INTERNATIONAL LABOUR INDONESIA:
NESTLE WORKERS STRUGGLE FOR THEIR RIGHTS:


The following struggle for union representation has been going on for three years now, and the Nestlé corporation is unbending in its determination to prevent its Indonesian workers from having independent representation. Here's the story from the international union federation the IUF.
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No more Nestlies!
Stop Discrimination and Union-busting at Nestlé Indonesia!
Nestlé is determined to stop the SBNIP, the union representing workers at its Indonesian Nescafé factory, from negotiating a collective agreement which includes wages. In response to pressure from the IUF, Nestlé has conceded the union's right to negotiate wages, but now insists that the union must bargain jointly with a 'Communication Forum' (FKBNIP) which the company itself created and supports in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy and membership of the SBNIP. The SBNIP rightly rejects bargaining jointly with a management-sponsored organisation. In April, Nestlé again imposed a unilaterally-determined wage system with no negotiations.

The struggle for basic trade union rights at Nestlé Panjang continues, and the SBNIP needs your support.
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THE LETTER:
Please go to this link to send the following letter to Nestlé management.
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To Paul Bulcke, CEO
Frits van Dijk, Executive Vice President, Zone AOA

CC Jean-Marc Duvoisin, Executive Vice President, Human Resources
Nigel Isherwood, Assistant Vice President, Human Resources, Zone AOA
Enrique Rueda, Corporate Employee Relations Manager
Arshad Chaudhry, Managing Director, Nestlé Indonesia

Dear Sirs,

Management at the Nescafé factory in Panjang, Indonesia, still denies the right of the SBNIP to negotiate wages through collective bargaining. SBNIP members face discrimination and pressure. I call upon Nestlé to fully respect trade union rights, stop fighting the SBNIP, stop promoting the company union and immediately engage in good faith collective bargaining negotiations with the SBNIP as the representative of the Panjang workers for collective bargaining.

Yours sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR RUSSIA:

UNION WINS AGAINST NESTLE IN RUSSIA:

Molly has reported several times on the worldwide campaign against the anti-worker policies of the Nestlé Corporation. The international union federation the IUF has been at the forefront of this, and they now announce a victory in Russia. Here's the story from their website.

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Nestlé Waters Russia Bows to Pressure, Union Vice-Chair Reinstated
Management of Nestlé Waters Russia has declined to appeal the court-ordered reinstatement of Sergei Strykov, Vice-Chair of the union formed last year who was fired on January 27. Strykov has also been compensated for wages lost from January through May, while the union was fighting his illegal dismissal.

Strykov's dismissal was part of a series of harsh anti-union measures inflicted by Nestlé management in an attempt to stop the union from developing. The union fought back with a series of public actions, backed by international support.


While the workers are still seeking negotiations around urgent issues including workloads, work assignments and overtime pay Nestlé's decision not to fight the reinstatement represents a clear victory for the campaign to defend basic union rights at Nestlé Domodedovo.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-RUSSIA:
HELP RUSSIAN WORKERS WIN UNION RECOGNITION:




The following came to Molly's attention via the online labour solidarity site Labour Start. It's originally from the international union federation, the IUF. There's a website and a Facebook page for the international campaign to make Nestlé treat its workers fairly
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Stop Nespressure in Russia!
Rights and Recognition for Nestlé Waters Workers and their Union!
In November 2009 workers at Nestlé Waters Direct in Domodedovo, near Moscow, joined together to do something about eroding real wages and deteriorating working conditions. They formed a legal union - and management responding by harassment, discriminatory work assignments, cutting drivers' wages by half and sacking the union vice-chair, who was formally accused of damaging the company by doing his job too well! The workers are determined to defend their union and win their rights - you can support them by using the form below to send a message to management of Nestlé, the world's largest food company.
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The letter
Please go to this link to send the following letter to Nestlé management.
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To Stefan De Loecker, Market Head Russia
cc Alfredo Silva, Assistant Vice-President, Human Resources - Zone Europe
Dear Sirs
I am shocked to learn that management at Nestlé Waters Direct in Domodedovo has responded to the formation of a union by imposing pay cuts on drivers who join the union and by firing the union vice-chair Sergei Strykov on January 27. I call on you to immediately reinstate Strykov, to reinstate all union members to their former driver work assignments, to end all anti-union discrimination through rates, bonuses and job assignments and to enter into good faith negotiations with the union on working conditions and overtime pay.
Yours sincerely

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-RUSSIA:

SUPPORT NESTLÉ WORKERS IN RUSSIA:

The world of the international corporation knows no borders, and the actions of management worldwide are the same. Conversely the solidarity of ordinary people should also know no boundaries. What follows is an appeal from the international union confederation, the IUF, for solidarity with workers in Russia who are pitted against the dictatorial actions of the Nestlé Corporation.

