Labor and health ministries continue to destroy union organization at Hospital Rosales, San Salvador

CISPES Alert, 8 March 1996

On January 30th of this year, the legal status of the union at Hospital Rosales was revoked by the Minister of Labor at the request of the Health Minister. (For more details see action alert of February 19, 1996.)

On Monday, March 4, 1996 the Minister of Health carried out the final maneuver to destroy the union in violation of labor rights by transferring the Secretary General and the Secretary of Conflict of SIGEESAL, the Union at Hospital Rosales, to other hospitals. All other members of the union's leadership were laid off or transferred in January of this year.

The two arguments being used by the Ministry of Labor to revoke the Union's status are that: 1) the Hospital is not autonomous and 2) the union is a union for health care workers and it includes people that are not health care workers who work at the hospital.

The Official Transcript of the Legislative Assembly session of December 23, 1983, declares Hospital Rosales autonomous. Furthermore, the union has existed at the hospital for 16 years.

The union includes many areas of workers at the hospital such as phone operators, cooks, technicians. The Unions bi-laws were amended on May 22, 1995 to include these areas. So again, the Union is not in violation and was not cited in May 1995 when in introduced the new statutes to the Ministry of Labor.

URGENT CALL FOR ACTION AND LABOR SOLIDARITY:

1. It is important to ask international labor organizations to use their influence to follow up on this case, denounce the violation the right to organize, and to pressure on the ministry of labor. Please contact the following international labor organizations and others:

OIT - International Organization of Labor
Mr. Ian Chambers Regional Director
OIT Apartado Postal 10170
1000 San Jose, Costa Rica
Tel: (011) 506-253-7667;
Fax: (011) 506-224-2678

Public Service International (ISP) Switzerland
Tel: (011) 3355 040-6464;
Fax: (011) 335-040-7320
Miami Tel: (407) 361-9817

2. Call on the Ministry of Labor and the Minster of Health to:

• Reinstate the legal status (personaria juridica) of the union at Hospital Rosales.
• Denounce the violation of the right of workers to organize.
• Denounce the transfers and lay offs of the union leadership, specifically of the Secretary General and the Secretary of Conflict.

Ministerio de Trabajo
Dr. Eduardo Tomasino
Col. San Benito Ave.
La Capilla #223
San Salvador, El Salvador
Fax: (011) (503) 279-0877;
Tel: (011) (503) 279-0422; 279-0388

Ministerio de Salud Publico
Dr. Eduardo Interiano
4th Ave Nte #412
San Salvador, El Salvador
Tel: (011) (503) 271-0008;
Fax: (011) (503) 221-0985

Send copies of all letters to: Dr. Armando Calderon Sol
Presidente de la Republica de El Salvador
Casa Presidencial
San Salvador, El Salvador