In the eye of the storm: New complaints against Barrick in Perú.
Farmers that work in the Pierina mine denounce mining company Barrick Misquichilca and the Peruvian government for antiunion practices.
PERU (October, 2007).- Low wages. Job instability. No trainings. No promotions. These are some of the issues that farmers from the Pierina mining company tried to solve, in 2006, through dialogue with Barrick Gold Corporation. The outcome was one casualty, ten wounded and the impossibility of further work.
At the north of Lima at more than thirteen thousand one hundred feet above sea level in the "cordillera negra" in the middle of Callejón de Huaylas, tourist destination of Ancash, operates Pierina, the second most important gold mine in Peru, with an average production of 500 thousand ounces of gold per year. This mine is exploited by the Canadian company Barrick Gold Corporation, whose name in Peru is Minera Barrick Misquichilca (MBM).
RSE. Outsourcing and Discrimination
As part of their Social Responsibility Program, MBM has a commitment to employ farmers from the seventeen communities surrounding the exploited area, in order to perform tasks such as masonry, road maintenance, construction of canals and reservoirs, etc. This so-called "rotational community work system" is used by several intermediate and outsourced enterprises, each session lasting approximately three months.
According to the company, the aim of this Social Responsibility Program is "to contribute to the sustainable social and economic development of the communities where the company works, share the benefits of the operations, as well as hiring local workers." Far from improving the economic conditions of the workers, they suffer unequal treatment with respect to the other workers in terms of wages, job stability, training and promotions, that altogether impede breaking the poverty circle of the area.
Since 1998, when Pierina began to be exploited, the farmers' wage was lowered from S/30.00 ($9.00 US approx.) to S/ 20.00 (US $6.00), without any explanation. The company even began to hire personnel from outside of the communities to perform the tasks that local workers had carried out efficiently and effectively for many years.
Indifference, Repression and Blood
Attempting a dialogue with the mining company, the farmers, until that moment represented by the Central Committee of the Communities Influence by the Mining Company Barrick Misquichilca S.A (CCCIEMBM) sent not one, but three memorandums to the mining company with their demands. It is worth noting that the committee was created to channel and argue the problematic of the community workers, but was only an informal organization. And that was how the company understood it, since one can deduce that it ignored the demands from the neglected response.
Faced with this indifference, on May 4, 2006 the affected farmers decided to block the two access points that exist to the mine from their territories, from the communities of Jangas and Checta, at a distance of approximately four miles from the mine. Far from attempting a takeover of the Canadian company's facilities, the farmers, in their efforts to be heard, protested peacefully and at a distance of several miles.
Nevertheless, the political repression was brutal. Guillermo Tolentino, resident farmer of the Shecta community was killed by a gunshot to the head and until now the deed has not been thoroughly investigated nor have those responsible been determined. Another ten community workers also suffered bullet wounds to different parts of the body.
It was soon after these confrontations that the farmers achieved the signing of an Act of Agreement in which Barrick Gold Corporation promises to cover the medical costs of the wounded, at a new daily wage of S/. 30.00, thus respecting the right of all the community workers to participate in the "rotational community work system". The signing of the Act of Agreement was achieved thanks to the solidarity of the Unique Worker's Union of the company, established in 2004. The farmers cannot belong to the Union because they do not have stable employment and are subject to outsourcing and intermediation. That is, they work for Barrick in an indirect manner through another employer.
The Government's Denial
To channel the demands and better the mechanisms of dialogue, the local farmers decided to form the Worker's Union of the Outsourced and Alike Companies of MBM. This form of union of communal workers is unprecedented in the country and has support in the ILO's International Conventions 87, 98 and 169, the Peruvian Constitution and the Law of Collective Labor Relations of Peru, as they indicate the right to free association and to form the type of union that better adapts to defend their interests, existing for them in various modes.
Despite the protection of the law, the Ministry of Labor and Promotion of Employee denied the union registration alleging that it was not possible for it to have members who are not working, without taking into account that they work in a rotational mode, and that there even exists a census of employees from the communities. Furthermore, they have demanded the specification of the members' profession or office. This demand is an act of intolerable discrimination that does not consider the situation of poverty in the zone, where many are illiterate or have barely finished elementary school. In addition, with the denial of the union registration, the government denies the communal worker's right to collective negotiation, also protected in the Peruvian Constitution.
Public and Private Inconsistencies
Up to the present, MBM has not only failed to comply with the agreements signed in the Act of Agreement, but what's more, has hired workers from outside of the influenced communities and has dismissed workers who are farmers and members of the Union that had worked efficiently on a rotating basis for more than seven years since the creation of the Union of communal workers (See Chart).
Moreover, the farmers' testimonies reveal that the company has made several visits to the communities with the objective of persuading residents not to join the new Union. This reflects the mining company's clear antiunion practices, going against Peruvian laws that expressly prohibit the dismissal of workers on the basis of their union affiliation and/or leadership. Furthermore, in promoting non-affiliation, the company weakens the union and impedes the communal workers' access to collective bargaining.
This situation reflects that both the Peruvian government and the management of MBM breach international labor standards, such as Convention #87 of the ILO, endorsed by the Peruvian government, concerning freedom of association and protection of the right to organize. Furthermore, the Convention #98 of the ILO, also endorsed by the Peruvian government, states that workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination with respect to their employment. Convention #169, which specifically addresses indigenous and tribal peoples, expressly recognizes these peoples' freedom of association.
Consider that MBM's Social Responsibility Report clearly states that, "sharing the benefits of mining is an important part of Barrick's vision. One of those benefits is job creation, both directly through the company and indirectly through providing goods and services for our operations, our employees and their families." We can conclude that there is a serious inconsistency between Barrick Gold Corporation states and what MBM, that is Barrick Gold in Peru, actually does; as between what Peruvian government claims to defend and what it has effectively done.
WORKERS FORBIDDEN TO WORK OR DISMISSED FROM THE COMPANY
NAME | PARTICIPATION IN THE UNION | STATUS |
Tito Huamaliano | Secretary General Attaché | Forbidden |
Julio Dionisio Obispo Delgado | Secretary of Defense | Dismissed |
Mario Walter Mejía Prince | Secretary of Economy | Dismissed |
Cipriano Rosas Heredia | Secretary of Mine Safety and Health | Dismissed |
Rómulo Chávez Montenegro | Member | Dismissed |
Jesús Huamán | Member | Forbidden |
Norberto Méndez | Member | Dismissed |
Reynaldo Vergara Guerrero | Member | Forbidden |
Emilio Sánchez Gonzáles | Member | Dismissed |
Elías Delgado Huamaliano | Member | Dismissed |
Mauro Delgado Huamaliano | Member | Dismissed |
Juan Rupay | Member | Dismissed |
Villafuerte Rupay Caushi | Member | Dismissed |
David Huamaliano | Member | Dismissed |
Percy Delgado Huamaliano | Member | Dismissed |
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