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Nespressure Again at Nestlé Russia:

Company Punishes Union Workers with Dismissal, Discrimination and Pay Cuts:
Nestlé's Corporate Business Principles state that their business practices are "designed" to "establish a constructive dialogue with unions. In fact they have little choice - if they want to respect international Conventions and treaties which anchor this obligation in international human rights law.

In 2008 - after a year of struggle - Nestlé management conceded that that the union representing Kit-Kat workers in the Russian city of Perm could negotiate the wages management had declared a "commercial secret". Less than two years later, Nespressure - squeezing workers and suppressing rights - is being applied again at Nestlé Russia.

In November 2009, workers at Nestlé Waters Direct in Domodedovo, 30 kilometers outside Moscow, joined together to address the problem of eroding real wages and deteriorating working conditions. Nestlé's subsidiary in Domodedovo bottles and delivers Pure Life water to homes and offices. Workloads have increased substantially for drivers following the 2008 closure of one of the company's three Moscow-region distribution depots (increasing pressure on remaining drivers). Drivers are paid according to a piece rate/bonus scheme. Working days of 12 hours or more are necessary to reach a reasonable level of pay. Last year, the number of dispatchers was reduced by 50% in a cost-cutting exercise, which dramatically increased the workload on the survivors. So drivers, joined by dispatchers, formed a union and on November 17 obtained legal status by joining the All-Russia Trade and Service Employee's Union 'Solidarnost'.

Management immediately began harassing the union chairman and interfering with his access to members. Drivers were reassigned to work as loaders, eliminating the drivers' bonus, or assigned to smaller vehicles, making it impossible to achieve the bonus quota even with 15-16 hours of work. Drivers who joined the union have seen their pay cut by up to 40%.

Union communications to management, supported by the Russia-wide Nestlé Union Coordinating Council, requesting negotiations to determine work schedules, overtime and bonus pay and an end to the anti-union harassment were not answered.

On January 24, braving a temperature of -20 degrees Celsius, union members demonstrated in support of their rights at Nestlé's Moscow headquarters.

On January 27, union vice-chair Sergei Strykov was summarily dismissed. Though Strykov had a perfect work record, he was accused of financially damaging the company by consistently selling the extra bottles drivers have previously been encouraged and rewarded for selling! At a meeting with the bosses, union activist Strykov was told he could collect the overtime he is owed in exchange for "resigning by mutual consent" with the management.

Strykov is one of a group of workers who filed a legal case against the company on January 21 to recover unpaid overtime payment - in Strykov's case money owed since January 2006.

When he refused to "resign", he was fired and ordered to immediately relinquish his company uniform - shirt, coat, hat and shoes - in subfreezing weather! ( who ever said that managers were human beings ?-Molly )

The Nestlé Domodedovo workers have not been intimidated by the brutal sacking of their union vice-chair. Union members and their supporters turned out for another rally at the factory gate on February 5.

The union is demanding the reinstatement of vice-chair Sergei Strykov, that all union members are reinstated to their former work assignments; an end to all anti-union discrimination through rates, bonuses and job assignments and negotiations between management and the union on working conditions and overtime pay.

You can support their demands - CLICK HERE to send a message to Nestlé Russia's Human Resources Director and to corporate management in Switzerland.

Stop Nespressure!
Nestlé - Stop Pressure on the Union!

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The Letter:

Please go to the link above or to This Link to send the following message to Nestlé management in Russia.

