ACTION: Salvadorian Hermosa workers need your support
Friday, 26 May 2006 11:32
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| ACTION: Salvadorian Hermosa workers need your support |
| History & background |
| What workers are demanding |
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Please take action to support the workers of the Hermosa factory in San Salvador (EL Salvador), which closed in May last year leaving 190 workers (among whom were 64 trade union members) jobless. The factory has a history of violations of labour standards, specifically concerning payment of wages and social security provisions. The closure followed shortly after the workers had registered a union. Before it closed Hermosa was producing for a number of brands appearing in this months FIFA World Cup including Adidas and Nike.
After the closure, it turned out the owner, Mr. Montalvo has failed to pay 353.000 USD of the legal premiums for social security and pension funds since 1996, building up a huge debt with various government agencies. Since the closure, workers have been demanding to be re-hired as well as payment of their legally due severance money, pension fund money, outstanding wages, and overtime payments (since 2004).The workers' legal representatives estimate that for 63 of the organized workers the amount due in outstanding wages and various other payments (excluding pension funds) amounts to an additional minimum 127,823.30 USD.
Workers are holding both the brands sourcing from Hermosa over the past years and the government responsible. Buyers at Hermosa include Wal-Mart (White Stag), Nike, Kids Connection, adidas, Reebok, Russel Athletic and Speedo. So far, none of these demands have been met.
Please find below:
a short history and some background to the case
demands for buyers and the government
