The Italian daily II Manifesto reported on September 23 2006 that the Colombian trade union Sinaltrainal and the international organisations that supported its world-wide Coca-Cola boycott may be on the verge of a stunning victory.
Luis Javier Correa Suarez, Sinaltrainal president, announced on September 22 that negotiations are under way in New York between his trade union and Coca-Cola, notorious for its ferocious anti-trade union strategy in connection with the paramilitary death-squads.
Coca Cola stands accused of being behind the assassination of 8 trade union activists and 179 serious human rights violations since 1990 to date.
On the table is the enforcement of labour rights in all CocaCola Company workplaces in the world, compensation for the victimised trade unionists (and their families) and the right of the American NGO International Labor Rights Fund to intervene and negotiate on industrial issues within Coca-Cola.
In exchange Sinaltrainal would be required to call off the boycott (initially a suspension will be agreed to give Coca-Cola time to demonstrate it's putting its money where its mouth is, so to speak).
From the Italian report it is unclear whether the agreement will cover the issues raised by the Indian campaign that joined forces with the Colombians, complaining over the use of water resources and the water pollution caused by Coca-Cola plants in inald
We have to hope that the deal with Sinaltrainal is not a ruse to divide the campaign by buying the Colombians off.
It is worth remembering that the British and Irish trade unions, the TUC and Justice for Colombia (the campaign British trade unions set up in opposition to Solidarity for Colombia) bitterly opposed the Coca-Cola boycott, and themselves boycotted any attempt at a public debate on the subject.
Ironically, all of the Colombian trade unions which Solidarity for Colombia claims to represent supported the boycott.
Luckily, it looks as if international solidarity may have taught a lesson to British bureaucrats.