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Date:        11/27  4:27 PM
From:        CISPES-Bay Area, wscispes@igc.org

ACTION ALERT

SALVADORAN TELECOMMUNICATION UNION MEMBERS FIRED! SALVADORAN GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATION TRY TO BREAK UNION!

Five members of the Union of United Telecommunications Workers of El Salvador (SUTTEL), including three members of the board of directors, were fired from their jobs and physically prevented from entering their work sites over the last three weeks.

According to SUTTEL, CTE-ANTEL (the privatized telecommunications company) officials started a campaign of repression and intimidation to create fear and anxiety among workers to keep them from supporting the union by the threat of being fired.

SUTTEL recently elected a board of directors and is now conducting a massive affiliation drive, with the hope of negotiating a collective contract starting in January 2001.

These firings are the current salvos in a coordinated government campaign of union busting. ASTTEL, the predecessor of SUTTEL, was one of the largest and most militant unions in El Salvador and was in the forefront of the struggle against the privatization of public services. The Salvadoran government and CTE-ANTEL do not want a strong telecommunication workers union that fights for workers' rights. These firings are an attempt by CTE-ANTEL and the Salvadoran government to break SUTTEL after the union recently received its legal status.

Thanks to the force of its organizing and the accompaniment of international solidarity, SUTTEL recently gained its legal status as a union. Now as its members face continued intimidation and repression, the union urgently needs our solidarity and political pressure for the Salvadoran labor ministry to comply with its own labor codes and make CTE-ANTEL reinstate the five fired SUTTEL members.

The demands from SUTTEL are the following:

TAKE ACTION NOW!

  1. Fax the Labor Attache in the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador, Julie Schecter, at 011-503-228-1857
  2. Fax Dominique Saint Jean of CTE-ANTEL in El Salvador at 011-503-221-4849
  3. Support the workers directly! Send a letter of support and solidarity to the SUTTEL workers. Support the SUTTEL workers strike fund by making a check payable to "CISPES Education Fund." Please send statements and check to CISPES, 19 West 21st St Suite 502, New York, NY 10010.

*****Fax this letter to the US Embassy*********

FAX (011)-(503)-228-1857
Ms. Julie Schecter
Labor Affairs
Embassy of the United States
San Salvador, El Salvador

Dear Ms. Schecter:

As someone concerned with the social and economic situation in El Salvador, I am writing about the recent firings of five telecommunication workers. All five are members of SUTTEL, the recently formed telecommunications union, and three are members of the board of directors.

These firings blatantly deny the workers their constitutional right to organize. I request that you use your influence on Salvadoran Labor Ministry officials and CTE-ANTEL to ensure the following:

  1. Full reinstatement of fired workers (Nelson Nicolás Campos, Noé Villacorta, Renzo López Bermúdez, Carlos Alberto Salazar, and Felipe Mejía);
  2. An end to all firings of telecommunications workers; and
  3. Guarantee the right of SUTTEL members to organize without intimidation or repression.

Many of us met with Edmund Sutow (who was formerly in your position) in the past and he was very receptive to our concerns. I hope we can count on the same responsiveness to the above-mentioned concerns and requests from you.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

****Fax this letter to CTE-ANTEL******* 011-503-221-4849
Ing. Dominique Saint Jean
CTE-ANTEL
Prol. 79 Ave. Sur. Pje. B No. 8
Colonia Escalón, San Salvador
El Salvador, América Central
Presente

Estimado Ing. Saint Jean:

Reciba mis saludos cordiales. Estoy escribiéndole para mostrar mi preocupación sobre los despidos recientes de cinco trabajadores y miembros del sindicato SUTTEl .Acuerdo a la Constitucion de la República de El Salvador todos los trabajdores tienen el derecho de organizarse. Yo interpreto estos despidos como un intento negar los trabajadores esto derecho.

Como miembro de la comunidad internacional preocupado por los derechos laborales de los trabajadores, yo solicito que usted hace lo siguiente:

  1. La reinstalación de los cinco trabajadores despidos: Nelson Nicolás Campos, Noé Villacorta, Renzo López Bermúdez, Carlos Alberto Salazar, y Felipe Mejía;
  2. La terminación inmediata de todos los despidos de trabajdores de telecomunicación;
  3. Guaritanziar el derecho de los miembros de SUTTEL de organizar sin intimidación y la represión.

Gracias para su atención y acción .

Atentamente,

****Translation of letter to CTE-ANTEL************** Mr. Dominique Saint Jean
CTE-ANTEL
San Salvador, El Salvador
Presente

Dear Mr. Dominique Saint Jean:

I am writing out of concern for the recent firings of five telecommunications workers and SUTTEL members. According to the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador, workers have the right to organize. I interpret the firings as an attempt to deny workers that right.

As a member of the international community concerned with workers' rights, I request that you do the following:

  1. Rehire the five fired workers (Nelson Nicolás Campos, Noé Villacorta, Renzo López Bermúdez, Carlos Alberto Salazar, and Felipe Mejía);
  2. Stop all firings of telecommunications workers; and
  3. Guarantee the right of SUTTEL members to organize without intimidation or repression.

Sincerely,

Brief chronology of the situation:

Sent by Bay Area CISPES,
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador 3382 26th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: (415)648-8222
Fax: (415)648-6529
www.cispes.org

CISPES meets on the 1st Wednesday of
every month at 7:00pm at above address.


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