New labour presence in banana belt

A full time bilingual labour officer has been assigned to the banana industry. Jesus Yam was installed on Tuesday in a short ceremony held in Independence Village. Labour Minister Valdemar Castillo addressed guests who included members of the Trade Union Congress, Banana Growers and government officials. Castillo used the occasion to call for co-operation instead of confrontation in the settling of labour disputes. The banana industry has been the scene of continued friction between workers attempting to unionise the work force and banana growers who believe that unionisation would doom the industry to extinction in the increasingly competitive environment of the global economy.