Fighting for Workers Rights on a Global Scale

(1)
DHL Staff in Global Protest over Workers' Rights
by Katerina Kerr
IFW
May 30, 2011

http://www.ifw-net.com/freightpubs/ifw/index/dhl-staff-in-global-protest-over-workers-rights/20017876239.htm

Operator used lie detectors and sacked employees in
Africa and South America for belonging to a union

DHL staff from around the world staged a protest rally
at last Wednesday's AGM of logistics operator Deutsche
Post DHL last week over labour rights.

The protest, on 25 May, prompted shareholders of the
German company to urge the board of directors to
address the problems.

Protesters were demanding an end to what they claimed
was the company's "disregard for workers' fundamental
rights" in some countries where DHL operates, as well
as its controversial use of lie detector tests.

Since unions confronted DHL management over the use of
lie detectors on employees in Panama and Costa Rica,
new cases in Colombia and South Africa have emerged.

Ivonne Jackelen, Lead Organiser for the UNI Global
Union in Central America, said: "The result of this
practice is fear, unemployment and social exclusion, as
employees struggle under unwarranted suspicion."

Worker Edwin Velasquez Ayala, from Colombia, was
subjected to a lie detector test carried out by former
military officers.

"The test carried out by DHL destroyed my self-esteem,"
he said.

It was claimed he was subsequently sacked without
reason.

When challenged at the AGM by union representatives
about lie detector tests, DHL representatives said the
firm would continue to use them, despite a promise to
the contrary by CEO Frank Appel at last year's AGM.

"Perhaps Frank Appel should be the one on the lie
detector, especially when answering UNI Global Union's
questions at AGMs," said Neil Anderson, head of UNI
Global Union post and logistics.

DHL also suppress union activities in many countries,
it has been claimed.

"In Guatemala, for example, it has been reported that
DHL employees are dismissed immediately it becomes
known that they have met with trade unionists," the ITF
said.

Ingo Marowsky, ITF Organising Globally Co-ordinator,
said: "DHL's problems won't go away; nor will we, until
we have an agreement that guarantees its workers their
basic rights."

No one from DHL was available for comment as IFW went
to press.

(2)
Wal-Mart Is Being Pressed to Disclose How Global
Suppliers Treat Workers
By Stephanie Clifford
The New York Times
May 30, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/business/31walmart.html

Wal-Mart is facing new pressure to monitor and disclose
how its international suppliers treat their workers.

At its annual shareholder meeting on Friday, the New
York City pension funds, which own a small percentage
of shares in Wal-Mart, plan to ask the company to
require vendors to publish annual reports detailing
working conditions in their factories.

Michael Garland, who oversees shareholder activism
efforts as executive director for corporate governance
at the city comptroller's office, said the proposal was
meant to improve workplace safety and worker rights at
companies making goods for Wal-Mart, the world's
largest retailer.

"No matter how much Wal-Mart and other companies are
doing, or claim they are doing, to monitor their
suppliers, they just don't have the capacity to do it
in a comprehensive way," Mr. Garland said. "They put
tremendous pressure on their suppliers to cut money out
of the system," which can lead to long hours, low pay
or other problems.

Wal-Mart opposes the request, citing the difficulty of
persuading suppliers to issue reports. The company
contends that even if it could enforce such a plan, to
do so might threaten the availability of certain
products from those who did not comply.

While Mr. Garland acknowledged that the proposal was
unlikely to succeed, he said casting a spotlight on the
problem could prompt Wal-Mart to begin considering how
to address its association with suppliers who did not
treat workers fairly.

Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi labor organizer who will
present the proposal at the meeting in Fayetteville,
Ark., complained that many of the Bangladesh factories
that produced goods for Wal-Mart mistreated their
workers.

At Wal-Mart suppliers, "very often, first of all, the
factory does not enforce the law" regarding minimum
wages, she said.

"Though the minimum salary has been cleared by the
government, and many factories implemented that," she
said, "we haven't seen any Wal-Mart suppliers giving a
living wage to workers."

[Moderator's note: For the rest of the story go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/business/31walmart.html?_r=1#h[]
]

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