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@VeeVee
I'm boycotting Irish bananas
Fyffes in Belize
Fyffes is the exclusive buyer of all the bananas exported from Belize. In 2001 Fyffes joined with government officials, plantation owners and civil society organizations in Belize to agree a partnership approach to the future of the industry.
Since then the efforts of the workers Fyffes have a Code of Practice which forms part of their contract with plantation owners. This, in theory, guarantees workers' rights, particularly freedom of association. However, in reality Fyffe's have not insisted that plantation owners respect the workers' human rights, which means that the Code of Practice has made no difference on the ground. The workers who grow Fyffes bananas continue to live in a climate of fear, denied their basic rights.to organize a trade union have been thwarted by intimidation and firings on farms in Belize. A number of cases for unfair dismissal were brought to court but have yet to be heard almost two years later. Most of the workers are immigrants and, as such, especially vulnerable. Four union activists were arbitrarily deported before it was pointed out they were actually Belizean citizens. Some observers believe that the government is slow to implement its own worker protection laws, fearing Fyffe's will take their business elsewhere, leaving the small country's economy in ruins.