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14 August, 2005ICEM news release No. 09/2004
T he government of Argentina yesterday issued a second order to Bridgestone/Firestone management to reinstate some 90 employees who were sacked at a tyre factory last October, and to commence good-faith negotiations with the union.
Thousands of supporters of SUTNA rallied
the Japanese Embassy in Buenos Aires 17 February
The union, Sindicato Unico de Trabajadores del Neumático Argentina (SUTNA), has been lodged in a fierce dispute with the Japanese-based company, which has refused to negotiate a renewal agreement at its San Fernando factory near Buenos Aires with SUTNA. Thousands of demonstrators in support of SUTNA marched and rallied in front of the Japanese embassy in Buenos Aires on 17 February.
The dispute centers on managers circumventing bargaining with the union last October in order to achieve rationalization with a new shift schedule. Bridgestone/Firestone unilaterally fired the 90 then even though a valid stability clause in the labour agreement prevented any workforce reduction without first negotiating with the union.
The Labour Ministry for the state of Buenos Aires ordered the workers reinstated with backpay on 5 December, but Bridgestone/Firestone defied that order.
After a hearing on 19 February, National Minister of Labour Carlos Tomado firmly condemned the company's actions and ordered Bridgestone/Firestone to abide by the labour agreement and to recognize the industrial relations policies of the country.
"The reputation of Bridgestone/Firestone worldwide would be seriously damaged if they again defy an order from the Argentine government, this time from the Minister of Labour himself," said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. "We call on all affiliates to aid SUTNA by registering protests with Bridgestone/Firestone management in their respective countries, and with the official Japanese missions near them."
In 2001, at the height of a currency crisis in Argentina, SUTNA signed a labour agreement conceding pay cuts of up to 25% and granting other entitlement reductions in order to keep Bridgestone's tyre operations in the South American country viable. The contract contained "industrial peace" language guaranteeing job security and full dialogue over issues with SUTNA.
This initiative by SUTNA enabled the company to expend US$101 million in 2001-02 to expand production and shift to continuous operation. But management unilaterally voided that with last October's sackings, refusal to bargain with the union and prohibiting SUTNA representatives from even entering the tyre factory.
"We negotiated terms which were prejudicial to workers because we believed in the future of the company here in Argentina," stated SUTNA General Secretary Pedro Wasiejko. "We trusted the company would respond when the economic situation got better. It has now improved but we're met by a company that refuses to comply with the terms of our agreement, or with the administration resolutions of the government."
SUTNA is calling on Bridgestone/Firestone workers and their unions everywhere to direct letters of protest to local BF/FS managers, and to write to Japanese consulates and embassies in the countries in which they reside over the firm's intransigence in Argentina.