The Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS) unveils report describing systemic violations of working conditions and fundamental workers’ rights at Fyffes farms in Choluteca, Honduras

The Executive Committee of the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Agroindustria y Similares (STAS) would like to present the report “Honduran Melon Workers Fight to Cultivate Justice on Fyffes Farms” to the Honduran State, the national and international community, as well as to the media, which reveals the labor conditions in the melon farms in the southern part of Honduras and details the following key points:

FIRST: In order to advance the struggle for labor justice, waged by the permanent and temporary agricultural workers, who plant, harvest and pack melons for the multinational fruit company Fyffes owned by the Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo, in Choluteca, Honduras, and who for more than a decade have been demanding respect for fundamental labor rights, collective bargaining, improvements in occupational health and safety, and to that end have also been organizing themselves into a chapter of the independent union STAS, in order to transform the precarious working conditions in the melon fields into decent jobs with guaranteed labor rights.

SECOND: This report reveals the labor rights violations committed by the companies Melón Export and SURAGROH, both subsidiaries of the multinational Fyffes, who despite multiple complaints and inspections by the Secretary of Labor, persist in the non-compliance of workers' rights. This report exposes serious problems of non-compliance with the rights upon termination of employment for the season, such as payment for the thirteenth and fourteenth month in a proportional manner, and at the same time exposes occupational health and safety issues that must be corrected as a matter of urgency.

THIRD: The report shows that the companies Melón Export and SURAGROH have failed to comply with their obligation to affiliate workers to the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS), limiting their access to social security and especially affecting workers who suffer accidents and/or illness, as well as people who have reached retirement age; many workers of advancing age and deteriorating health suffer the distressing reality of being forced to continue working for lack of a decent pension, living precariuosly because they do not have the necessary resources to support themselves in any other way. In addition, there is evidence of the existence of a direct pressure mechanism for workers to join company-sponsored unions, in clear violation of ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association, as well as national legislation in effect.

Therefore, we state the following:

1. The dignity and livelihood of thousands of workers depend on concrete and swift action to eradicate injustice and exploitation in the agribusiness sector. It is time to act forcefully to ensure that justice is done, and workers' rights are protected.

2. We call on the national and international community, human rights organizations, labor monitoring entities and the media to raise the visibility of this situation faced by the workers at the Fyffes subsidiaries.

3. We request the Secretary of Labor to urgently develop all necessary actions to guarantee the fundamental rights of workers and in particular, to guarantee freedom of association and collective bargaining for STAS affiliates.
4. We request the IHSS to proceed through the Employer Control Unit, to develop the regulatory process, so that, in the next season's harvest, all seasonal workers are affiliated in a mandatory manner.

The full report is available for consultation and discussion. We thank you in advance for your attention and support in this important cause.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras, September 18, 2024