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To Stefan De Loecker, Market Head Russiacc Alfredo Silva, Assistant Vice-President, Human Resources - Zone Europe
Dear Sirs
I am shocked to learn that management at Nestlé Waters Direct in Domodedovo has responded to the formation of a union by imposing pay cuts on drivers who join the union and by firing the union vice-chair Sergei Strykov on January 27. I call on you to immediately reinstate Strykov, to reinstate all union members to their former driver work assignments, to end all anti-union discrimination through rates, bonuses and job assignments and to enter into good faith negotiations with the union on working conditions and overtime pay.
Yours sincerely

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

WORLD DAY FOR DECENT WORK:

Next Wednesday, October 7, is World Day for Decent Work. On this day unions and their supporters will be mobilizing to demand decent conditions for all workers. Check out their website to see what it is all about. Here's what the international union federation, the IUF, has to say about this day.

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World Day for Decent Work - October 7:

Unions around the world are mobilizing on October 7, each in their own way, to highlight the global struggle for decent work in the context of the worst economic contraction since the 1930's. Mass unemployment threatens the lives, health, jobs and communities of working people. Social security systems built up over decades are gutted to appease financial investors. There are now over a billion people whose basic nutritional needs go unmet. Employers respond to the downturn by capitalizing on it to further squeeze already degraded working conditions. For workers everywhere, work becomes still more precarious through outsourcing, casualization and the destruction of direct, permanent employment.

On the World Day for Decent Work, the IUF draws attention to
***Ongoing struggles at Nestlé and Unilever, the world's largest and third largest global food companies, corporations which continue to funnel tens of billions of dollars annually to shareholders while denying workers basic rights. In Khanewal, Pakistan, the factory which makes Lipton's immensely profitable Lipton tea employs only 22 workers on direct employment contracts. The five hundred and more other workers are casual, disposable and forced to live on poverty wages - but with IUF support they're fighting back.
www.casualtea.org
***Nestlé celebrated crisis year 2008 by spending nearly USD 8 billion buying back its own shares on the stock market. That's over half of what the company spent on global wages and salaries. In Panjang, Indonesia, Nescafé workers have been struggling for well over two-and-a-half years to include wages in collective bargaining. Nestlé says wages are a "commercial secret" and refuses workers the right to negotiate their pay!
Stop Nespressure - www.nespressure.org
***Global food riots in response to huge increases in the prices of staple foods in 2007 2008 led governments and policymakers to rediscover the global hunger which was supposed to be on the wane. Official UN estimates now put the number of mal- and undernourished people at over one billion. Large numbers of agricultural workers - those who help to feed the world - account for a growing number of the global hungry, and they are hungry because their rights as workers are systematically repressed. The IUF, through its intervention at the ILO and at the UN intrangency High Level Task Force on the Food Crisis, has put workers rights as a key element on the food crisis agenda of the UN. Yet the UN's "Comprehensive Framework for Action" currently contains only one reference to wages in relation to hunger - ands warns against raising them.

Agricultural workers need a living wage to feed themselves and their families. The IUF will be demanding that the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization FAO support and incorporate our call for a living wage for all agricultural workers as part of any and all global efforts to roll back hunger. And we will be organizing together with our affiliates around this theme in the months and years to come.

Also on October 7, the IUF will be publishing two reports which highlight the huge decent work deficit at Dole, the world's largest producer of fresh fruit, and in the fast-growing cut flowers sector. The reports will kick off targeted organizing and campaigns.

***At a conservative estimate, there are over 100 million domestic workers employed around the world, those whose tasks involve every variety of work in the home from day care to child and health care. They are ruthlessly exploited, trafficked, abused, excluded from social security systems and frequently denied elementary citizenship rights. They are not recognized as wage earners, and enjoy no legal rights or protection as workers. But domestic workers are organizing! In 2010 the ILO will begin to draft an International Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, to be ready in 2011. The Convention will set out, for the first time in international law, the rights of domestic workers as wage workers; their right to form unions, to bargain collectively, their right to social security, inclusion in occupational health and safety schemes and legal protection. Countries which ratify the Convention are obliged to incorporate its provisions into national law. The IUF has been actively involved in preparing the groundwork for this initiative, and has helped to establish the International Domestic Workers Network, IDWN, made up of regional and national domestic workers organizations worldwide. For more information, contact the IUF - click here to download the campaign brochure (in pdf format).
www.wddw.org

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-INDONESIA:

SOLIDARITY WITH INDONESIAN NESTLE WORKERS:

The following item is from the international union confederation, the IUF. There have been other items about Nestlé on this blog, both about labour matters and about food safety. As a worldwide corporation it is only appropriate that Nestlé poor behavior is also worldwide. In this case it is Indonesia.

