[Cispes-update] Salvadoran Union Front defending workers rights

[CISPES National Office]

Salvadoran Union Front defending workers rights
CISPES Update
August 30, 2007 

For the past two months, workers in the San Salvador branch of the
international corporation AVX have been involved in organizing workers
within the company. Two weeks ago, 27 workers were laid off for this work,
and in that time the Salvadoran Union Front(FSS) has been helping to
organize the fired workers, and just this past Sunday, the organized workers
of AVX  celebrated their becoming a union member of the Salvadoran Union
Front.  

As an organized group, they plan to continue to denounce the series of
violations of their rights as workers, echoed by increasing public protest
of the high cost of living and the lack of employment in El Salvador.  Last
month, the price of corn doubled and the cost of basic household needs also
increased.  To alleviate this situation, FMLN deputies in the Legislative
Assembly recommended an increase to the minimum wage to the National Minimum
Wage Council, comprised mostly of ARENA members and business
representatives, but it was rejected.by the ARENA and PCN members of the
Council.

Government hesitant to present water laws

SETA members met with ANDA President Cesar Funes two weeks ago to discuss
the government¹s water law and privatization plans. According to Funes, he
told President Saca that due to the negative attention generated nationally
and abroad as a result of the Suchitoto incident, to try to present the law
any time soon would likely create unwanted publicity. Saca apparently
responded by saying that as long as he was president, the law would not be
presented. 

The Salvadoran social movement has reasoned that either Saca and ARENA
recognize the unpopularity of this policy and are unwilling to damage the
party before the 2009 elections, or that this is a ploy to create a false
sense of security among the social movement in regards to water
privatization. Wilfredo Romero, SETA General Secretary, suggested to Funes
that the government present a public resolution to the National Assembly,
pledging that water will not be privatized. Last Thursday, SETA met again
with Funes to discuss the nature of this resolution, and it was decided that
anything ANDA or President Saca decide to present will not be signed onto or
otherwise endorsed by SETA. Funes also backpedaled slightly from his earlier
suggestions of publicizing the event, and at the end of the meeting only
said that the government had something ³in the works.²

This sort of maneuvering has come to be expected from Saca and ARENA, and
for this reason SETA will continue pressuring the Salvadoran government for
a public statement against privatization, but will not slow down any of its
anti-privatization efforts. Meanwhile,  SETA will maintain their heavy
schedule of community organizing and educating in regards to water
privatization and the government¹s intentions.

It is clear that the social movement has been successful in its
anti-privatization campaign thus far, and that privatized water is something
the people of El Salvador are rejecting. It is now more important than ever
for the national and international communities to continue their efforts
against privatization, and to denounce the government¹s repression of these
efforts! 

Social organizations announce support for possible 2009 FMLN candidacy

In the first public social movement endorsement of an FMLN Presidential
candidate for the 2009 elections, SETA joined with the Salvadoran Union
Front (FSS), the Union of Pension Workers (SITINPEP), the Recyclers of El
Salvador and other sectors of the movement to announce their support for
Mauricio Funes.  Funes is a well respected journalist, as he has offered to
the Salvadoran people more transparent and unbiased information and analysis
of El Salvador for the past 20 years.  The FSS announced their commitment to
supporting him and the FMLN as the political entities that will champion
workers¹ rights and bring about positive change in El Salvador expressing
that ³Mauricio Funes is the ideal candidate, capable of coinciding and
consolidating the different social and popular sectors of the country to
create those necessary changes that will benefit the majority of the
population².  

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