September 2004

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Luis Adonai Izaguirre testifies to the poor treatment of workers


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Articles:

Labor rights
of 27 employees
violated

Local businesses threatened

Interviews:

Luis Izaguirre
testifies to the poor treatment of workers

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Despite the fact that Luis Adonai Izaguirre´s had worked three and a half years for Burger King in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, all he can remember is the day when he nearly lost one of his eyes on the job.

When Luis arrived to work that morning, like every other day, he began to tidy-up and clean appliances, however, when he

went to get one of the mops down off the shelf a bucket that had been used the day before containing chemical residue, came down on top of him.

"The bucket fell on top of me and chemicals landed on one of my shoulders and in my eyes," says Luis. He says he was lucky because one of his supervisors with whom he had a good relationship was working that morning and gave him money for a taxi in order to get himself to the public hospital."

However, as the days passed, one of his eyes continued to get worse. The company never contributed anything to his medical bills, treatment or prescription costs.

"My eyesight was deeply effected by the accident," says Luis. He was determined to seek compensation from the area supervisor for the damages he suffered. When he went to speak with him, the manager refused to sign anything saying that since he was not the owner it was not in his power to reimburse him for his losses.

Finally, after applying a lot of pressure, to the point of hiring a lawyer to represent him, Luis was able to get the company to pay for the eye specialist visits and needed medications.

When asked how employees were normally treated at the fast-food chain Luis said, "There are some managers that treat their workers well and others that are rather hostile, that treat their employees like dogs, however they like. They insult and humiliate their employees, always wanting them to do things faster."

When Luis was fired from his job at Burger King this past year, he too was denied compensation for the years that he had worked there. The company INTUR still owes him L.200,185 equivalent to $1,084. "They pulled me out of the restaurant and told me that I no longer worked for them anymore and that their lawyer would see to it that I received what was owed me," says Luis. He than asked his supervisor for his official letter of dismissal as proof for the lawyer that he had been fired, but they told him that it wasn´t necessary.

Just like the other employees who lost their jobs, Luis was told to go to the law office of Leitzelar and ask for Alfredo Saavedra, who represents INTUR, for his severance package.
When he arrived at Saavedra´s office he was told the same thing that all the other employees were told, "I do not know why you were fired…there is nothing I can do because you don´t have proper documentation."
Together with his co-workers Luis started to fight for what was rightfully his. The first lawyer that took on their case, soon afterwards, abandoned it. They have since found new representation through AJS and are in the middle of negociations with INTUR.

After looking hard for work in Tegucigalpa and finding nothing, Luis decided to move to San Pedro Sula in search of a new beginning. He still hopes that very soon this case with his ex-employers will end in victory for him and his old co-workers, and that they will be paid what is rightfully theirs.

www.revistazo.com