Labor Issues-Maquillas

Legislative Assembly Commission on Labor

According to the President of the Labor Committee of the Legislative Assembly, working conditions in El Salvador have not improved very much because of resistance from the right wing. The minimum wage varies depending on the type of job but for all sectors is less than $200 a month. With an average cost of living of $750 per month for a family of 5, there is no way a family can survive on the minimum.

Although there are laws protecting workers, they have not been implemented. A majority of the people in the cabinet are business people who are protecting their own interests. The Ministry of Labor is in charge of making sure labor laws are followed, but in the past 20 years this hasn't happened as it should. In the maquilla sector collaboration between the inspectors and owners results in a failure to document abuses. Workers who try to form unions are fired and put on black lists.

Another concern is pensions. During the last 30 years, the government has privatized the pension system using Chile's system as a model. But El Salvador doesn't have the developed economy that Chile has, and it has no oil, gas or other natural resources. The pension system works as a savings account, but because of the economy in recent years, pensions haven't been enough to have a comfortable retirement.

For those in the informal sector, the street vendors, there are no protections. They are not covered by minimum wage laws or the pension system nor do they enjoy the health care benefits which other workers have. However, the FMLN platform calls for working with the informal sector to expand the Social Security (health) and pension systems. We hope they succeed.

The Labor Committee President also informed us that although the U. S. government supports labor rights in public, that support is not much in evidence. He said that labor rights are not protected as they should be by the free trade agreement, CAFTA.

As for unions, a very small percentage of private employees have unions. In the public sector there are employee associations, but most don't have the standing of unions.

Maquillas

Later that day we met with a lawyer for the Movimiento de Mujeres-Mélida Anaya Montes (MAM) and 2 maquilla workers. MAM provides training for maquilla workers in 3 areas: gender relations in the household, feminist ethics, and labor law/worker rights issues. Since outside organizations aren't allowed to enter the maquillas, workers need to be able to identify violations of their rights.

To attend meetings or training sessions, women must take off work at great risk. One of the women at this meeting graduated from the training program but was accused of being a guerrilla and was fired. Now she can't get a job in a maquilla but works training other workers.

Since workers have a great fear of being fired, MAM trainers cannot approach them directly. Instead trainers give massages and good smelling lotions to the workers. While giving the massage, they subtly get information regarding working conditions inside the maquillas and let the women know about the training sessions.

Occupational health is a major concern. Many women develop problems with their arms and legs, and extremely bright lights cause skin damage. Because it costs about $1,000 to prosecute a case, and there needs to be more research to provide evidence of the causes of the health issues, not many cases have been denounced. But because of MAM's work, occupational health was debated in the Legislative Assembly.

Owners of the maquillas come from Taiwan, South Korea, the United States and El Salvador. Although working conditions in all maquillas are very poor, there are fewer violations of worker protection laws in the U.S. owned businesses than in the others.

Recently Lida, a South Korean company, closed and 1,700 jobs were lost. When the company refused to pay workers what they were due, the women took control of the machines until the company paid something. The workers only received 50% of what they were owed but wouldn 't have gotten that without the organized protest.

MAM has difficulty getting information regarding what employers report regarding deductions for Social Security (health care). Employers are pocketing the money rather than paying into the systmem for their employees. Then the women can't get health care.

The maquilla workers told us that prior to the Presidential election, employers told workers that if the FMLN was elected, the company would close and the women would lose their jobs. Workers were also told to take a photo of their ballots showing they had voted for ARENA. Employers held daily meetings, sometimes 3 times a day. In these meetings, bosses played on the emotions of the women by telling them to think about their families when they voted. Without jobs, their children would grow up hungry, there would be another war, and/or the company would move if the FMLN won.

At the time of this report, MAM was working on a report of working conditions inside the maquillas. A pulication date of April, 2009 was projected. I gave the lawyer my on the MAM website: www.lasmeridas.org.

In Memory of Oscar Romero

Today, March 24, marks the 29th anniversary of Salvdoran Archbishop Oscar Romero's death. On Saturday afternoon hundreds of people gathered at the monument, El Salvador del Mundo, to listen to music and begin a procession to the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Savior in El Centro where an outside mass was held. Today there was another procession beginning at the chapel where Romero was slain in 1980 and again ending at the Cathedral. To learn more about Romero, watch the film Romero starring Raul Julia. You can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Election Day-- March 15, 2009

The composition of my observer delegation was very interesting. Four of the eight were young women from Quebec whose native language was French. Most were more or less fluent in English and/or Spanish. One was a young Salvadoran-Canadian man who has lived in Quebec for 3 years. His English was very poor but he was able to speak some French. Two more were a husband and wife from Milwaukee. His Spanish was almost fluent while hers was very basic. I was the coordinator of the group, but my Spanish, though much improved, is still not fluent, so I often needed help with translation. The 3 of us from the U.S. speak no French. Thus an eavesdropper might hear English, French and Spanish being spoken within the group at any given moment.