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Urgent Action Nestlé Indonesia - Two Years and Nescafé Workers Still Waiting for the Right to Negotiate Wages!:
Since 2007, the union at Nestlé's Nescafé factory in Panjang, Indonesia has been struggling to negotiate two basic improvements to their contract. The union wants: wages to be negotiated through collective bargaining, and is asking for the wage scale to be included in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Nestlé management refuses, saying it is not company policy to negotiate wages and that wage scales are "confidential"! Rather than negotiate, Nestlé has attempted to undermine the union's legitimacy by intimidating members and leaders, attempting to establish a rival organization and pressuring workers to join it.

For two years, workers and their union have been standing up to company pressure - you can support them by sending a message to Nestlé, the world's largest food company, telling it to stop pressuring and start negotiating!
http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=410

The situation at Nestlé Panjang is not unique. For growing numbers of Nestlé workers around the world, it's "Good Food - Good Life - Goodbye to Union Rights in the Workplace"
To learn more about Nestlé, Nespressure and the fight back, visit
http://www.iuf.org/nespressure/en/

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THE LETTER:

Please go to the campaign site link above to send the following letter to Nestlé management.

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To: Paul Bulcke, CEO

Frits van Dijk, Executive Vice President, Zone AOA
CC: Jean-Marc Duvoisin, Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Nigel Isherwood, Assistant Vice President, Human Resources, Zone AOA

Peter Vogt, Managing Director, Nestlé Indonesia
I am outraged to learn that management at the Nescafé factory in Panjang, Indonesia, refuses to respond constructively to proposals put forth by the union SBNIP to negotiate wages and to include the wage scale in the collective agreement. These are basic trade union rights set out in ILO Conventions, which Nestlé claims to uphold as part of the Corporate Business Principles.

Rather than negotiate, management has, over the course of almost 2 years, attempted to undermine the union's legitimacy by intimidating members and leaders and by promoting a rival organisation. Rather than negotiate, management has now sought to impose a settlement through the industrial court. This is precisely the kind of behaviour which has repeatedly involved Nestlé in action at the OECD for violation of its Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises.

It's past time for Nestlé to stop fighting the union, to fully respect its right to represent Panjang employees and immediately engage in good faith collective bargaining negotiations. I will continue to watch closely for signs of progress.
Yours sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

WORKERS VERSUS NESTLÉ ACROSS THE WORLD:

The recent struggle for trade union rights amongst Polish employees of Nestlé (see previous item here at Molly's Blog) is hardly the only one occurring across the globe, as the corporation's behavior is pretty well the same the world over. Here's a story from the IUF about some current struggles that their affiliates are waging against Nestlé in several countries.

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Indonesia, Peru, Brazil: Nestlé Workers Worldwide Demand Decent Work, Respect for Union Rights:

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Union action is growing at Nestlé operations around the world as workers seek compensation for eroded purchasing power, a halt to growing casualization and respect for trade union rights, including the basic union right to collective bargaining with the world's largest food company.

On November 8, the IUF-affiliated Nestle Indonesia Workers Union - Panjang (SBNI-P) held another mass demonstration to raise public awareness of their struggle, this time in the heart of Lampung, Sumatra. The union has been struggling to negotiate a new collective agreement since late 2007. Management's response has been harassment, intimidation, forced transfers and threats against union officers. As they attempted in Perm, Russia, where international union pressure eventually forced management to back down, Nestlé is insisting that it cannot disclose (let alone negotiate!) the wage scale with the union for reasons of "commercial secrecy."

The IUF has submitted a complaint concerning Nestle Indonesia's consistently aggressive anti-union actions over the past year to the OECD National Contact Point in Nestlé's home country of Switzerland, since these practices breach the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises.

In Peru, Nestlé management has also entered into conflict with the IUF's affiliate SUNTRANEP, which has been seeking to re-negotiate the collective agreement covering its membership at the Lima factory and the Chiclayo distribution centre since February of this year. The company has rejected the union's demand for a wage increase to cover inflation and intends to introduce new wage categories without negotiation, indicating that this has been imposed by Nestlé headquarters in Switzerland. In September, management attempted to entirely short-circuit the collective bargaining process by writing to the workers at home, urging them to accept the company's offer! Following numerous negotiating sessions, conciliation meetings and meetings under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour, a deadlock has been reached and the union is on strike.

