Between threads, needles and exploitation: situation of unions and organization of textile workers without union support in El Salvador 2000 – 2015

Abstract

At the end of the 20th century, the “Law on Industrial and Marketing Free Zones” (1998) was issued, with the purpose of promoting national and international investment and allowing the country to participate in the globalization process. Thanks to this law, the free zones and maquilas began to operate with notable permissibility in the payment of taxes and in the conditions for their workers. However, these facilities provided by the State gave rise to the existence and affirmation of precarious conditions for maquila workers in particular –long hours, sexual harassment and verbal abuse from superiors, excessive work goals, very poor payments, etc.–
Faced with this situation, unions, far from responding to their original purpose – fighting for better working conditions and treatment –​​tended to respond to the political and economic interests of third parties. In specific situations, the workers demonstrated without union support, since this did not contribute to the resolution of their labor problems. The actions taken were to exert pressure by paralyzing production peacefully, arriving and not working or aggressively taking over the company, damage to machines, riots.