Alfredo Pinoargote was speaking following reports that banana workers suffered violence and intimidation on May 16 at a Noboa Corporation plantation at Los Alamos. Hooded, armed men allegedly threatened and fired on workers at the plantation less than a month after a damning Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, Tainted Harvest: Child Labour and Obstacles to Organising on Ecuador's Banana Plantations was published on April 25.

According to Pinoargote, Ecuadorian authorities are keenly investigating the alleged abuses at Los Alamos, which has in the past been hailed internationally as a model plantation. The plantation is now run by the Noboa Corporation, which is headed by presidential candidate Alvaro Noboa, who himself has political detractors within Ecuador.

Ironically, banana multinationals have reportedly chosen not to operate in Ecuador in the past because of the strength of the union movement and the country is a signatory to international treaties on human and labour rights. 'There is a smear campaign against Ecuador because our competitors, especially Costa Rica, stand to lose out once the EU banana import regime becomes tariff-only in 2006,' said Pinoargote. 'Ecuador has been the largest banana exporter for 50 years and after 2006 we will be able to consolidate our position; at the moment we only export 17 per cent of our exports to the EU.' This compares to Panama, for example which exports some 90 per cent and Costa Rica, which exports roughly 50 per cent to the EU.

'These allegations against Ecuador have come shortly after the dispute over the EU regime was resolved,' he said. '...They are designed to damage Ecuador. The title of the [HRW]report itself is highly insulting: it is one thing to be concerned for the children of Ecuador and sadly there are problems in certain sectors, but it is another to slander an entire country...We are concerned about our children and unlike many other developing countries have ratified international treaties on human rights and child labour issues and two years ago we invited the International Labour Organisation to take part in a process of co-operation to eliminate child labour, a process which is on going.' The government in Ecuador has now invited Human Rights Watch to visit the country again to learn more about the efforts being made to counter child labour and alleged union busting.

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