Blog: Melons

Fyffes’ Claims of Farm Safety in Honduras Should Not be Taken as Accurate

January 30, 2020

In the ongoing controversy about violations of labor rights and worker health and safety at its suppliers in Honduras, the multinational Fyffes fruit company has told The Progressive magazine “our farms have passed SMETA audits for safety, health, and worker wellbeing.”

This claim by Fyffes should not, and cannot, be taken as good coin, true and accurate. 

Sedex, the London-based consulting company that runs the SMETA program, states very clearly in the “FAQs” on its website the following:

Honduran Union Leader Threatened with Imprisonment

January 18, 2020

A union leader whom we work with in Honduras could be imprisoned for 30 years on bogus charges, pending a decision at a trial next Wednesday. Moises Sanchez is the Secretary General of the STAS union on Fyffes' melon farms in Honduras, where he worked from 1993 until 2016, when he was blacklisted for his union activity. In 2017, Moises was kidnapped, viciously attacked and threatened with death if he did not abandon the union fight.

Now he is facing spurious charges from a landowner – who also leases to Fyffes – after being part of a group of 450 community members who voted to build a road in their community, which the mayor supported and said was on public land.

Stopping Violence at Work: A Victory, and a Call to Action

June 8, 2018
ILC 2018 - credit CWGL Rutgers

In a world where longtime serial predators are plotting their return to the workplace almost immediately after being ousted for their behavior, it’s time for some good news. This month, unions and worker organizations traveled to Geneva to negotiate a new international standard aimed at stopping the tidal wave of gender-based violence in every workplace. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a tripartite structure made up of government, employer and worker representatives, and today marks the close of two weeks of debate and negotiation among the parties.

How President Trump is Fueling Honduran Migration North

January 30, 2018
Honduran woman at anti-fraud protest in Tegucigalpa (December 2017). © Giorgio Trucchi / Rel-UITA.

Today, Juan Orlando Hernandez takes the oath of office as President of Honduras with the full support of President Trump – despite overwhelming evidence of election irregularities and allegations of fraud in last November’s presidential election in Honduras. This past week, Hondurans young and old took to the streets in a nationwide strike to denounce their stolen democracy, determined to liberate their country from what they call a de-facto dictatorship. Hernandez’s National Party came to power in a 2009 military coup d’état and continues its violent reign today, supported and funded by the United States. 

Global Campaign Launches in Support of Melon and Pineapple Workers in Central America

February 9, 2017

.Para una version en español, haga clic aquí.

On Monday, January 16th, the Irish multinational fruit company Fyffes sold its shares to a Japanese corporation called Sumitomo. The  751 million deal is expected to net CEO David McCann  87.5 million and remaining Fyffes executives  3 million in bonuses.

Honduran Women Farm Workers Are Fighting Back Against Fyffes Company’s Abuses

March 7, 2016

On the morning of December 3rd, in Choluteca, Honduras, 14 women melon workers had to be hospitalized after their exposure to toxic chemicals on a Suragroh melon plantation owned by the Irish food and fresh produce multinational Fyffes.  None of the 150 workers sickened that day were provided with the necessary safety gear to protect them.  One of the victims, who asked to remain anonymous, told a local newspaper

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