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Date updated : 29-Jun-2016

Status: embargoed

© 2024 IUF

Coca-Cola attacks independent unions in Indonesia, denies workers health and safety protections in the Philippines

Worker rights are under attack by two of Coca-Cola's major bottlers. In Indonesia, Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) refuses to recognize the bargaining rights of two newly-formed independent unions and dismissed one of the union's main leaders. At the Coca-Cola FEMSA Pampanga distribution center in the Philippines, workers have no protection against the sun and extreme heat. Coca-Cola FEMSA, one of the world's largest Coca-Cola bottlers, claims they have no budget to provide roof and shade.

CCA Indonesian management is refusing to provide the two newly formed independent unions with critical information concerning its members' wages and continues to recognize a 'union' that was installed under the Suharto military regime.

CCA began harassing union chairman Atra Narwanto in February 2015 and moved to have him suspended in June that year in a process which was neither fair nor transparent. The union appealed the suspension and the Labour Department recommended reinstatement in December 2015, a decision which the company is contesting. CCA's rejection of reinstatement and aggressive legal action suggest that management is determined to eliminate independent unions. CCA has employed the same law firm to eliminate the union leader that was recently used by another transnational company in Indonesia to persecute the leader of an IUF-affiliated independent union. In view of the questionable nature of the Indonesian legal system our members do not expect justice through this court process.

In the Philippines, the IUF-affiliated SENTRO Food and Beverages Workers' Council at the Pampanga distribution center have been asking Coca-Cola FEMSA management for eleven months to address serious health and safety issues. FEMSA, one of the world's largest independent Coca-Cola bottlers, claims that there is no budget to put things right. When the union raised sun and heat exposure and inadequate lighting as major safety hazards, the company's response was to distribute umbrellas and flashlights!

At another FEMSA facility in the Philippines, management renovated changing rooms accommodating 84 workers without providing ventilation and had earlier installed a single metal bar instead of a bench to discourage workers from sitting down.

At the same distribution center 53 union members have now been issued warning letters for exercising the right to an official public holiday on July 6, 2016 designated for Eid-ul-Fitr by the government. 20 of the 53 have now been given a 3-day suspension for not reporting for regular duty that day.

USE THE FORM BELOW TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE COCA-COLA COMPANY telling it to ensure their bottlers reinstate the dismissed union leader, recognize the legitimate independent unions in Indonesia and negotiate with SENTRO in good faith to resolve outstanding issues including the serious health and safety hazards.