The IUFs Transnational Company Work

1
The IUFs Transnational Company Work
2
Transnational company work

• IUF has prioritized two forms of activity in this
  area
• Campaigns or actions against companies that
  attack basic rights
• Proactive action and strategies to gain
  recognition from companies like Coca-Cola for the
  IUF as an international trade union federation

3
Recent campaigns and actions

• Pakistan Sugar Mills
• Belarus, trade union rights
• BAT Burma
• Ecuador banana workers
• Pearl Continental
• Pepsi, Guatemala
• Sky Chefs, USA
• Coca Cola, Russia

4
That is campaign activity. But what of
pro-active IUF Company Strategy

• What does it mean?
• How is it developed within the IUF?

5
Proactive IUF company strategy has basically
three stages

• Organize and build strength
• Negotiate for international recognition from the
  target company
• Move to international bargaining

6
Organize

• Use education projects to
• Strengthen existing unions
• Create New unions
• Recruitment of those unions to IUF
• Company networks (eg in Coca-Cola through global
  and regional meetings)

7
Negotiating recognition

• Area of major progress in recent years
• Achieved through seizing and building on
  opportunities, following-up on conflicts,
  maintaining contact with companies and dogged and
  determined negotiations

8
Recognition 1997

• Where were we in 1997?
• Danone (formal)
• Accor (formal)
• Nestlé (formally limited to Europe but informally
  wider)
• Coca-Cola (informal, irregular and limited having
  arisen from major successful international
  campaigns against Coca Cola over past years)

9
Recognition 2003

• Where are we today?
• 26 companies and growing
• Danone
• Accor
• Nestlé
• Coca-Cola
• British American Tobacco
• Chiquita Brands International
• Club Méditerannée
• Compass

10

• Del Monte Fresh Produce
• Fonterra (formerly New Zealand Dairy Board, a
  major dairy transnational)
• Fyffes
• Hershey Foods
• Imperial Tobacco
• Interbrew
• Japan Tobacco International
• Kraft Foods

11

• Mars
• Parmalat
• Philip Morris International
• Scandinavian Tobacco Company
• Altadis
• Sodexho
• Dimon Tobacco Leaf Processors
• Standard Tobacco Leaf Processors
• Univeral Tobacco Leaf Processors
• Shangri-La Hotel Corporation

12
Company recognition of the IUF 1997 - 2003
13
Bargaining..

• About what issues?
• Not workplace issues but more over ..
• Rights and space
• Space for..
• Rights to form and join unions (F. of A.)
• Rights to collective bargaining
• No discrimination, child and forced labour etc

14
What does this mean?

• Setting standards through agreements with
  specific transnational companies (normally built
  on ILO Core Conventions)
• Clarifying what the ILO standards actually mean
• Establishing agreed union/company mechanisms for
  enforcing those standards
• Negotiating agreed remedial action when those
  standards are not met

15
8 formal IUF international worker rights
agreements

• Danone
• Union Rights
• Equality
• Training
• Information
• Restructuring and employment
• Accor union rights
• Chiquita Rights, employment and health and
  safety
• Fonterra Rights, employment and health and
  safety

16
3 formal IUF/Company agreements to end
conflicts

• Del Monte Guatemala (2001)
• Interbrew Montenegro (Dubrovnik Agreement)
  (2002)
• Shangri-La Hotels Indonesia (2003)

17
The case of Coca-Cola

• Tough structure and tough company
• US corporate culture
• Common target of IUF actions and campaigns
• Long-term target of IUF proactive strategy

18
Proactive work

• Organize
• Negotiate recognition
• Bargain about rights

19
International organizing within Coca-Cola

• Building unions (Guatemala, Philippines, India,
  Moscow etc)
• Recruiting to the IUF - global IUF representation
  has never been stronger
• Strengthening networks and our capacity for
  mutual solidarity
• Global meeting in March 2003 and regional
  meetings throughout the year

20
Negotiating for recognition

• De facto recognition for the Coca-Cola system -
  which means we deal with bottlers and franchise
  holders
• Initially informal and irregular contacts
• Stuck at the informal and irregular level for
  some years

21
Recognition breakthrough in 2003?

• April 2003 agreement to hold twice-yearly
  meetings (starting in October 2003)
• Small team from IUF
• Four affiliates and the general secretary
• Head Office team from The Coca-Cola Company

22
Nature of the planned twice-yearly meetings

• Exchanging information
• Mainly on rights and labour issues
• Possibly on corporate global, regional and local
  strategies
• Discussing problems and abuses of worker rights
• Exploring influence of The Coca-Cola Company on
  bottlers and franchise holders

23
Bargaining about rights with Coca-Cola?

• Will see where the more formal twice-yearly
  meeting take us
• Major challenge is an eventual agreement between
  the IUF and The Coca-Cola Company

24
Principal obstacles to progress

• Tough US corporate culture
• Structure of the company and issue of
  responsibility for bottlers and franchise holders

25
Principal strengths we have

• Vulnerable company
• Strong global IUF representation throughout the
  company
• Proven IUF capacity to effectively act against
  Coke
• Clear and determined IUF strategy
• IUFs unique capacity to maintain long-term
  pressure on Coca-Cola

26
How the future with Coke looks and what it will
need from us

• There will be difficult and slow process
• Intelligent, tough but vulnerable company
• Organizing globally will be one key issue
• Maintaining constant pressure will be another key
  issue
• Smart negotiating at global level a third
• Effective solidarity and action from affiliates
  when necessary will be the key issue