Coca-Cola FEMSA (Coke's primary bottler in Latin America) just announced plans to close nine bottling plants in Colombia - which would leave 2,500 workers without a job. On September 9, Coca-Cola FEMSA called the workers to meetings in Barrancabermeja, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Duitama, Montería, Neiva, Pereira, Valledupar, and Villavicencio. The managers announced their plan to close those plants and pressured the workers to resign from their contracts in exchange for a lump-sum payment - "voluntary retirement." The workers were told that if they didn't "resign," they would be dismissed. In Barrancabermeja the workers were given until 4 P.M. that afternoon to resign, and the administration has shut down the production line at the plant.

Coca-Cola FEMSA's efforts to force the workers to resign comes just two weeks after paramilitary gunmen shot at the vehicle of Juan Carlos Galvis - vice president of SINALTRAINAL (the Coke workers' union) in Barrancabermeja. Juan Carlos' bodyguards returned the fire and the gunmen fled away, and last week the 15 year old son of a union leader was kidnapped and tortured.

Child of Sinaltrainal leader and Coca Cola worker tortured

Attacks and threats continue against Sinaltrainal members and their children.

On the 10 September 2003 at 1pm in the Boulevard Simon Bolivar, four unknown men, their faces covered by hoods, stopped DAVID JOSE CARRANZA CALLE, the 15 year old son of National Sinaltrainal leader and Coca Cola worker LIMBERTO CARRANZA, forced him off his bicycle, and bundled him into a white truck. They drove away with him and tortured him, asking him over and over where his father was. At about 4.30pm they dumped him in a place known as "Cañon de la Ahuyama" where he was found by a man who alerted the police.

At the same time, Limberto Carranza received a phone call at his house, saying "son of a bitch trade unionist, we're going to get you, and if we don't get you, we'll blow up your house."

This is yet another outrage to add to the long list of murders, death threats, forced displacements, arbitrary detentions, mass sackings and attempted murders, the most recent of which was the attempt against the life of JUAN CARLOS GALVIS, vice president of Sinaltrainal in Barrancabermeja, and the threats and intimidation that we continue to receive all over the country. This renewal of the criminal offensive against the workers coincides with our resistance, started on 9 September 2003, to the actions of Coca Cola Femsa SA who just like in the years 2000 and 2001, have been locking workers in hotels and work places, pressurising them to renounce their work contracts and take redundancy. They have used blackmail and psychological terrorism, threatening dismissal as in the cases of Pedro Andrade and Sergio Silva, sacked today in Cucuta. Furthermore, Coca Cola have illegally converted their bottling plants in Monteria, Cartagena, Valledupar, Cucuta, Barrancabermeja, Pereira, Neiva, Villavicencio and Duitame into distribution centres.

This new attack by Coca Cola Femsa SA is part of their strategy of cost reduction, subcontracting, union busting and the non recognition of collective agreements, in order to concentrate production in a minimal number of "mega plants" with fewer workers. We have said for many years that the company was preparing the way for this attack on the workers, and now it is enjoying the benefits that Alvaro Uribe Velez is delivering through globalisation and the FTAA.

It has been shown once again, that to contain the disastrous policies of this multinational, it is necessary, today more than ever, to support the international campaign against Coca Cola, the boycott of its products, disinvestment and permanent protest to guarantee that the company does not succeed in its objective of bringing its products from other towns or possibly even other countries, maintaining its market, increasing profits and throwing thousands of families onto the streets.

Despite all the aggression, Sinaltrainal and the workers continue their resistance. We find ourselves in a labour dispute, and as such are in a constant mobilisation and public denouncement, until Coca Cola see fit to find a solution to the proposal for compensation which was presented to them last 22 January to relieve some of the damages they have caused their victims.

AGAINST THE POLICY OF EXTERMINATION OF WORKERS, INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST COCA COLA.

SINALTRAINAL

Web: www.sinaltrainal.org E-mail: SINALTRAINALdinalhotmail.com

Example Letter to Coca Cola

International Department, Coca Cola Great Britain, 1 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London W6 9HQ Tel: 0208 237 3000

Dear Coca Cola,

I'm writing to express my grave concern that Coke's bottler in Colombia, Coca-Cola FEMSA, is planning to close nine bottling plants which would leave 2,500 workers without a job. On 9th September, Coca-Cola FEMSA called the workers to meetings in Barrancabermeja, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Duitama, Montería, Neiva, Pereira, Valledupar, and Villavicencio. The managers announced their plan to close those plants and pressured the workers to resign from their contracts in exchange for a lump-sum payment - "voluntary retirement." The workers were told that if they didn't "resign," they would be dismissed. In Barrancabermeja, the workers were given until 4 P.M. that afternoon to "resign."

Coca-Cola FEMSA's efforts to force the workers to resign, comes just two weeks after the attempted killing of Juan Carlos Galvis - vice president of the SINALTRAINAL union in Barrancabermeja. The right-wing paramilitaries have repeatedly threatened Juan Carlos, and have said that unless he resigns his job at the Coke bottling plant and leaves the union, he will be killed. The managers of the Coke plants in Colombia maintain close relations with the paramilitaries, and seven leaders of SINALTRAINAL have been killed since 1990.