In El Salvdor there may be one or more voting centers in a municipality. Within a voting center there are a number of tables which have their own voting booth and ballot box. For this election since only 2 of the 6 political parties had a candidate, there were 4 people seated at each table (called the JRV or Vote Receiving Board)--2 from ARENA and 2 from the FMLN. They sat in this order at the table: Secretary, President, 2nd Vocal, 1st Vocal. Each person at the table had a specific role. Each party was allowed 1 official Vigilante and Suplentes (substitutes) for the people at the table and the Vigilantes. If 1, or 2 observers as was the case at my table, were added, there wasn't much space left for the voters.

Unlike most voting centers in El Salvador, which are inside schools, the voting center in Chalatenango is set up on the sidewalks of two adjoining streets. You would think that this would allow for more space between voting tables, but that was not the case. It was very difficult for observers to find a place to stand without interfering with the process.

In El Salvador voters are assigned a voting center based on their last names--not on their residence. This means that many voters have to travel very long distances in order to vote. Thus a number of people were unable to reach the centers. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) did provide free transportation in the large urban areas such as San Salvador but not in smaller municipalities such as Chalatenango. Transportation there was provided by the political parties. For this election that was the FMLN (the leftist party) and ARENA (the party of the right). Since ARENA is the party of the wealthy, there were many more buses, taxis, vans and cars bringing ARENA voters than those transporting FMLN voters.

Though Election Day in Chalatenango and in other voting centers was very peaceful, there were a number of observed cases of not following the election laws and of fraud as well as unintentional mistakes. For example, at the table I observed, the Secretary forgot to stamp the unused ballots at the end of voting. While checking through the box of voting materials, the JRV discovered the unused stamp and promptly corrected that mistake. In other municipalities voters were observed taking photos of their ballots which serves as a confirmation that employers had threatened to fire workers who did not show proof of their vote for ARENA. In Chalatenango, the President of the Municipal Voting Board offered a youth, who had forgotten to bring his DUI (official identification document), transportation to retrieve it if the youth would vote for the FMLN.

In the end, it is truly a miracle that the FMLN won this election. Prior to the election ARENA had given food and school supplies to families and make-up kits to young women and offered money to those who would vote for their candidate. Workers in large businesses such as Coca-Cola and the maquillas (garment factories) were told that the factory would close and move to another country if the FMLN won, or they were told to vote for ARENA and show proof of their votes by taking photos of their ballots with their cell phones. The 2 conservative newspapers and TV channels bombarded people with threats that a vote for Funes was a vote for Cesar Chavez of Venzuela and that remittances from the U.S. would end if the FMLN gained the presidency. Fortunately, because of messages from many of you, the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador did make a statement contradicting the latter threat and affirming U.S. neutrality in the election. Funes won this election by more than 2.5 percentage points. How much greater would that margin have been if not for vote buying and intimidation by the opposition?

Guarjila

Our Election Observer Mission delegation arrived in Guarjila, Chalatenango, on Saturday afternoon, March 14, one day before the Presidential election. Guarjila is a community near the Honduran border and is a stronghold of the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front). It is also the home of Radio Sumpul which has a Sister City relationship with WERU radio in Maine.

When we arrived, a blockade of the road into Guarjila from the north was in progress. This blockade had been set up over a week before because of concerns that Hondurans would try to enter the country illegally and vote for the ARENA party candidate. At first members of the community ran the blockade, but they were able to convince the National Civilian Police to take over this task. They informed us that a number of Hondurans without documentation had been denied entry. Their fear was that because ARENA had promised payment for their votes, the Hondurans would attempt to reach their destinations on foot.

Another indication of the community's activism was the formation of a human chain consisting of members of that community as well as those of San Jose Las Flores and Nueva Trinidad to block representatives from the Canadian mining company Au Martinique Silver from entering their communities in 2005.

We met with the Community Council who told the history of the community and of the priest who worked there for many years, Jon Cortina. Most of the residents of the community did not live there before the war, though they did live in the region around Guarjila. The community has fond memories of Fr. Cortina who, during the war, was a voice of opposition like the other Jesuits who were assassinated in the University of Central America on November 16, 1989. The reason Cortina survived is that he was in Guarjila at the time of the assassination. They also spoke of their optimism and hope surrounding the election and their firm belief that Mauricio Funes would win.

