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2 March, 2017Almost 50 white-collar LafargeHolcim employees, members of FSP-ISI Federation, met in Jakarta today for an open discussion regarding the future of their jobs.
Their jobs are under threat as consequence of the project to set up a Regional Business Service Centre (RSBC) in Manila, Philippines. This would mean the transfer a lot of activities from Jakarta to Manila.
IndustriALL Global Union director Matthias Hartwich and communications officer Alex Ivanou were invited to attend the meeting, address the union members and discuss with them.
White-collar employees of the LafargeHolcim office in Jakarta started a “Say No RBSC!” campaign against the plans of the company late in 2016. Workers believe that not only are their own jobs at risk, but also that the implementation of the project might be a serious threat for the Indonesian operations of LafargeHolcim.
The issue was also raised with the global headquarters’ representative Feliciano Gonzalez, head of labour relations and social policies at LafargeHolcim, at the recent conference of cement unions in Bogor, Indonesia. In reply Gonzalez confirmed that the creation of regional centres is part of the corporate strategy of the group across the globe.
Unfortunately, LafargeHolcim management is hesitant to discuss openly with the union and instead tries to influence the worried employees in one-to-one talks. While workers are concerned about their future employment, so far the company has failed to provide any evidence of economic sustainability and necessity of the project.
At the meeting in Jakarta union activists expressed their readiness to continue the campaign until tangible results are achieved.
In the discussion with the union members, Matthias Hartwich, director of materials industries and mechanical engineering at IndustriALL said:
“We express our full solidarity support to FSP-ISI white-collar members fighting for their future and their jobs. We remind LafargeHolcim of their statement: ‘people are core to the success of the company’ and the company’s ambition is ‘to create a workplace that is safe, diverse, inclusive, and respectful’.
“With respect to the situation here in Jakarta, it is high time for LafargeHolcim to discuss the project with the union. Follow your own commitments and enter into proper negotiations about RBSC. Do not try to solve the issue in one-to-one talks, it is a collective matter.”