Dole Campaign

1
Banana Link Action PowerPoint how to take
action to support workers in the banana industry
See the action cards and campaign
information in the resource packs or Banana Link
USB Pen Drives provided to support the following
actions.
2
Support Caribbean and Fairtrade

• Action 1 Choose Caribbean and Fairtrade and ask
  your local supermarkets and shops to make sure
  this choice is always available
• Action 2 Introduce Fairtrade products in your
  workplace, and work towards your city or town
  being Fairtrade, visit www.fairtrade.org.uk to
  find out how.
• Action 3 Raise awareness, tell people about
  Fairtrade and get involved in Fairtrade Fortnight
  with your union, workplace or local networks

3
Achievements so far

• Over 90 of Windward Islands bananas now carry
  the Fairtrade mark enabling small farmers to have
  market access
• Now over 7 million farmers, workers and their
  families worldwide benefit from Fairtrade
• One in every five bananas sold in the UK are
  Fairtrade certified
• Sainsbury's supermarket has committed to stock
  100 Fairtrade bananas 40 of these are
  guaranteed to be from small farmers

4
Take action to demand that multinational
companies respect core labour standardsDole
Campaign

• Action 1 Read and distribute the Dole Behind
  a smokescreen booklet
• 
  
• Action 2 Monitor the campaign section of the
  Banana Link website for updates on action you can
  take
• Action 3 Ask your union to sign up to be a Dole
  Campaign Supporter

5
Achievements so far

• Trade unions from the UK, Europe, the US and
  Latin America have joined forces to put pressure
  on Dole at an international level
• A framework agreement on trade union rights has
  now been signed between Dole and plantation
  workers unions in Costa Rica
• Continued pressure is being put on Dole for
  similar agreements in Ecuador and Peru

6
Take action to control supermarket buyer power
Tescopoly campaign

• Action 1 Sign and distribute Tescopoly campaign
  cards
• Action 2 Visit www.tescopoly.org for campaign
  updates and to take action to ensure that labour
  rights are respected along international supply
  chains

7
Achievements so far

• Hundreds of local campaigns to protect small
  shops and communities from new supermarket
  development
• As a consequence of political and popular
  pressure the Competition Commission initiated an
  Inquiry into the Grocery Sector
• Their findings so far recommend stricter controls
  on supermarket buyer power including a watchdog
  to monitor the industry
• Greater public awareness of the costs of cheap
  food and pressure on the retail giants to take
  responsibility for respecting labour standards
  along their supply chains

8
Join theBanana Action Mailing List

• Action 1 Respond to Urgent Action requests from
  our trade union partners
• Action 2 Distribute Urgent Actions amongst your
  trade union networks
• Action 3 Receive and distribute the News from
  the Banana Front Bulletin

9
Achievements so far

• Recent Urgent Action result Two Costa Rican
  workers have been reinstated with full back pay
  after 3,500 messages were sent to their employer,
  Chiquita. The workers were sacked when they
  reported to their employer that they had been
  poisoned by the toxic agrochemicals used on the
  plantations. The company has also committed to
  review health and safety standards on their
  plantations across the region
• Visit the Banana Link Action Archive to find out
  about many other achievements at
  www.bananalink.org.uk

10
Get involved in the Union to Union Programme

• Action 1 Get your union branch or region to
  affiliate and become Banana Link Trade Union
  Supporters
• Action 2 Submit a motion at your union
  conference to support solidarity with Latin
  American banana workers unions
• Action 3 Use Banana Link resources to raise
  awareness at trade union meetings and events, in
  your workplace, community or other networks
• Action 4 Visit www.bananalink.org.uk for latest
  news and actions

11
Engage in practical solidarityalong the supply
chain

• Action 5 Build direct solidarity links between
  your union and a union in Latin America at
  branch, regional or national level
• Action 6 Respond to fundraising appeals
• Action 7 Invite a Latin American speaker to your
  union conference or join the next Banana Link
  delegation
• Action 8 Sign up to the Decent Work, Decent Life
  campaign at www.decentwork.org

12
Examples of practical solidarityGMB London and
SITRAP, Costa Rica

• Action taken
• Supporting 2 full time organisers and their
  transport
• Funding the construction of a union training
  centre
• Lobbying supermarkets about Costa Rican labour
  standards
• Supporting the Dole campaign
• Achievements
• Increased membership on the ground and access to
  new plantations
• Growth in union strength and influence, e.g.,
  recent signing of first Collective Bargaining
  Agreement in Costa Rican banana industry in 20
  years
• Signing of first framework agreement on working
  conditions with Dole and Chiquita

13
Examples of practical solidarityNTUC Young
members/Amicus and FENACLE, Ecuador

• Actions
• Participated in 2004 and 2006 Banana Link Youth
  Delegations to Costa Rica and Ecuador
• Annual fundraising Boxing Day Dip in North
  Sea!
• Funding of first ever training workshops for
  young banana workers in Ecuador
• Achievements
• Training workshops for over 300 young banana
  workers
• FENACLE network of over 3,000 young workers
• Development of FENACLE Youth Programme and Youth
  Committee

14
Useful links
www.bananalink.org.uk www.tescopoly.org www.suppor
tcaribbeanbananas.org.uk www.fairtrade.org.uk
www.labourstart.org www.decentwork.org
15

Banana Link contacts 38 Exchange Street
Norwich NR2 1AX Tel [phone] Fax 01603
761645 Email info_at_bananalink.org.uk Web
www.bananalink.org.uk Contact Banana Link for
more information on our trade union partners, the
Union to Union programme and how you and your
union can get involved