SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — April 2, 2007 — Standard Fruit Company of Costa Rica, Inc. a division of Dole Food Company, Inc. and the Coordinator of Banana Unions of Costa Rica (COSIBA) announced today an agreement that reaffirms Dole’s commitment to labor, strengthens mutual trust between parties and furthers the company’s long standing commitment to sound environmental practices.“This event is another step forward in our commitment as a good citizen of Costa Rica,” said Danilo Roman, general manager, Standard Fruit Company of Costa Rica. “This agreement between Dole and COSIBA further demonstrates our company’s commitment to corporate and social responsibility, transparency and open communication among parties.”“For COSIBA-CR and COLSIBA, the signing of this framework agreement with Dole in Costa Rica represents an opportunity to continue improving the mutually beneficial relationship between the parties, for the benefit of the workers and that of the country,” said Gilberth Bermúdez Umaña of COSIBA. “It gives us the opportunity to build trust, as well as take advantage of the opportunities that globalization offers in the present international economic context.”The new agreement was ratified by Standard Fruit Company of Costa Rica, Inc. a division of Dole Food Company, Inc. and COSIBA on Tuesday, March 27, 2007, in San José, Costa Rica. Signatories included Jorge Luis Viquez Méndez, Juan Carlos Rojas Zeledón and Danilo Roman of Standard Fruit Company of Costa Rica, and Ramón Barrantes Cascante, Gilberth Bermúdez Umaña, Jorge Luis Barboza Jiménez, and René García Miranda of COSIBA. Observers included: Sue Hagen, Dole Food Company, Inc., German Zepeda, COLSIBA and Magne Svartbekk of Bama.Conditions of the newly reached agreement include:Dole and COSIBA reaffirmed their commitment to resolve disputes quickly and adopt established protocols for the sake of not affecting the mutual interests cited in this agreement.Dole and COSIBA will support a continuous open dialogue, which includes developing a member committee to ensure the terms of the agreement are met.Dole will maintain its neutral position with respect to the decision of its workers to organize and belong to an organization of their preference.The agreement establishes best practices protocol for investigating labor-related claims focusing on independent farms.Dole will continue to strengthen its already robust, long standing commitment to comply with local and international environmental legislation that governs its operations in Costa Rica. In addition, Dole considers it a priority to focus on the following programs: liquid and solid waste management, management of agrochemicals and all potentially hazardous substances, as well as protection of water and forests.Related posts: