Paraguayan Sugar Cane Company (Cañas Paraguayas Sociedad Anonoma, CAPASA) was privatized in 1991 and is today almost bankrupt (Social Watch 2003, 148). The company's workers have two unions (World Socialist Web Site 10 July 2001): SITRACAPASA and SEOCAPASA (ICFTU 2002). In 2001, the company dismissed four trade union leaders and tried to dissolve the legally registered unions (ibid.). This led to a long dispute during which the company ignored court orders to reinstate two of the leaders in their former jobs (ibid.). No further information on the CAPASA unions could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate 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 find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). 2002. "Paraguay." Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Unions Rights 2002. http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991215654&Language=EN [Accessed 5 June 2003]

Social Watch. 2003. Juan Carlos Yuste and Diego Brom. "Paraguay: Social Mobilisation Against Privatisation." Social Watch Annual Report 2003. http://www.socwatch.org.uy/en/informeImpreso/pdfs/paraguay2003_eng.pdf [Accessed 5 June 2003]

World Socialist Web Site. 10 July 2001. "Cane Workers Strike in Paraguay." http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/jul2001/lab-j10.shtml [Accessed 5 June 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Internet sites, including:

ABC Color [Asuncion]

Gobierno de Paraguay

International Labour Organization

La Nacion [Asuncion]

Paraguay Global

Servicio nacional de promocion profesional

Search engine:

Google