The following information was provided to the DIRB during a 16 August 1996 telephone interview with the secretary-general of the Salvadorean Workers' National Union Federation (Federación Nacional de Sindicatos de Trabajadores de El Salvador —FENASTRAS) in San Salvador. FENASTRAS was founded in 1975 and has 35,000 members in 16 affiliates.

The source confirmed the existence of SOICSCES and stated that it became independent from FENASTRAS less than a year ago, but still maintains some links with to the federation. The source mentioned that two Italian enterprises, Impresit and Cogefar, contributed to the construction of a water purification plant in a district called distrito Italia, in the town of San Jose de las Florès, near Apopa.

The source could not confirm a that strike or rally took place at the above- mentioned date and location, but stated that there have been numerous strikes in the region of Apopa over the last few years. The source described the area as one where workers' demands to improve their working conditions are frequently countered by strong police actions. The source mentioned that Salvadoran workers are currently undergoing severe economic hardships that are pushing great numbers of them to leave El Salvador.

For information on incidents involving SOICSCES members, please consult the attached document.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please see below for the list of additional sources consulted for this Response to Information Request.

Reference

Federación Nacional de Sindicatos de Trabajadores de El Salvador —FENASTRAS, San Salvador. 16 August 1996. Telephone interview with the secretary-general.

Attachment

International Confederation of Free-Trade Unions (ICFTU). Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights 1994. Brussels: ICFTU, pp. 38-40.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report. 1994, 1995.

Amnesty International. Urgent Action. 1994, 1995.

Central America NewsPak [Austin]. 1994, 1995.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. 1994, 1995.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. 1994.

Human Rights Watch World Report. 1994, 1995.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. 1994, 1995.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1994, 1995.

Latin American Weekly Report [London]. 1994, 1995.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

Trade Unions Bulletin [London]. Amnesty International. Monthly.

Oral sources.