SENDIKA OUVRIYE GWASIMAL MADLIN

Cap-Haïtien, November 29, 2000

Mrs. Joelle Jezequel

Groupe Rémy Cointreau

One World Trade Center

107th Floor, New York, NY

In a letter dated from yesterday, November 28, 2000, addressed to one of the supporting members of the Haiti Support Group, our union was astonished to learn that your response to them contained significant inaccuracies.

According to your letter, in addition to meeting with the management of Guacimal S.A. and representatives of the Haitian Ministry of Labor, Cointreau representatives also met with "Trade Unions" (which ones?). More significantly you claim that: "All the discussions occurred in presence of Trade Union representatives of Guacimal workers, in conformity with local legislation."

Mr. Morineau, your company's representative, whose name we only learned through our own initiative, did not even bother to greet us, and even less to meet with us or to ask us about our grievances. That particular morning, it became apparent to us that the plant was going to receive a guest of some kind because, for once, management had the workers clean up the pile of rotting oranges which had been growing disproportionately. We then observed this stranger, accompanied by Mr. Nonce Zephir (the plant director), strolling through the plant and taking pictures. We wish to state clearly and unequivocally that there was no communication of any kind between the Union, the workers and Mr. Morineau. We have attached a group picture to support our statement, in case Mr. Morineau still continues to claim otherwise.

The Union would like nothing better than to meet in Haiti with Cointreau representatives. In accordance with your stated claims, notwithstanding their inaccuracies, we therefore request to meet with Cointreau representatives at the earliest possible date during the month of December, in order to rectify these discrepancies.

We wish to clarify the situation for your benefit as well as for those who are in solidarity with our cause. If, as you so claim, the Group Cointreau is so dedicated to "constantly improving our social standards and the economic situation of people working directly or indirectly for our activities", how can you then explain why we, Haitian workers, had to form a union in order to have our rights (that you claim to respect so naturally) taken into consideration? By forming a union, we are just trying to remedy the blatant deficiencies of the management and its associates. It should also be made clear that these struggles are led under duress and are faced with constant stalling tactics from management, even though our demands are simply that the plant must comply with Haitian law. It is precisely this ongoing lack of respect for the Haitian Labor Code which points to the inaccuracy of your claims.

Regards,

Elimene Micheline Toussaint

Secretary of the Union of Workers at Guacimal S.A.

Cc: All members of the Solidarity Campaign with the Workers at Guacimal

Attached: a photo of members of the Union