Workers Union and Ingenio Cristobal Colón sign collective agreement that includes 21% salary increase over 3 years

The Workers Syndicate of Ingenio Cristóbal Colón and the company signed a collective agreement that will govern labor relations between the company and the workers for the next three years and under which workers covered by the agreement will receive a wage increase of 21% over the same period.

A note from Consorcio Azucarero de Empresas Industriales (CAEI) states that the agreement includes a wage increase of 7% for the 2016-17 harvest, and an equal amount for each of the following two years.

In addition, there was a 15% increase in the payment of the daily newspaper in the field for the first year.  An adjustment was also included in the payment of the cane-cutting tariffs of 4-10 percent based on the mode of cutting.

The agreement was signed by Ambrosio Reyes, Director of Human Resources and Antonio Cruz, General Secretary of the Union.  The protocol signing ceremony was held at the mill's facilities and was chaired by CAEI executive vice president Alberto Potes, who stressed that the agreement is a joint effort to contribute to the company’s economic sustainability.

He indicated that the agreement relaxed some issues in favor of workers, such as the percentage of additional bonus for meeting annual production targets.  Mr. Potes said that the incentive scheme “contributes significantly to all workers improving their income as a function of productivity as well as business results.”

The previous agreement established that the company paid workers a stimulus bonus of 5% of normal wages earned during the harvest period, provided that the Cristóbal Colón sugar mill achieved 100% of its projected sugar production.  This achievement was made more flexible towards meeting 80% of production goals. This stimulus bonus has been established keeping in mind production targets for the next 3 years, obtained from the strategic business plan.

"I congratulate them on bringing such an important process to a successful conclusion, which marks a milestone in history in the company," reflected Mr. Potes.

For his part, the Director of Human Resources, Ambrosio Reyes thanked the leaders of the workers’ syndicate for the meetings that respectfully took place between the two parties. "This process demonstrated that we agree on the key issues and aim for the same goals to achieve the goal that results in benefits for the company and the worker."

Antonio Cruz, General Secretary of the Union, thanked the company for conducting the talks to reach the agreement and showed the consensus in the organization to obtain the agreement. "We are confident that as the company performs better, we will also reap greater benefits."

For Ingenio Cristóbal Colón, Mr. Reyes, Héctor León and Aurelia Altagracia, Manager and Legal Coordinator of Human Resources, respectively also signed the agreement. All members of the workers’ syndicate's board participated in the event, which in addition to Mr. Cruz included Messrs. Lino Andrés de los Santos, Deputy Secretary General, Dioinisio Pierre Hertillie, Secretary of Organization, Ricardo Sosa de los Reyes, Secretary of Culture And propaganda. Also participating were Valentín Modesto Castillo, secretary of finance, Augusto César Castro, secretary of accident prevention and Javier De León Hiche, secretary of complaints and conflicts.

CAEI is a company within the asset portfolio managed by Putney Capital Management, an affiliate manager at INICIA.