Euripides Jance has worked for Coca-Cola in Colombia for 21 years in Barranquilla, a major city on the Caribbean coast. He also works for Colombia's food and drink union Sinaltrainal and is coming to Nottingham on the 1st of December to do a talk on the Boycott Coke Campaign.
Barranquilla is a city under paramilitary control. In 2002, a Coke worker and Sinaltrainal member was assassinated there, and in July 2005, 4 students who were involved in a protest outside the Coke plant were kidnapped and tortured by paramilitaries. Like all Sinaltrainal activists in the city, Euripides works in the constant shadow of violence. Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists. In 2001 at least 160 trade union leaders and activists were murdered, including two key colleagues from UNISON’s sister union - the municipal worker’s union SINTRAEMCALI. Many other trade unionists were abducted, ‘disappeared’ or received death threats.
PUBLIC MEETING: Thursday 1st Dec, 7.30pm, The Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham
Links: Boycott Coke Campaign | Colombia Solidarity Campaign | Map to The Mechanics | Previous Indymedia feature article on Coca Cola and the situation in Colombia | Colombia Indymedia
death in a can
GUEST SPEAKER Euripides Yance has worked for Coca-Cola in Colombia for 21years in Barranquilla, a major city on the Caribbean coast. For the last 15 years he has been a member of the food and drinks workers union SINALTRAINAL. Euripides was elected to a number of positions in the local branch and, more recently, to the National Executive. He is currently Communications Secretary for SINALTRAINAL at the National level.
BOYCOTT COKE CAMPAIGN
Oxford University Students Union Council has passed a motion condemning Coca Cola and resolving to cease commercial relations and all publicity with the company. Coca-Cola has been accused of involvement with the right wing paramilitaries to try to suppress the main coca-cola trade union in Colombia.
For more information on the Boycott Coke Campaign look on: http://www.killercoke.org.
Hope to see you there!