APPEAL FROM COSTA RICA:

Chiquita, the international fruit company, likes to brag about its high social and environmental standards, yet in Costa Rica the banana workers union coordinating body, COSIBA-CR, has repeatedly complained of violations of workers' rights. The latest is the case of two workers, Alexander Reyes and Marcos Borge, who were fired for reporting that spaying with a toxic nematodicide (for killing worms in the bananas) was going on in the same area and at the same time as they were harvesting bananas. Both workers became ill because of the spray. Instead of expressing concern for this safety violation the Chiquita company accused them of entering the spray area against orders and fired them without the statutory three warnings. Their union is protesting this action and has called for an international campaign of protest. To learn more and to join go to http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=251