Colombia: Finally Bavaria agreed to negotiate a collective agreement with its unions

After a nine-month standoff blocking any talks dealing with the list of demands presented by the unions, Bavaria has finally agreed to collective bargaining negotiations, which should be opened by 11 March 2013 at the latest if all goes to plan.

The trade unions Sinaltrainbec and Sintraceba signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bavaria, in which the company undertakes to recognise the trade union organisations and to open collective bargaining negotiations, which the company had been blocking by means of legal subterfuge and a policy of systematic persecution and hostility targeted at its unionised employees.

The ILO, it should be underlined, played an important role, exerting pressure and taking an active part in securing this agreement through the Special Committee on the Handling of Conflicts referred to the ILO (CETCOIT).

Bavaria, owned by the South African multinational SABMiller, employs close to five thousand direct workers and over six thousand subcontracted workers at its six plants in Colombia.

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For more information, (in Spanish)