Date of publication: September 24, 2010
Source: ITUC Press Release
» Read the original article [1]
The ITUC has strongly condemned and denounced the murder of trade union leader Juana Bustillo, president of the social security workers’ union SITRAIHSS and a member of the National Resistance Front, FNRP. This murder is yet another tragic episode in the surge of repression and violence suffered by the trade union movement over recent years: since the coup d’état on 28 June 2009, protesting workers have met with persecution, murder and imprisonment.
According to the information received by the ITUC, the trade union leader’s murder, in the city of San Pedro Sula, follows the same pattern seen in the persecution and attempts on the lives of other union activists. It should be noted that Juana Bustillo had been involved in the demonstration led by the FNRP on 15 September, which met with brutal state repression.
In a letter [2]to the Honduran authorities, the ITUC, together with its regional organisation for the Americas, TUCA, and its Honduran affiliates, urged President Lobo to take urgent steps to ensure an end to the violence against trade unionists and a full investigation into this murder.
"It is essential that efforts be stepped up, through a constructive dialogue with civil society and trade union organisations, to establish genuine rule of law in Honduras," said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.