Above: MSP's, including Frances Curran (SSP) and Shiona Baird (Green), and activists meet with Luis at the Scottish Parliament.


This week Luis Eduardo Garcia, a trade-unionist from Colombia representing the food and drink workers union Sinaltrainal completed a successful tour of the UK including a week in Scotland. Luis addressed meetings in Glasgow, Stirling, Fort William, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. At the meetings he described the situation in Colombia where trade unionists face the risk of assassination at the hands of right-wing paramilitary death squads. To highlight killings and attacks on trade unionists working at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia, the union is calling for a boycott of Coke products for one year.

The campaign has had a successful start with a vote by students in Dublin and several pubs and clubs in Ireland to boycott Coke. In Scotland there were pledges from students in Glasgow, Stirling, Aberdeen and Edinburgh to take up the campaign. Trade Unionists in Fort William, Dundee and Edinburgh also pledged to highlight the campaign and will call on the STUC to back the boycott.

Luis attended the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 4th December. SSP MSP for West of Scotland Frances Curran appealed to the parliament to welcome Luis' visit and to help secure his safety when he returns to Colombia.

Extract from the Official Report of the Scottish Parliament

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Before the chamber empties, I ask whether we could welcome to the gallery Luis Eduardo Garcia, a Columbian trade union leader with Sinaltrainal. The reason why it is important to do so is that he fears for his life when he returns to Columbia. I hope that he will have the support of the Scottish Parliament.

The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid): That is not a point of order, but I am sure that members regard him as being very welcome. [Applause.]



The SSP have previously put a motion to the parliament to support the boycott.

S2M-376# Frances Curran: Boycott of Coca-Cola—That the Parliament supports the international boycott of Coca-Cola, launched by the Colombian trade union federation Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia (CUT) and supported by the World Social Forum in Brazil, to highlight the murder of eight trade union leaders at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia, and considers that people across Scotland should boycott Coca-Cola as part of the international campaign to force this multinational company to pay compensation to the families of those murdered, assist in bringing the assassins to court and guarantee trade union and human rights at their bottling plants throughout Colombia.

Supported by: Tommy Sheridan, Rosie Kane, Carolyn Leckie, Elaine Smith, Ms Rosemary Byrne, Shiona Baird, John Swinburne, Mark Ballard, Margo MacDonald, Mr Mark Ruskell, Chris Ballance, Ms Sandra White