Banana giant Chiquita Brands has fired its workers in Panama who have been out on strike for more than three weeks as part of nationwide protests against reforms to the social security system.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino had said earlier Thursday that the strike was illegal and included some 5,000 workers.

“Unfortunately, following the unjustified abandonment of work at our plantations and operations centers since April 28 and continuing today, (the company) has proceeded with the termination of all of our daily workers,” the company said in a statement. It said the company had suffered losses of at least $75 million.

Protests marches and occasional roadblocks have stretched from one end of the country to the other as teachers, construction workers and other unions expressed their rejection to changes the government said were necessary to keep the social security system solvent.

  • CobraChicken3000@lemmy.caEnglish
    31·
    2 days ago

    I buy bananas all the time. Bananas are dirt cheap and I imagine they are dirt cheap because the labor costs are so low. I feel like I will be financially okay if I had to pay an extra dollar for a bundle of bananas.

      • Jimmycakes@lemmy.worldEnglish
        21·
        8 hours ago

        That shit has proven to be a scam in coffee the farmers are slightly better off but not really and I’m over here getting bent over for 12oz coffee bags that all used to be 16oz before. The middleman still getting theirs in the fair trade game.

        • Bravo@eviltoast.orgEnglish
          1·
          1 hour ago

          What you consider proof and what I consider proof might be different, so do you have a link to show what, SPECIFICALLY, you’re talking about? I’m not saying you’re wrong I’m just saying I don’t believe stuff randos on the Internet tell me unless they have links so I can know what they know

          • Zenith@lemm.eeEnglish
            1·
            26 minutes ago

            The main issue with fair trade maybe not being especially fair is you have to buy into the system, those who can’t afford to join are often the farms that need the most help because they’re the poorest. So it’s a system that makes sure the poorest farms are excluded which is obviously problematic. The program it’s self can be beneficial but the price that fair trade kicks in it is too low for a lot of farms to survive, which again benefits the richest farms that were not excluded by the buy in. It could be a much fairer system but it’s not “a scam”

            I don’t want to link articles to facts like fair trade being buy in or the rates fair trade pays but it’s all available information