Before leaving, we visited the radio station where one of our members made a brief statement about the role of election observers and answered a few questions from the announcer. For more information about Radio Sumpul and its sister station in Maine click on this link: http://www.weru.org/RadioSumpul.html.

Exciting News from Chilama

Today Sarah Bishop, one of Sister Cities’ El Salvador staff members, and I visited with the Directiva in Chilama, the Sister City of Friends of Chilama in Crystal Lake, Woodstock and Cary. The Directiva has 11 members--7 women and 4 men. Francisco Trujillo is the president again after taking a year off because of a work obligation. Marleni Guadalupe Menjivar is the vice-president and Maria Teresa Flores is the secretary.

I'm extremely excited about what's happening there. In December the community finally received legal status from the alcalde (mayor). This enables them to receive support for their projects from the government. The mayor has promised the use of a machine that will be used to widen the road to the village and sand and cement to prevent the road from washing away. The road already is much better than last year at this time. A truck can drive down and back up the road!
They have also had the use of a machine to place rocks and boulders along the banks of the river to act as a levee and prevent flooding in the wet season.

Community members have received training from CORDES regarding gender issues and hygeine while others attended a political meeting on February 5 and will go door to door to campaign for the Presidential election. They have also received training on water and sanitation and disaster prevention.

They have a work plan for other projects as well. Last week they held an assembly and the entire community committed to work on the plan. Those plans include a small chapel so folks don't have to travel so far to go to a church (they already have the cement), a primary school, an agriculture project, continuing to work on environmental concerns, and bringing pure water to the entire community. They have met with the mayor who has agreed to support these projects.

The Directiva thanked us for supporting the scholarship program and for bringing medicine and school supplies. They asked about Libby and are excited that she hopes to visit in November or December.

They are encouraged by the Obama presidency and asked me what I thought. They wanted to know if I thought the US would not interfere with the election as it has in the past. That's a good question. I said there were many in the US who have been contacting their members of Congress and calling on the acting US Ambassador in ES to deny any claims that the US favors either party.

The reason they were finally granted legal status--politics! Most people in Chilama are supporters of the FMLN while the mayor is a member of the PDC party. In the election in January, the FMLN and the PDC formed a coalition meaning that a vote for the FMLN was a vote for the PDC so that the mayor could win. Without that coalition, the ARENA party would have won the mayorship. Since the community members supported his candidacy, he agreed to grant legal status and support their projects. Let's hope these were not empty campaign promises and that he will follow through.

Press Release from the Center for Exchange and Soliedarity Regarding the January 20

San Salvador, January 20, 2009

Preliminary Observations and Recommendations of the Eighth International Election Observation Mission of the Center for Exchange and Solidarity (CIS), 2009

The eighth International Election Observer Mission of CIS is observing and monitoring the election process of January and March 2009 in El Salvador. CIS is a non-governmental organization whose central objectives are to promote solidarity between the people of El Salvador and other peoples of the world and to educate and contribute to the development of democracy.

CIS has sponsored International Election Observer Missions in each election in El Salvador since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1992 and this eighth mission is enhanced by the practice and experience of 15 years of election observation in El Salvador. The Election Observation Mission of January, 2009, includes more than 80 international observers from eleven nations: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The mission observed in 19 municipalities, including Cinquera, Ilobasco, Victoria, Guacotecti, San Isidro, and Sensuntepeque in the Department of Cabañas; Cojutepeque, Suchitoto, San Pedro Perulapán and San Rafael Cedros in the Department of Cuscatlán; Comasagua, Tamanique, San José Villanueva, Antiguo Cuscatlán and Santa Tecla, in the Department of La Libertad; San Salvador, Soyapango, and Tonacatepeque in the Department of San Salvador; Santa Ana in the Department of Santa Ana, and Jiquilisco in the Department of Usulután.

On January 18, 2009, we observed the following:

The voting centers opened late due to various reasons, including confusion about the process, lateness in handing out the electoral packets, late arrival or absence of members of the voting tables, and others (scheduled time of opening is 7 a.m.):

Antiguo Cuscatlán: 8 a.m.

Comasagua – 7:55 a.m. due to the absence of the secretary and suplente of the party FDR.

Ilobasco 7 a.m. 9:30 a.m.

Jiquilisco: 7:45 a.m.- the last electoral packet handed out

San José Villanueva: 8:00 a.m. (ARENA arrived late)

San Pedro Perulapán (City Center) – 7:30 a.m.

