International Campaign

Letter in Support of the Kraft workers struggle, against the 160 workers fired by the multinational Kraft Company

19/09/2009

The undersigned join in solidarity of the Kraft workers (formally Terrabusi, the most important food producers in Argentina) in the struggle against the Multinational Kraft Foods Company, who, with their neoliberal agenda, has fired 160 workers. For the last 20 days the workers have been mobilizing actions of resistance to defend their rights. Kraft is the second largest food production company in the world and they have even continued to increase earnings during the world economic crisis. Furthermore, they have just made a 17 billion dollar offer to purchase the British company, Cadbury. This arrogant multinational company is overtly disrespecting the Obligatory Conciliation by refusing to allow the fired workers to return to their jobs or locking them up during working hours. This struggle is being carried out by 3,000 workers, with the solidarity of unions in Peru and Columbia, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Osvaldo Bayer, many important Argentine artists and intellectuals, various human rights organizations, legislators and representatives, student federations along with many other groups and workers organizations.

This multinational company is using repressive actions to seek revenge on the workers who had taken part in a strike in the beginning of July. The workers went on strike for a weak, stopping production, in demand of better basic sanitary conditions during the peak of the H1N1 virus. The company is trying to get rid of any kind of labor representation within the plant (steward shop committee and worker delegates- the latter is a body of 50 democratically elected workers from each section of the plant, which the company refuses to recognize-). It’s important to emphasize that the company has installed actions of repression inside and outside of the plant. Today the plant is militarized by the Buenos Aires police, acting as the armed wing of the Kraft Foods Corporation.

The workers and their family members have been standing strong, they continue to strike and mobilize actions of resistance, like blocking the Pan American highway (The main highway that connects Buenos Aires to the surrounding suburbs) and demanding that the authorities make the Kraft Company obey the Argentine law and reintegrate the workers.

This is just a short summary of the development of what will be a historical conflict, because of the Company’s tough stance as well as the workers strong resistance. In Buenos Aires and Latin America there have been numerous declarations in support of the workers and it would be important to have your solidarity to continue showing the workers that they aren’t alone and that they even have support and solidarity from inside of the heart of imperialism.

The undersigned endorse the struggle for the dignity and the right to work and are against the massive firings of workers in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Signed,

James Petras, Professeur émérite de Sociologie, Université de Binghamton de New York

Alex Callinicos, Professeur d’Études Européennes, King’s College, Londres

George Binette, Secrétaire régional d’UNISON (Camden), Grande-Bretagne

Michel Husson, Économiste, Institut d’Études Économiques et Sociales (IRES), Paris

Daniel Bensaïd, Professeur de philosophie à l’Université de Paris VIII

Michael löwy, Chercheur au CNRS

Alicia Bonet-Krueger, Présidente du Collectif Argentin pour la Mémoire, Paris

Alejandro Andreassi Cieri, professeur au Département d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine à l’Université Autonome de Barcelone.

Olivier Besancenot, Porte-parole du Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (France)

Alain Krivine, NPA, ancien eurodéputé