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11 February, 2008
The ICEM is asking trade unionists to write protest letters to Unilever’s vice president for Global External Affairs, drawing attention to trade union rights violations in Pakistan and India. The ICEM is assisting its sister Global Union Federation, the International Union of Food Workers’ Association (IUF), in protests to the company over its conduct at food and beverage plants.
In November 2007, Unilever management at a factory in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan, fired all but five of the plant’s temporary workers, following a Pakistani union’s announcement that it would allow membership to the workers and fight to secure permanent status for them.
The fired workers were replaced by staff from a labour agency. The sacked workers were forced to sign termination letters in front of armed police and Elite Troops forces, who were called into the plant by local management.
This latest incident coincides with an IUF complaint to the UK contact point over violations of the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Additionally, Unilever managers at a plant in Assam, India, have actively undermined trade union leaders in that factory. Management has sponsored creation of a yellow union there in the course of a long lockout aimed at supplanting the legitimate trade union.
A model letter can be found here, that includes the name, address, and fax number of Unilever’s Global External Affairs vice president. Please send a copy of your letter to ICEM’s Chemicals Officer, Kemal Özkan, at [email protected].