San Pedro Perulapán (Istagua) 8:10 a.m.

San Rafael Cedros (City Center) 7:45 a.m.

San Salvador (Feria Internacional) a las 8 a.m.

Sta. Ana: (INSA): 8:00 a.m.

Sta. Tecla: 7:30 a.m.

Soyapango (Hiper Paiz) 7:30 – 8:00 a.m.

Suchitoto: (City Center) 7:00 a.m.

Tamanique: 8:35 a.m.

Tonacatepeque: 8:40 a.m.

Victoria: 7:30 – 8:00 a.m.

· We witnessed a strong citizen participation in the voting, especially in the areas of Cuscatlán, where the voting was moved closer to the voters in the pilot project for residential voting. For example, in Copapayo, Suchitoto, at noon approximately 70% of registered voters had already voted.

· We did not observe violent incidents nor alterations of the process and there was great civic participation during the entire day.

· Closing of the voting center at 10 A.M: in San Isidro, Cabañas: The parties FMLN, CD, PCN, PDC declared fraud when a bus of people from the municipality of Ilobasco, which transferred their votes to influence the local election in San Isidro, although they did not live there. At about 3:45 in the afternoon, the TSE declared the election invalid.

· Transportation in San Salvador: Adequate transportation by the TSE was not observed. To get to the voting centers Juan José Cañas and Humberto Romero Alberque in San Jacinto, San Salvador one had to get through a 3 mile traffic jam voters who were going in their vehicles had to wait an hour or more to get to the voting center. There was a line of hundreds of people waiting outside Juan José Cañas School. Once again, the urgency to implement a program of residential voting was demonstrated.

· Violation of the right to a secret vote: In almost all of the voting centers, the location of the voting booth and its design were reported not to permit the constitutional right to a secret vote. In San Pedro Perulapán (city center) the vigilantes of different parties were observing the voters as they voted. In the Feria Internacional in San Salvador the voting booths were too close to the tables; the same was reported in Tonacatepeque, San Rafael Cedros, Santa Ana y Soyapango. In Jiquilisco the vigilantes of the PDC did not have party identification and were right next to the voting booth, watching the voting. The secret vote was respected in Victoria, Cabañas and Santa Tecla. .

· Orientation and voting inducement: In Suchitoto, vigilantes of ARENA were orienting persons inside the voting center. In Soyapango and Victoria, youthful supporters of the FMLN were orienting the voting inside the voting center. In San Rafael Cedros, The suplente to a Deputy was orienting voters inside the voting center. In the vicinity of the Feria Ganadera en Santa Ana there was an orientation center and inducement to vote of ARENA. The Departmental election board (JED) submitted letters on this issue. In Sensuntepeque, ARENA had an orientation center two blocks from the voting center where they were passing out food.

· Propaganda: The FMLN handed out lunches in boxes with the party banner in the city center of Cojutepeque (city center). The PCN and ARENA used bags with their party banners to hand out food in Antiguo Cuscatlán. The FMLN was distributing propaganda in Soyapango. In Cojutepeque, ARENA was distributing dirty propaganda against the FMLN. ARENA distributed propaganda in Ilobasco. In Jiquilisco, ARENA distributed bags of water with the banner of the party and had several vigilantes wearing cowboy hats with the slogan of “Avila, President”.

· Illegal transfer of voters: Guacotecti – two buses and two trucks delivered people to vote there who did not live there. In San Isidro a bus brought people who did not live in the community, which caused the voting center to be closed at 10 a.m. In San Pedro Perulapán, where there was a residential vote, different voters said they were not from there, but did not know the canton where they could vote. In Cinquera, 4 people tried to vote who were not from Cinquera. Furthermore, a logistics person was observed voting in Cinquera, despite not appearing on the electoral pardon (register) and not handing over his DUI. In Sensuntepeque when voters were asked where they were from, some revealed that they were not from there.

· Voto Residencial: In San Pedro Perulapán and Suchitoto, more than half of the population voted. In Copapayo, Suchitoto, by mid-day approximately 70% of voters had voted. There was confusion about where to vote in Cojutepeque and San Pedro Perulapán.

