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Paraguay: Resolution on the flagrant case of Prosegur’s human rights abuses was presented

Published: 19 March 2015
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Representatives of more than 300 workers that were laid off from Prosegur Paraguay, came together today at the Ministry of Labour in Asuncion to present the ILO resolution on their case.

The workers were immediately dismissed after going on a legal strike to achieve their first collective agreement in July 2012. Prosegur’s mass layoff occurred after the Paraguayan Minister of Labour and the company asked the union, SITEPROPASA, to lift the strike and return to the negotiating table.

When the 300 workers, in an act of good faith, returned to work, they found the company’s lawyers and notaries who informed them that the strike was illegal and that they would be fired for just cause, if they did not immediately sign a letter of resignation . The Paraguayan court of justice had never ruled that the strike was illegal.

The case remains one of the most flagrant examples of Prosegur’s violations of human rights in Latin America. Until today, many workers have not found another job after being forcibly dismissed by Prosegur.

The ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association issued a resolution requesting the Paraguayan authorities to "take urgent action" to investigate all the facts in Prosegur’s mass layoff. In the event that the government determines that the allegations in UNI’s complaint prove true, the ILO calls for "taking the necessary remedial measures."

To date the Paraguayan authorities have not responded to the ILO’s request for explanations on the case.

“We will not rest and we will go wherever necessary to give effect to this resolution. We want justice” said Eligio Britez, one of the dismissed workers and representative of SITEPROPASA.

After visiting the Ministry of Labour, representatives of SITEPROPASA held a meeting with the Focal Point of the ILO in Paraguay, Ernesto Abdala, to discuss the follow-up to resolution with the Paraguayan government.

Bernardo Rojas, President of the Central Confederation of Workers Authentic (CUT-A), expressed support for SITEPROPASA in its struggle to uphold human rights in Prosegur.