In Brazil, IUF affiliated unions are mobilizing in support of their demand for a state-level agreement with Nestlé covering nine sites in the state of São Paulo. Hard hit by the rising cost of food and other necessities, the union demands include: a 40-hour workweek in all units: an end to contract and agency labour, with equal pay and conditions for all workers; and a real wage increase of 10%, with full compensation for losses due to inflation.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-POLAND:

POLISH WORKERS VERSUS NESTLÉ:

The following article is from the Polish anarchist news site Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej. It's particularly apt as the trial for unfair dismissal mentioned below began last Monday. A few notes are in order. The Polish Union of Syndicalists is an anarcho-syndicalist union federation affiliated with the AIT-IWA, the anarcho-syndicalist international. There is another anarcho-syndicalist union in Poland, less active (I believe) and not affiliated with the AIt, the Workers' Initiative. In Poland, like most of Europe and unlike here in North America there are often several unions represented at any one workplace.

The Nestlé Corporation, the largest food company in the world, has a particularly long rap sheet. It is the subject of the longest running boycott operating today. Since 1977 it has been subject to a boycott because of its promotion of infant formula over breast feeding. This action is presently coordinated by the International Nestlé Boycott Committee, and their secretariat is the British International Baby Food Action Network. During the recent melamine in milk scandal in China the Nestlé company was implicated (see Molly's Blog Sept. 25, Sept 26, Sept 28 and Oct 1 of this year). During last year's melamine in pet food events Nestlé, under the Nestlé-Purina label was also involved (See Molly`s Blog March 24 and April 19 2007).

The company has also been the target of other labour campaigns for its abuses of workers' rights. These include Russian workers (See Molly's Blog March 28, 2008 and June 9, 2008), and its operations in the Philippines. The later campaign is being found by the Filipino Union Federation the Kilusang Mayo Uno. All tolf a rather long record, and most of it isn't even described here. For further information consult Nestlé Watch.

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Nestle attempts to break trade-unions in Alima Gerber in Poland:

In September this year, Jacek Kotula, the president of the workplace commission of the “Solidarity” trade-union in Alima Gerber S.A. in Rzeszow, Poland (currently owned by Nestle) has been dismissed on disciplinary grounds. This is one of many cases of contempt for workers’s rights by large corporations operating in Poland. It is not the first time that Nestle workers have to fight with Nestle in order to have their basic rights respected in various Nestle factories spread around the world. Russian workers are still in the process of struggling for the right to negotiate wages.

Below, we present an interview with Mr. Jacek, made by a member of the Union of Syndicalists of Poland (ZSP).

ZSP: The official reason given for your dismissal was a conversation you had with a Polish farmer, in which you informed him that Alima Gerber imports apples from Italy instead of buying it from the local farmers. In the opinion of the management, this conversation was detrimental to the interests of the company. Do you think it was the real reason why you got fired?

"Of course, this was just a pretext to get rid of me. The real reason was my activity and the activity of the workplace trade-union commission of “Solidarity” presided by me for 3 years. Let me just mention that since July 2008 our commission grew by 50% and our activity has expanded to Nestle in Warsaw. I have demanded wage raises of about 140 Euro monthly. Currently, a regular employee earns about 350 Euro after tax.

The employer was not interested in negotiations. I have also proposed to sign an agreement about combating stress-related problems. The management falsely claimed that there are no legal grounds to introduce such a program. I have also presented the facts related to the discrimination of our employees in comparison with another Nestle plant in Poland, where workers earn 50% more than the ones in Rzeszow, while performing similar work.

Since there was no reaction, I have sent a letter about the case to the United Nations. I have indicated the many illegal actions of the management of the factory, confirmed many times by the Work Inspectorate. I have asked the president of Nestle Poland to meet me regarding an important issue I have mentioned in writing. Each time, I was faced with a wall of indifference. In the end, they just got rid of me in the most brutal fashion - by way of a dismissal on disciplinary grounds.

The conversation with the president of the union of farmers of Alima Gerber which I had and the alleged encouragement to negotiate high prices for fruit and vegetables was only a sad pretext to get rid of me after 16 years of work there."

