITUC OnLine): On 10 December, 250 heavily
armed state security force officers dislodged 25 members of SITRAPETEN,
along with MSICG political council members and a number of journalists,
to free the area to set up the stage for a concert to be held as part of
"La Academia" television series produced by the Mexican television
station TV Azteca.

The security officers surged against the trade unionists, beating them
with truncheons and sprayed a strong irritant directly onto their faces.
The product blinded them for a time and continued to affect their skin
for over twenty four hours. Throughout the incident, officers from the
National Civil Police filmed the workers, together with those of other
nationalities who had joined with them in solidarity.

The security forces then went on to destroy the place they had been
living in for over a year. The workers have been on the street since
their employer, Agua Pura Salvavidas, unfairly dismissed them when they
formed a union. Despite a court ruling in their favour, ordering the
workers' immediate reinstatement and recognition of the trade union,
their situation remains unchanged. The Castillo Hnos company owners have
ignored the rulings, spurred by the indifference shown by the Guatemalan
authorities, particularly the Labour Ministry and the General Labour
Inspectorate."

Let's send our collegues in Guatemala a thought of solidarity in this difficult situation and hope that the union work will soon be implemented in every country as being a normal part of every day's working habit.