TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 20 (AFP) - Chiquita Brands' Honduran subsidiary Tela Railroad Company said Wednesday it will fire 700 workers, 400 of whom have drug or alcohol problems and 300 of whom have chronic illnesses such as AIDS.
"We have approximately 400 who do not justify their absences of 20 to 30 days a year, and 300 or so people who are sick and have to be replaced," Tela vice president Fernando Sanchez told Radio America here.
Tela has about 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of bananas planted between La Lima and El Progreso north of the capital. They have 3,000 workers who grow and pack fruit for export to Europe and the United States.
Sanchez said the changes were necessary due to soaring absenteeism on the order of 15 percent compared to three percent in Costa Rica and five percent in Colombia.
He added that the absenteeism was costing Tela 1.2 million dollars a year and that concerns had ben raised with the Honduran Labor Ministry and the leadership of Tela's union, SITRATERCO.
"Our labor agreement (with SITRATERCO) stipulates that when we replace workers, to the extent possible, that we always do so with their dependents, sons or daughters or close relatives," Sanchez said.
He added the union would be given the list of 700 employees on Wednesday "and from then, there will be a two-week period to discuss specific cases."
"These are people who are chronic alcoholics, drug addicts, or with illnesses such as AIDS and other chronic diseases," Sanchez added, stressing that the dismissed workers would retain health care benefits.
Chiquita spokesman Michael Mitchell reached at Chiquita headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, said: "We are making some changes at the company in Honduras.
"We have been working with the union there, as well as the Ministry of Labor to address some productivity problems there, including chronic absenteeism."
Mitchell would not confirm Sanchez's reported figures.
Tela expects to export 14 million to 15 million 18-kilo crates of bananas this year.
Honduras' other banana heavyweight, Standard Fruit, a subsidiary of the US firm Dole, has its plantations in Colon and Atlantida along the Caribbean coast and expect to export 13.6 million crates.
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