Ships turned away from Acajutla as port shuts due to union strikes

Translated by Brian Schwarz

Originally published December 30, 2009 in "El Diario de Hoy" of San Salvador, El Salvador (elsalvador.com) under the heading Barcos se alejan de Acajutla, cerrado por protesta sindical

ACAJUTLA, EL SALVADOR – Port employees have blocked the entrance to port installations in El Salvador since last Monday December 28 and have threatened to worsen their protests if the port authority does not soon responsd to their demands, which are direct contracts with CEPA [Ecuador’s port authority] or better salaries.

Ships that load and offload at the port of Acajutla have seen delays in their operations due to the dock worker-provoked labor strike. Since Monday, some 400 members of the El Salvador seaport worker’s union (STIPES) have blocked rights of way to CEPA installations in Acajutla, Sonsonate, forcing bulk carriers and containerships to divert shipments to the Guatemalan port of Quetzal.

The greatest losses have fallen on the shoulders of importers. Representatives from this sector say that ships carrying apples, grapes and toys, which were slated for distribution for year’s end festivities, cannot be offloaded at the port due to the strike.

The protests are designed to ask that the government extend direct contracts to employees who currently work for the three different sub-contractors operating through CEPA.

The demonstrators claim that these businesses do not offer fair treatment of its employees, who are humiliated by receiving low salaries of $7, $10, or $15 per month. These payments were confirmed through pay stubs and Social Security documents.

The majority of the [affected] employees work in the loading and offloading of ships.

General secretary of the union, Gregorio Elias, said that since Monday night they have initiated the strikes by blocking rights of way to CEPA [port facilities], due to a lack of response from the port authority.

“We want to be contracted directly with CEPA or that the subcontractors commit themselves to giving a fair salary with all the requirements of the law to their employees”, [Elias] told El Diario de Hoy on Tuesday December 29.

The unionists insist that the current president committed himself during his political campaign to fight the way CEPA manages its workforce, but that for now things remain unchanged.

CEPA president Guillermo López Suárez holds that he has personally met with the union about 30 times and that the most recent meeting on December 24 supposedly resulted in an impasse between the union and the port authority.

On this occasion, [López Suárez said], the conditions set forth by the plaintiffs [unionists] were accepted, including [the request] to contract directly with the unions. So when protests worsened December 26 he was surprised.

The public official made clear that CEPA does not intend to engage in “jobbery” with opportunists who have seen the opportunity to negotiate.

The workers also have denounced [CEPA’s] failure to fulfill a resolution agreed upon five months ago that would have made effective the new contracts for 2010.

Members of the union have said that demonstrations would begin to increase starting next Monday and do so until a response is received from the government.