In Quito, Ecuador’s government formally apologized on Saturday to laborers who had endured harsh treatment akin to modern-day slavery at a plantation, as determined by the Constitutional Court’s decision last year. The acknowledgment ceremony took place near the presidential palace, where members of Ecuador’s Cabinet publicly recognized the injustices faced by over 300 workers on a Japanese-owned abaca plantation. They were subjected to severe working conditions that lacked fundamental human rights. Labor Minister Ivone Nuñez vowed that Ecuador is committed to creating a nation that safeguards the rights of its workforce.
This public apology was one step in the series of reparations mandated by the court. According to the court’s findings, between 1963 and 2019, laborers employed by Furukawa, a Japanese firm, were forced to reside in inadequate dormitories that lacked essential amenities. The plantation, located in western Ecuador, notably did not provide proper safety training, leading to numerous workplace accidents. At Saturday’s proceedings, former workers of Furukawa, alongside their legal representatives, highlighted the company’s failure to compensate the affected individuals for the difficult conditions at its plantation in Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas province.
Unfortunately, comments from Furukawa representatives were unavailable at the time. The company, which underwent an ownership transition in 2014, has asserted improvements in working conditions since that time. Additionally, Furukawa has petitioned the Ecuadorian government to lift an embargo on the sale of its Ecuadorian properties to facilitate worker reparations.
The abaca plant, known also as manila hemp, is utilized in producing unique types of paper, ropes, and fishing nets. While it resembles a banana plant, unlike its look-alike, its fruits are inedible. Ecuador is recognized as the top global exporter of bananas and remains one of the few nations producing significant quantities of abaca.