Coca-Cola Union Wins Improved Collective Bargaining Agreement in Colombia/Temporary Work Contracts Made Permanent Jobs

Posted to the IUF website 03-Apr-2006

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For the third time in four years, SICO, the IUF-affiliated union that represents Coca-Cola workers at the Carepa bottling plant in Colombia, has been able to negotiate an improved contract with the franchised Coke bottler Bebidas y Alimentos de Urab�.

SICO's National President Luis Pedraza and local Coke union president Fieselman Guzman reported that the new two-year agreement, which extends to 15 February 2008 provides for:

• a 12% increase in wages and benefits (compared to 7% in other Coke plants in Colombia)


• the conversion of all temporary contracts into permanent jobs with union contractual rights


• sales routes will not be sub-contracted and will remain union jobs


• a transparent job classification and wage system


• creation of a housing fund


• implementation of new health and safety programs.

The new two-year agreement was reached after difficult negotiations, in which the company unsuccessfully tried to delete essential contract clauses protecting union rights and worker job security and to increase its ability to sub-contract work. To help break an apparent bargaining impasse against the background of an impending strike, the IUF intervened with the Coca-Cola Company.