ZSP: How did your colleagues and union members react to the management's decision? Did the local commission act in your defence?

"The decision to dismiss me was a shock for everyone. My colleagues from the Solidarity union gathered signatures on a protest against my dismissal. Two thirds of the workforce signed the protest. The union commission, nor the work council, did accept my dismissal. Despite this, the employer knowingly broke the law by dismissing a union representative protected by the law. This is a clear violation of the worker's rights and the Labour Inspectorate in Rzeszow has initiated a proceeding against the management."

ZSP: How was the dismissal delivered to you?

"After I was informed about the intention to fire me and after I saw the September 5th letter asking the union to accept my dismissal, I felt very sick on psychosomatic grounds and I have spent a week being treated on the cardiology department. In the meantime, the management of Alima Gerber harassed my family several times. The saddest event occurred on September 13th, at 7 AM. Four of my children, aged from 7 to 13, were alone in the house, while my wife was working on a night shift. My children were woken up by the relentless bell ring. When my 12-year old son opened the door, the manager tried to give him the dismissal document.

My son did not want to accept anything from the manager. The manager demanded that an older son be called. But the older son refused to take anything and locked the door. The manager stood at the door until 9 AM, kept ringing and knocking the windows and door. The children were terrified and informed their parents by phone of what has happened. The youngest son kept crying and asking: "why do they want to put daddy in jail?"

After the manager left, the house was under observation until noon by a man in a red car, at about 50 m away from the house. Our neighbours informed us of this fact. After I left the hospital, I went to Bulgaria on September 16th, for a training organized by the European Trade Union Institute from Brussels. The training was earlier approved by the manager of the plant.

I was the only representative from Poland. At the Okecie airport in Warsaw, after luggage check-in, I saw the manager and the Human Resources director going after me. I was shocked to see them there. I ran to passport control and haven't seen them afterwards. After I returned from the training, I was not let into the plant. It was claimed that I was fired... at the airport!"

ZSP: How did the management portray this case to the employees? Were there any attempts to turn employees against you? If so, were those attempts successful?

"The management informed the employees that I am a criminal, because I have acted to the detriment of the company, allegedly advising the farmers to negotiate the highest possible prices for fruit. The management claimed that this was the reason for falling profits and that is why the employees cannot expect any significant raises. The workplace commission was also threatened that its members will have to participate in court hearings. Was this successful? I believe in some sense, yes."

ZSP: When will the trial begin?

"I have filed the case on September 25th in the Labour Court in Rzeszow. The first court hearing will take place on November 10th. I believe I will win, as I did 6 months earlier, when the employer illegally punished me for entering with a workplace security inspector on a night shift. I did nothing wrong. As a matter of fact, the inspector admitted that I acted in the interest of the plant by informing the president of the farmer's union that apples are being imported from Italy. No one can convince me that apples imported from Italy will be cheaper than the apples from near Rzeszow. Besides, the farmers are shareholders of the company. They are not competitors, but members of a family and the plant could not function without them."

ZSP: Dismissals of active union members are quite common in Poland. The political climate for union activity is quite bad. This year several union members have been dismissed in state owned and private companies. The employers seem to act with impunity. How to reverse this negative trend?

"We must highlight cases when the employers break the law. We need to show people the of meanness of some companies which knowingly break the law by firing protected union members. We also need to change the law in order to give real protection to the union activists who are on the front line of the struggle for workers rights. All unions must act together in this area."

ZSP: Temporary work is a common phenomenon. What kind of difficulties did you encounter while trying to fight for equal treatment of temporary workers employed by temp agencies and workers with permanent contracts?

"Our plant has been hiring temporary workers from the Impel agency for three years. These employees performed the exact same work as the permanent employees, for half the wages. They did not receive compensation for working in noisy conditions, their working clothes were not washed and they did not receive meals.

They were discriminated against, which is not allowed by the law on temporary work agencies. We have reported the issue to the management, but to no avail. Two years ago, we informed the Work Inspectorate about the case. The inspection revealed that our suspicions were right. The plant was forced to employ 70 of the temporary workers on permanent contracts, with the same wages as other Alima Gerber workers. A few of the workers filed suits against Impel for discrimination. Their lawyer estimated their losses to over 3300 Euro a year. The case is still pending."

