A delegation of Jefferson Smurfit shareholders who spent two weeks studying the company's extensive operation in Colombia last November has today published a report charging the Irish paper manufacturer with "unfair dismissal of [trade] unionists, the displacement of peasant farmers, the reduction of bio-diversity and accelerating soil erosion" in south-west Colombia.
Without being specific the Smurfit company yesterday rejected the report, saying it was "selective, unbalanced and, in many cases, an untrue reflection of the real situation in Colombia". The delegation included two botanists, a human rights worker and the Irish MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, who spoke of "disturbing" labour practices and the destruction of primary forests.
The delegates acknowledge that token shares were purchased to investigate the company.
The report recognises that some of the problems it highlights are not of Smurfit's making, but insists that it is now the company's responsibility to resolve them. It recommends that Smurfit hand over a farm which has been claimed as ancestral land by Paez Indians but is currently used for pine tree production.
The report also demands the reinstatement of five trade union representatives sacked by management last year.
A labour ministry investigation ruled in favour of the sacked workers and imposed a fine on the company, according to the delegation's findings. Yesterday's written response from the company did not deal with this dispute or with the Paez land claim.
The 126-page report provides extensive technical evidence of damage done to the community and rainforest of Bajo Calima, where a land concession granted to the company has resulted in "long-term environmental degradation".
The company said: "We exceed, often by a considerable margin, the regulatory standards for environmental emissions. . .Our forestry programme is specifically geared for tropical conditions and is regarded as one of the most advanced in the world."
The report gleaned technical data from studies commissioned by both Smurfit and independent academics. The first half of the two-week trip to south-west Colombia was financed by the Jefferson Smurfit company, which showed the visitors the positive impact of its work in the region, where it owns 58,000 hectares of land, most of it planted with pine trees grown for paper packaging purposes.
The company has received numerous environmental awards from the Colombian government and launched dozens of "social investment" schemes, from waste-paper recycling projects to agricultural training institutes, in a depressed region battered by state-guerrilla violence and economic decline.
The shareholders found the company "secretive" when showing them around its Cali paper factory, where a previous chlorine leak resulted in the death of a watchman.
Smurfit management refused to allow a doctor at the factory to show accident and safety records to the delegation and prohibited them from taping interviews with any workers not specifically authorised by management.
Ms McKenna arrived for the second week, when the delegation left Smurfit officials behind, spoke with activists who contradicted Smurfit's claims and found that Indians faced "continuous pressure and intimidation" by a local forestry company effectively under Smurfit control.
"Smurfit provided convincing scientific studies but simply claimed ignorance of the social issues," said Mr Gearoid O Loinsigh, a delegation member.
"I was quite disturbed by a number of Smurfit activities," said Ms McKenna, who pledged to take the issue to the European Parliament should she be re-elected in June. "There are a huge number of Irish people who would be very concerned by these issues if they had access to the information," she said.
The shareholders group has requested permission to address the company a.g.m. on June 10th.