I also deplore the kidnapping by four unknown men of David Jose Carranza Calle, the 15 year old son of Coca Cola worker and SINALTRAINAL union leader Limberto Carranza on 10th September. david was held for over three hours and interrogated as to the whereabouts of his father.

The Coca-Cola Company is responsible for the policies being implemented by the bottlers in Colombia. I urge you to stop this repression and mistreatment of the workers that produce your products in Colombia. I'm asking you to immediately contact Coca- Cola FEMSA and tell them to keep the plants operating and to end the violence against the workers.

Sincerely,

Please send copies to Colombia Solidarity Campaign, and any replies you recieve to

E-mail: colombia_schotmail.com Colombia Solidarity Campaign, PO Box 8446, London N17 6NZ

Torturan a hijo de dirigente sindical trabajador de Coca Cola
por Sinaltrainal . Friday September 12, 2003 at 01:10 AM

VERSION ESPAÑOL

CONTINUAN LOS ATENTADOS Y AMENAZAS CONTRA AFILIADOS E HIJOS DE TRABAJADORES DE SINALTRAINAL

El 10 de Septiembre de 2003, siendo las 13:00 horas en sitio conocido como Bulevar Simón Bolívar (la tienda la esmeralda ) en la ciudad de Barranquilla-Colombia, cuatro sujetos desconocidos que cubrían sus rostros con capuchas bajaron de la bicicleta en que se movilizaba DAVID JOSE CARRANZA CALLE de 15 años de edad hijo del trabajador de Coca Cola en la ciudad de Barranquilla y Dirigente Nacional de SINALTRAINAL LIMBERTO CARRANZA y lo subieron a la fuerza a una camioneta blanca, se lo llevaron y lo torturaron, repreguntándole por el paradero de Limberto Carranza. Siendo aproximadamente las 16:30 horas lo arrojaron en el sitio conocido como cañón de la ahuyama, donde fue recogido por un señor que transitaba y lo llevó ante la policía.

Al mismo tiempo, en casa de Limberto Carranza se recibió una llamada telefónica donde le dijeron "sindicalista hijueputa, te vamos a quebrar, sino te quebramos a ti, haremos un atentado contra la vivienda"

Este hecho se suma a la lista asesinados, amenazados de muerte, desplazados forzozos, encarcelados, despidos masivos, atentados, siendo el mas reciente el ocurrido el 22 de Agosto de este año contra JUAN CARLOS GALVIS vicepresidente de SINALTRAINAL en Barrancabermeja y las presiones intimidatorias que seguimos recibiendo en diferentes regiones. Se reactiva nuevamente la ofensiva criminal contra los trabajadores en momentos en que estamos resistiendo desde el 9 de Septiembre de 2003 la ofensiva que lanzó la empresa COCA COLA FEMSA S.A., que igual como ocurrió en los años 2000 y 2001, sigue encerrando a la fuerza en hoteles y en las embotelladoras a los trabajadores, presionándolos para que renuncien a sus contratos de trabajo a cambio de una indemnización económica. Con chantaje y terrorismo psicológico amenaza con despidos, como efectivamente lo hizo hoy 10 de Septiembre de 2003 en la ciudad de Cúcuta con los trabajadores PEDRO ANDRADE y SERGIO SILVA, e ilegalmente Coca Cola convirtió en centros de distribución las embotelladoras de Montería, Cartagena, Valledupar, Cúcuta, Barrancabermeja, Pereira, Neiva, Villavicencio y Duitama.

Esta arremetida de COCA COLA FEMSA S.A. hace parte de su estrategia de reducción de costos, subcontratación de mano de obra, eliminación de la organización sindical y el convenio colectivo de trabajo, para concentrar la producción en un número mínimo de embotelladoras (megaplantas) con menos trabajadores y desde allí abastecer el mercado con centros de distribución. Visionamos por muchos años que la empresa estaba preparando el camino para darle este golpe a los trabajadores y se aprovecha hoy de las ventajas que el actual gobierno de Álvaro Uribe Vélez le ha venido otorgando, con el llamado proceso de globalización y los beneficios que le traerá el ALCA

Queda demostrado una vez mas que para detener la política nefasta de la Empresa Transnacional, hoy mas que nunca es urgente apoyar la campaña mundial contra coca cola, de no consumo, desinversión y protesta permanente de toda la población para garantizar que la empresa no logre su objetivo de llevar sus productos de otras ciudades y posiblemente de otros países, manteniendo su mercado, aumentando su rentabilidad y dejando en la calle a miles de familias.

A pesar de toda esta agresión SINALTRAINAL y los trabajadores continúan resistiendo. Existe un conflicto laboral y como tal estamos en movilización y denuncia permanente hasta que coca cola se digne dar solución a la propuesta de reparación integral que se le presento el 22 de Enero de 2003, para mitigar los daños causados a las víctimas

CONTRA LA POLITICA DE EXTERMINIO DE LOS TRABAJADORES, CAMPAÑA MUNDIAL CONTRA COCA COLA

web: www.sinaltrainal.org e-mail: SINALTRAINALdinalhotmail.com +(57)-1-2324626 / 2455325 Carrera 15 # 35-18
Bogotá D.C.