ZSP: The international character of many corporations doing business in Poland allows for international actions of support in case workers rights are being broken. What are your experiences working with other organizations internationally?

"I have excellent experiences, especially with unions from the so-called "old" European Union. There seems to be quite a different union culture there. For example in 2006 I have written a complaint to the Swiss management about the extremely poor wages in our company. I have argued that an employee of our company cannot sustain himself, let alone his family on the wages he receives. We have received support from the European Confederation of Trade Unions in Brussels, from the IUF (International Union of Food workers) from Geneva, the European Worker’s Council and many unions in France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. A journalist from Basler Zeitung has visited us to write a big feature about the case. Another newspaper, “Input” has written an article about the topic.The western media and organizations are the only real weapon of Polish unionists."

ZSP: Since you have lost your source of income, are you in need of material help? How can union members and people interested in worker's rights help you in your situation?

"I have not received wages since September 16th. I don’t receive any unemployment benefits, since I was fired on disciplinary grounds. Our family subsists on the income of my wife, who is a nurse. I have four children, who still are very much in shock after what happened to me. I have to return a credit from the Social Fund until October 15th. I am in the same situation as many ordinary workers in Alima Gerber, who can only afford some basic necessities despite years of hard work. I believe that the good will prevail. I ask people of good faith only for prayer."

ZSP: Thank you for the interview. We wish you success in your fight for reinstatement in the workplace!

CURRENT EVENTS:

TAINTED BABY FORMULA NOW:

Last year the news in the spring was all about tainted pet foods which were laced with melamine in order to give a false high protein content. These products were produced in China, and the Chinese government made claims that it had addressed the problem. This year the news is restricted to China itself, and the victims are human, babies poisoned by infant formula adulterated with melamine. The following article from the IUF website tells how there is another culprit in the scandal besides the Chinese government- the Nestlé corporation. Molly would like to extrapolate from what is said below to insist that what the IUF says is very much true, that consumers cannot depend upon either the corporations or the state for protection, that there has to be independent organizations to monitor both government and the corporations. Note also how the Chinese government is still in its own business of censorship, something it seems to do quite more effectively than monitoring food safety.

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Nestlé Puts Public Relations Before Precaution in China Milk Scandal:

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The Olympics have come and gone, and melamine, the toxic chemical used in the production of plastics, fertilizers, fire retardants and inks, among other products, is back in the news. Melamine, which can cause acute kidney failure when ingested, has become a favorite ingredient of Chinese food manufacturers to boost apparent protein content in adulterated products. In early 2007, it turned up in North American pet foods, including those marketed by Nestlé's Purina brand. It periodically surfaces in animal feed and even toothpaste. Now it's the culprit in the widening scandal arising from the contamination of Chinese-made milk products, fresh and powdered, which has resulted in the death of at least 4 babies, sickened over 53,000 and hospitalized some 13,000.

While other dairy producers initiated recalls and suspended production, Nestlé, putting public relations before safety, asserted that "that none of its products in China is made from milk adulterated with melamine." Shortly thereafter, the Hong Kong government found traces of melamine in a Nestlé milk product manufactured in mainland China. The traces were low, according to the government authorities, but it was recommended that it not be given to children. Following on a recall by leading supermarket chains, the product was eventually recalled at the request of the government. Nestlé responded with a press statement that all its milk products manufactured in China are "absolutely safe".

Massive, often fatal food contamination scandals have become a matter of such routine in China that no company, operating directly or through a joint venture, can claim to be manufacturing safely unless all stages of production and distribution are monitored for every possible source of contamination and adulteration. The policy of official laxness bordering on complicity was summed up in the official China Daily, which observed that the largest dairy manufacturers were exempt from safety inspections on the grounds that it was necessary to assist "internationally competitive producers of high quality products" by…sparing them regular testing. The explosive growth of China's booming market for dairy products, which saw annual sales double over the last five years to USD 18 billion, was an important spur to this regulatory exemption. Several Chinese commentators (since banished from the internet) have suggested that melamine adulteration was one way for companies to pass on rising input prices.

