From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 10:37:19 EDT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (a) Subject: [pttp] [S26-global] Urgent alert on Nicaragua Chentex Urgent alert on Chentex Date: 4/6/01 12:19:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time Forwarded from nlc(a)nlcnet.org This is a message from the National Labor Committee in Support of Worker and Human Rights **************************************** URGENT ALERT: Chentex in Nicaragua Refuses Reinstatement of Union Leaders / Action Toward Kohl's Needed In the face of the Nicaraguan Appeals Court decision that the Chentex union leaders must be reinstated, Chentex management is saying they will never reinstate the workers, that they will shut the factory down. Please contact Larry Montgomery, CEO of Kohl's (if by e-mail, please cc nlc(a)nlcnet.org) with the following message: *************************** On Wednesday, the highest court in Nicaragua--whose decisions are not open to appeal--definitively ruled that the Chentex union leaders were fired illegally and ordered their reinstatement within 3 days with all back wages for the period they were locked out. We urge that Kohl's finally tell its contractor, Chentex/Nien Hsing that they must respect Nicaraguan law and abide by the decision of the highest court in Nicaragua to end this crisis. We urge you to follow your own code of conduct, which says that "All Kohl's Business Partners must operate in full compliance with all...national laws". Your contractor, Chentex, is publicly saying they will not respect the law and will not respect the rights of the workers. If past patterns are repeated, we fear there may be thugs at the factory to attack the returning workers on Monday. We urge Kohl's to do the right thing. ******************************** His contact information is: Larry Mongomery, CEO Kohl's Corporation N56 W17000 Ridgewood Drive Menomenee Falls, WI 53051 e-mail: larry_montgomery(a)kohls.com tel: 262-703-7000 fax: 262-703-6796 You can also find a Kohl's store near you at http://kohls.Know- Where.com/kohls/ For background information, visit the National Labor Committee website at http://www.nlcnet.org. This is a message from the National Labor Committee in Support of Worker and Human Rights **************************************** April 4, 2001 NLC Nicaragua Update: Chentex Union Wins Unprecedented Victory! Highest Court in Nicaragua Demands the Immediate Reinstatement of the Fired Union Leaders. **************************************** Today, at 11:15 AM EST, the Appeal Tribunal for the Managua region ruled that the Taiwanese-owned Chentex / Nien Hsing company must immediately reinstate all nine fired union leaders and pay all back wages for the entire period they were illegally locked out. The Tribunal is the highest court in the land, and its rulings are not open to appeal. The decision taken by the three justices of the labor section of the Tribunal is unprecedented. No transnational in the maquila sector had ever been ordered by the courts, in Nicaragua or elsewhere in Central America, to reinstate fired union leaders prior to this ruling. The court's decision is a complete and total vindication for the Chentex union. As the union insisted all along, its leaders were illegally fired. By implication, the Court's ruling also establishes that the struggle at the Chentex factory was a legitimate labor conflict, and that the bogus criminal charges brought against the fired union leaders by the company should be dropped. Chentex's attempt to "criminalize" legitimate union activities has been thoroughly defeated. The legal department of the Nicaraguan human rights group CENIDH argued the case on behalf of the Chentex union. The Nicaraguan court's ruling also significantly strengthens the legal suit filed against Nien Hsing's subsidiary in the U.S., C & Y, seeking damages on behalf of the illegally fired Chentex union leaders and workers. Finally, the decision by the highest court in Nicaragua exposes Kohl's for the hypocrisy of its so-called monitoring program-led by PriceWaterhouseCooper-which could find no worker rights violations at Chentex, let alone the illegal mass firing of all nine union leaders. What will Kohl's do now? Will they do the right thing? Will they insist that their contractor Chentex adhere to Nicaragua's highest court and immediately reinstate the union leaders? And what about the scores of other workers who were also illegally fired. If Chentex refuses to reinstate the fired union leaders by Monday, they will be sued for damages. We will keep you posted. ************************** National Labor Committee 275 7th Avenue, 15th Floor New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212/242-3002 Fax: 212/242-3821 Email: nlc(a)nlcnet.org Website: www.nlcnet.org _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
