Delta Labor Rights Case

"I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy." Psalm 140:12

ALERT:

Since this story was posted, Delta Security and SETECH Security company (both owned by the same people), have gone back on their promises to respect Honduras' Code of Labor.

On December 4, 2006, Dionisio Díaz, the ASJ lawyer who was representing Delta and SETECH workers before the Honduran Court of Labor was brutally murdered.

Please TAKE ACTION to speak out against this murder!

Case History:

The lack of State control over security companies in Honduras has led to serious labor rights violations. The security guards that provide services for these companies are left with their rights completely unprotected.

In October 2004, the Association for a More Just Society (AJS)'s Honduran partner organization, ASJ, received various complaints and charges from private security guards working throughout Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. The complaints given by these employees, who were very distraught by the fact that their rights were not being respected, are as follows:

· No overtime pay
· Unjustified deductions in salary
· Had to pay for uniforms themselves, costs deducted from salary
· No vacation time
· Not given educational voucher
· Individuals fired without justification or legal documentation
· No regional company office to place claims
· Paid only portions of their salary

ASJ checked into the claims that were being presented, interviewing and collecting documents from the employees to verify the charges. After investigating the case, ASJ proceeded to solicit a complete inspection of the company in question, Delta Security Services, before the Secretary of Labor.

On the 3rd of November, in the midst of claims being made against Delta within a tense environment, an agreement was made between the two conflicting parties. Delta asked to meet with ASJ to discuss the situation. Delta's general managers Mario Castro, Roberto Fúnez and their legal representative Jacabo Cáliz all showed up for the meeting. ASJ raised the point that if an agreement was to be made, it needed to be made in front of the Secretary of Labor and the State who are in charge of overseeing that the labor rights of workers in Honduras are respected. The delegates from Delta promised to give an answer to this request after speaking with the highest authorities from the company.

A few days later, ASJreceived at positive response to their request. The agreement was signed at the Office of Labor Inspections in the presence of inspectors Denni Arturo Carranza and José Ramón Barralaga, who were put in charge of the investigation concerning Delta Security.

Mario Castro served as the representative of Delta while ASJ lawyer Eda Velásquez served as legal representative for the workers. Velásquez presented Castro with the inspection requests for Delta. Castro responded by saying that his company had arrived at the conclusion that it would be best for them to comply with the Law.

The central points of the agreement made with Delta are as follows: that Delta will give back the money that the employees paid for the uniforms whenever an he or she leaves the company or is fired, Delta will put into effect labor rights for their employees (vacation time, overtime, full payment of salary, etc.), and the company will give employees their education voucher. Delta has committed to allow ASJ to evaluate them every three months in order to assure that advances are being made according to what was agreed upon.

For more information of this case go to www.revistazo.com/english/dec04

The Association for a More Just Society (AJS) oversees and funds initiatives carried out by Honduran partner organization la Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa (ASJ). AJS is a US-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so all donations to AJS are tax-deductible for US taxpayers.