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14 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 15/2004
"People before Profit" was the message over and over as union members from five labour organisations protested DSM NV reorganization at a stop-work march/rally 12 March in Limburg, NL. The unions, led by ICEM affiliate FNV Bondgenoten, are demanding a stop to DSM's decision to sack 1,000 core workers at industrial chemical worksites in Geleen, and replace them with 500 contractors.
Some 2,500 workers, families and supporters attended the "Stop the Breakdown of DSM Employment in Limburg" march/rally, which circled the streets of Heerlen-DSM headquarters-and ended with a loud, spirited, united assembly on the plaza of the DSM headquarters building.
The event marked the first such stop-work action at DSM.
"For us as unions, we've had enough," said Henk van Rees, a Bondgenoten officer. "That's why we have called upon staff to down tools and go to Heerlen."
In the 1980s, DSM operations in Geleen employed some 15,000 workers. Prior to last month's announcement from Heerlen, chemical operations in Geleen employ 5,000 workers. DSM also sacked 420 jobs at its DNP (Nutritional Products) former Roche plant in Sisseln, Switzerland, a fact not lost on those at the rally who see DSM overreaching into non-traditional business sectors.