Adela Torres is the General Secretary of SINTRAINAGRO union. Adela campaigns for the rights of the 26 000 workers who are affiliated with SINTRAINAGRO, including 2500 workers on 20 Fairtrade certified banana plantations. SINTRAINAGRO is the Colombian affiliate of COLSIBA, the Latin American union for agricultural banana and pineapple workers.

“I’m happy to be here at the Fairtrade offices in Bonn, Germany. I’m delighted to have this invitation. I wanted to learn a bit about the reality in the office and also share a bit about the work we [SINTRAINAGRO] are doing in the unions and with Fairtrade on the banana plantations in Colombia, especially in the Uraba region.

"We have a large number of [Fairtrade] certified plantations and it’s a good experience for the workers and the companies because they’ve been able to make some improvements. There are some things that we need to continue working on improving so we can arrive at greater success. 

"We also need to do this work in other plantations where COLSIBA works and has their presence - not only in Colombia but in countries like Peru, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala. We want to make sure that the process can take place in these countries as it has in Colombia and which has been very important for us.

"I believe we can continue doing this important work so that Fairtrade can extend further and can encompass more workers who will benefit from the Premium which can improve the labour rights conditions of the workers. We want them to be able to have collective bargaining agreements, to have unions. Together we can do work in this area.  Therefore we’ll keep on working and that’s why I’m here, because this is our goal.”

Fairtrade International wants to work together with workers, employers, and partners to create a supportive environment for workers to organize and bargain their terms of employment if they choose. Find out more about our new workers rights strategy.