RUSSIAN LABOUR:

SOLIDARITY WITH RUSSIAN NESTLÉ WORKERS:

The following appeal for support for Russian workers in the city of Perm comes from the IUF.

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Russian Nestlé workers still being denied the right to negotiate wages!

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6 months into the conflict at the KitKat candy bar plant in the Russian city of Perm, the company still refuses to recognise the right to negotiate wages!

The biggest food company in the world is taking the tiniest possible steps toward settling a conflict which began 6 months ago when the Nestlé Perm Workers Union first sought to negotiate a wage increase through the collective bargaining process. The company has finally come forward with a proposal for a modest wage increase which, however, remains below the rate of inflation over the past 6 months. This nevertheless represents some progress - due to the union's determined struggle and the support of the international solidarity campaign.

However, Nestlé remains unwilling to fully respect the trade union's information and communication rights, by demanding that the union chairperson accept restrictions on these rights before restoring access to electronic resources. Even more importantly, management is trying to insert language into the settlement under negotiation that would reduce industrial relations to a process of "consultations" rather than negotiations leading to mutually agreed wages and wage scales.

For the future of Nestlé workers in Perm and elsewhere, we need to ensure that Nestlé fully recognises the union's unqualified right to negotiate wages. The next negotiation is scheduled for June 11. Click here to send a message to Nestlé now!

Click on the link above to send the following letter to Nestlé management:

To:

Martin Ruepp, General Manager, Nestlé Perm-Kamskaya factory

Anna Slavnova, Human Resources Director, Nestlé Russia
Copy to:

Alfredo Silva, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources, Zone Europe

Jean-Marc Duvoisin, Nestlé Senior Vice President for Human Resources

Dear Ms Slavnova,Dear Mr. Ruepp,
We are pleased to learn that Nestlé Perm management has finally, after 6 months of conflict, embarked on the road to salary negotiations.

However, we are still concerned about attempts to reduce the union's role to being 'consulted' on wages and a reluctance by management to fully recognise the right to negotiations on all terms and conditions, including wages and wage scales for all categories of workers eligible for union membership.

We are also concerned about the ongoing violation of the union's basic right to communication facilities through the continued denial of intranet and e-mail access, and the requirement that the union agree to a restrictive information policy before that violation is rectified.

We therefore urge you to ensure that the union's proposals for clear language guaranteeing the union's rights to put forward and negotiate wage proposals and guaranteeing that such negotiations are carried out in good faith, in a timely fashion, and with full respect of union information rights and facilities, are included in the settlement.

Sincerely yours,