Surinam banana dispute worsens

A dispute at a loss-making banana company in Surinam has worsened, with police locking hundreds of workers out of two plantations.

The Surinamese government closed the state-run company earlier this year after failing to reach an agreement with trade unions on restructuring.

But last week, employees went back to work, saying that unless the fruit were harvested, the trees would be killed by rotting and insects.

The crisis is due to be discussed in parliament on Tuesday.

Correspondents say the company's financial problems are symptomatic of low world banana prices, which have exposed traditionally poor producing countries to huge losses.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service