18 October, 2013IndustriALL Global Union and USW, with the support of UNIA, stage protests in front of the European headquarters in Baar and warns board member of the company who keeps leading post at Swiss retailer association ProMarka in Bern, Switzerland.
On 18 October 2013 activists of the local section of UNIA at Zug together with USW representative Mike Cruttenden and IndustriALL Global Union carried out a protest in front of the European Headquarters of Crown Holdings in Baar.
During the protest the IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary Kemal Ozkan said, “We told today representatives that we cannot accept any longer, any more cut backs, we want to have our proper share from the profits that were doubled last year, and we don’t want to work with lower salaries and lower pensions, and in Turkey we have demanded the company to recognize the union as soon as possible.”
Ozkan pledged that IndustriALL Global Union would continue the mobilization throughout the world at the Crown operations until the two problems are not resolved with justice.
Mike Cruttenden, striking employee of Crown and active member of the USW said, “We asked for fair and honest contract, you asked us, Crown Holdings, for relief, the workers gave you relief nine years ago, but you’re still asking for relief, even though you’ve doubled your profits, you want more from the workers to just make more profits, all we want is just fairness, our fair share of how much money we have made for you.”
He added, ”We are not taking back, not anymore, we are not believing in a two-tier wage system, that divides the workplace to such a point where there is a terrible atmosphere in the workplace.”
The campaign “Take-backs no more” is continuing, on Monday 21 October Cruttenden joins his colleagues in Turkey, where IndustriALL`s affiliate Birlesik Metal-Is is preparing series of protests against Crown Holdings.
Regarding the company’s behaviour in Turkey Cruttenden said: “They have only asked to join a union which they democratically voted to join, but yet the company holds them back from joining the union with collaboration of the government. We ask that you recognized that union immediately and bargained a good and fair first contract.”