In this context of widespread corruption, criminally loose standards and the total absence of independent worker organizations to monitor worker and consumer health and safety, companies bear a particular responsibility. Repeated iterations of product safety aren't enough. Death and illness are the price of laxness

Safety concerns with Nestlé milk products aren't new. In 2002, Nestlé imported spent milk powder to Colombia, where it was repackaged (with new best before dates). Health inspectors found it before it was released for sale. Nestlé said it was repackaging the powder for health reasons.

In 2005, Chinese authorities detected excessive levels of iodine in Nestlé infant milk formula. Nestlé contended that the levels were "only a little bit higher" than the prescribed limits, and had to be dragged into a product recall and eventual apology. In 2005 again, this time in Europe, 30 million litres of Nestlé baby milk products were confiscated in Italy and the products were recalled in four other European countries when ink was found to be leaking off the packaging into the contents. Tetra Pak, maker of the packaging, claimed it had been aware of the problem and changed its production methods in September. The recall came only in November, after Italian police began confiscating the product from supermarkets, depots and lorries. Nestlé CEO Brabeck called this "a tempest in a teapot", insisting that the product posed no health risks.

Other transnational producers with operations in China have hardly covered themselves with glory in this affair - there are significant gaps in the chronologies spanning the discovery of the contamination and the effective implementation of product recalls and suspensions of productions. But Nestlé - the world's largest food company - has again distinguished itself by its dogged insistence on spin over precaution.

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,

RUSSIAN LABOUR:

SUPPORT RUSSIAN NESTLÉ WORKERS' RIGHT TO NEGOTIATE WAGES:

In the "cowboy capitalism" of Russia today where the state bureaucracy relentlessly engulfs the "commanding heights" of the economy the new ruling class leaves the average worker as prey for the most avaricious of foreign companies. These companies get away with things there that they never would in countries where the balance of rulers is more settled, simply because the new managers of Russia see no need to have even the pretense of caring for "the worker" anymore. An example is documented below, and the IUF calls on people from across the world to stand in solidarity with Nestlé workers in Perm. To read more and join this campaign see below or go to the IUF website.

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Support Russian Nestlé Workers' Right to Negotiate Wages!

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A full four months after the IUF-affiliated Nestlé Perm Workers Union first demanded a substantial wage increase for the almost 1000 workers at the Kitkat candy and confectionary plant, Nestlé Russia still denies bona fide wage bargaining. The union is now calling for international protest action in order to highlight the right to wage negotiations as a basic workers right.

At a protest rally in Perm on March 22, workers declared their support for the union's demand of a 21,5% wage increase from Jan. 1. Workers are not prepared to accept the wage increase decreed unilaterally by management nor to be a party to the bad faith negotiations forced upon them by Nestle Perm management.

As reported earlier (> Nestlé Russia tells workers "We don't negotiate wages"), Nestle had denied wage negotiations for several months, contending that wages were not subject to collective bargaining at all. After a collective labour dispute was declared, and an OECD complaint was filed against Nestlé for violation of basic workers rights, the company changed its strategy from one of refusing to one of constantly delaying negotiations. Up to now, no concrete new proposal for a wage increase has been received from management.

At the protest rally held in the centre of the city of Perm on Saturday, March 22, more than 200 participants demonstrated their refusal to put up with Nestlé’s postponement game any longer. It became abundantly clear that the company’s hope of placating the workers by handing them a 15% wage increase had not been realised. No wonder – this does not even cover the official inflation rate of over 16% in the region in 2007. “We need a real wage increase now” speakers declared at the meeting “Many of us donate blood regularly, as we can’t make ends meet with the salaries we get”.

The protest rally in the centre of Perm attracted more than 200 participants. As management has declared on several occasions that final decisions are taken not in Perm, but in Moscow or even at Nestlé headquarters in Switzerland, the union will take the protest beyond Perm. On Tuesday, March 25, a demonstration will be held in front of Nestlé Russia headquarters in central Moscow with the support of the Agricultural Workers Union of Russia and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR).

IUF General Secretary Ron Oswald commented – “Nestlé is responsible for ensuring that trade union rights, including the right to bona fide wage negotiations, are respected in every single factory and worksite. A global corporation may not shirk such obligations by attempting to dictate terms and conditions unilaterally. The right to wage negotiations is a fundamental workers right – everywhere!”

Support Nestle Perm workers in their struggle for the right to wage negotiations!

Click here to send a protest message to Nestlé corporate management now!

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