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Last Updated: Aug 12, 2008 - 2:27:36 PM |
Following four months of earnest bargaining between ICEM affiliate
Firestone Agricultural Workers’ Union of Liberia (FAWUL) and management
of the Firestone Rubber Plantation in the West African nation, the two
sides reached a historic three-year collective agreement on 27 July.
The contract, the first between the two parties and one covering some
over 4,500 workers, was signed on 6 August. Two days later, the FAWUL
leadership team, together with officers of the newly-merged Liberian
Labor Congress, briefed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on the
agreement.
The contract comes seven months after the Liberian Supreme Court ruled
that the union was the legitimate bargaining representative for
Firestone workers. In July 2007, FAWUL defeated a longstanding yellow
union in an internationally monitored election. That election came
after an arduous union-building project on behalf of plantation workers
by the US-based United Steelworkers (USW) and the US Solidarity Center
that succeeded in bringing a free and democratic trade union to the
plantation.
FAWUL affiliated with the ICEM following the mid-2007 election.
“This is a major success story for Firestone Plantation staff, and one
which they can be justifiably proud of,” stated ICEM General Secretary
Manfred Warda. “The efforts of the USW and the Solidarity Center in
leading up to these negotiations cannot be understated.”
USW President Leo Gerard called the first agreement “a new day for
workers throughout Liberia. It is also a crucial victory in the global
fight for workers’ rights. This agreement sets a new labor standard for
all of Liberia’s workers.”
The contract grants rubber tappers a 24% wage increase averaged over
the contract’s term that is retroactive to January 2007. For other
workers, a 21% increase was realized, backdated to the same date, which
means all plantation staff will receive a 19-month retroactive pay
raise.
Agreement was made to reduce by 20% rubber tree quotas, meaning each
worker will tap 150 fewer trees. Also, FAWUL and plantation management
came to terms on a mechanized system of transporting natural rubber
from roads to weigh stations, relieving workers from the 150-pound
buckets that had to carry for long stretches.
Regarding social improvements, Bridgestone-Firestone will build new
high schools, one on the plantation site and the other in the nearby
community of Harbel. Students will be able to attend school free of
charge through Grade 12. Previously, free education was provided only
up to Grade 9.
The ICEM salutes FAWUL President Austin Natee and Secretary-General
Edwin Cisco, as well as the entire leadership team of this dynamic
trade union for their historic accomplishment.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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