· Handing over DUI’s after the voting, by the authorities at the table: Only in San Pedro Perulapán was it reported that the DUI’s were left at the table or in the bag of the Secretary and not deposited in the voting box as is indicated by law. In Jiquilisco, two members of the Municipal Electoral Board voted at the first table of the center at 9:14, after the general voting had started. At the same table, the DUI’s were saved in a bag by the President and not in the voting box. The majority of the table authorities and center authorities acted with respect of the law:

· Accessibility: Almost everyone reported difficulties for disabled people as they exercised their right to vote, and some of the voting centers were not equipped for wheelchairs. In San Pedro Perulapán (city center) an older person fell because he was not able to climb the steps. There were difficulties with accessibility in Tonacatepeque, Victoria, Santa Ana (INSA), and in Antiguo Cuscatlán there was a JRV on the second floor. There was accessibility in these centers: San Rafael Cedros (city center); Ilobasco.

· Indelible ink: In Tonacatepeque the table personnel were not allowing the degreaser to dry before using the ink and later people were removing the ink with toilet paper. There was variability in the correct use of the indelible ink.

· Military presence or the incorrect use of weapons: The El Zapote Brigade in San Salvador was out of its barracks in San Jacinto. An armed PNC agent voted in Soyapango. .

· In general, there was confusion about the processes of installation and closing and counting. Also, there was confusion about the filling out of the Actas, and some tables did not write well enough on the Actas to leave legible copies on the multiple carbon copy forms.

· Miscellaneous worth noting: A bus of 46 Nicaraguans from the Union of Latin American Parties was detained in Jiquilisco at 9 P.M. on Saturday the 17^th of January. According to them, they were observers invited by the ARENA party. Nevertheless they did not have credentials and they had received no orientation or training.

We congratulate the Salvadoran people and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for facilitating this important civic event. As the Eighth International Election Observer Mission of CIS, we reiterate our call to implement electoral reforms that strengthen transparency, citizen participation, and direct representation, including:

1. Implementing a program of residential voting in the entire country

2. Creation of a Law of Political Parties for the monitoring of the accounts of the Parties and an

examination of the sources of campaign financing and the use of the funds.

3. Pluralistic representation in Municipal Councils

4. Direct geographic representation of citizens for the election of deputies to the General Assembly

5. Direct representational voting for representatives to The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN)

6. Regulation of propaganda, pre-electoral period campaigns and dirty propaganda

7. Increase the size of voting centers and design a new voting booth with a curtain or four sides to

guarantee a secret vote

8. Create a mechanism so that people working at voting tables and party poll watchers away from their

municipality can vote in an “absentee” ballot so that they can vote in their own municipality and

department. This will remove the ability to transfer votes from one municipality to another.

Contactos: CIS: 2235-1330, 2226-5362

Leslie Schuld, directora del CIS: 7787-5407

Delmy Valencia: Coordinadora de la Misión:

Election Day

I was among a group of more than 80 people from various countries, some as far away as Australia, who observed the Municipal and Legislative Assembly elections on Sunday, January 18 through the Center for Interchange and Solidarity (CIS). Other international observers working through other organizations including a coalition of US-El Salvador Sister Cities and Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador and the European Union and the Organization of American States, also participated. This election and the Presidential election in March will be the most highly observed elections in Salvadoran history.

I and 5 others were assigned the voting centers in Cojutapeque in Cuscatlan, a municipality northeast of San Salvador. The majority of Salvadorans do not vote in a location near their homes. Each person is assigned a voting center based on the first letter of their last name. Married women are assigned according to their maiden names so husbands and wives must travel to different centers. This is a real hardship for those without automobiles. In Cuscatlan, however, there is a pilot residential voting program. This worked very well so the hope is that the government will extend this practice to all voters.

In El Salvador voters do not vote for candidates; they vote for a party. There were 6 political parties represented on the ballots. The insignia of each party appears on the ballot and voters indicate their choice by marking an X across the party of their choice.

Most voting centers are in schools which are built in the Spanish style with the classrooms opening onto a courtyard. Voting tables, booths and ballot boxes are crowed together on the sidewalks in front of each classroom offering little privacy. Representatives from each party sit at a table and compare names with ID’s and distribute ballots in the same way election judges do in the U.S. Since there were two items to be voted on, the Legislative Assembly ballot was one color and the Mayor ballot another. After voting, the ballots were placed in the ballot box of the corresponding color.

After the polls close, the election officials open the ballot boxes one at a time, hold up each ballot for others to see and give the ballot to the member of the party indicated on the ballot. Then each party member counts the ballots for his/her party. At the table where I was observing the count was carefully double checked by other officials. However, I was told that other tables were not so diligent.

The process throughout the country was very peaceful. This is a positive change over past years. Members of the various parties joked around with each other and most disputes were settled peacefully. However, there were a number of examples of fraud and improper campaigning at the voting site.