Former employees of the Japanese textile company Furukawa have come forward with harrowing accounts of exploitation, detailing the appalling working and living conditions they endured on the company’s abaca plantations in Ecuador. Their stories emerged after Ecuador’s constitutional court ruled that Furukawa had subjected its workers to a slave-like existence, sparking national and international outrage.
Furukawa, which operated abaca plantations covering nearly 23,000 hectares across three provinces on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, employed a predominantly Black workforce under conditions that violated basic human rights. According to former workers’ testimonies shared at a news conference hosted by the Ecuadorian Ecumenical Human Rights Commission (CEDHU), the company failed to provide essential medical care, forced families to live in overcrowded and unsanitary camps, and neglected workers injured on the job.
One of the speakers, 59-year-old farmer Segundo Ordoñez, described the dire conditions on the plantations, recalling instances where workers suffered serious injuries without receiving medical attention. “A friend of mine was injured while we were working in the rain. He was bleeding profusely, but no one stepped in to help. It felt as though his life was worth nothing,” Ordoñez recounted, his voice filled with emotion. He also noted that at least nine people lost their lives in work-related accidents, highlighting the company’s blatant disregard for safety and human life.
Maria Guerrero, another former worker, shared her deeply personal and heart-wrenching story. Her family began working on Furukawa’s plantations when she was just two years old. For over three decades, Guerrero knew no life outside the plantations, where she met her husband and bore seven children.
“I gave birth to all my children while working for Furukawa,” Guerrero revealed. “I never had access to prenatal care or postpartum check-ups. It’s a wound I carry in my heart to this day.” Guerrero’s account underscores the systemic nature of the exploitation, which entrapped entire families in inhumane conditions.
In a landmark decision issued on 10 December 2024, Ecuador’s constitutional court ordered Furukawa to pay 120,000 U.S. dollars to each of the 342 identified victims, amounting to a total compensation of approximately 41 million dollars. The ruling also mandated the company to apologize to the affected workers publicly.
However, Furukawa has contested the court’s decision, citing alleged inconsistencies in the ruling. The company has also called for a reduction in the compensation amount, claiming that it cannot meet the financial obligations imposed.
“Even if we sold all the properties, all the vehicles, all the company’s assets, we would not be able to pay these 41 million dollars,” Furukawa’s director Adrian Herrera said. He added that the firm had 6 million dollars in assets and that providing all the compensation in full would “mean the company’s closure.”
Despite Furukawa’s resistance, the court’s decision has been hailed as a significant step toward justice for the victims of systemic exploitation. Former workers, human rights advocates, and the broader Ecuadorian community call for the ruling to be upheld and enforced.
