'Accept transfer or quit jobs' -- Nestle Japan threatens workers

"Go to a distant plant or submit a resignation within two weeks." This is what the Switzerland-based multinational food manufacturer has told its employees.

On May 9, Nestle Japan Group (2,800 employees) ordered all 60 workers at the Himeji plant in Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan to move to its factory in Ibaraki Prefecture which is 700 kilometers to the east.

Forty-nine workers chose to leave the company against their will and nine accepted the transfer to the Kasumigaura plant in Ibaraki.

Helped by Nestle Japan Labor Union and local unions affiliated with the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), a 47-year-old male worker resolved to stay at the Himeji plant. A 53-year-old male worker who once considered quitting the company also decided not to go.

The two workers requested the Kobe District Court to take out an injunction against Nestle Japan's transfer order. They are now visiting many cities throughout Japan to seek public support.

Their decision to stand firm against the company followed their meeting with the Nestle Japan Labor Union. The union visited them and invited them to come talk with lawyers.

The struggling workers said, "In the meeting with the lawyers, we understood that what Nestle Japan did is illegal. Nestle Japan is destroying our livelihoods, so its commercial message 'Good food, good life' sounds a hollow promise to us."

Bando Natsuki, chair of the Nestle Japan Labor Union Himeji branch, angrily said, "In pursuit of larger profits, Nestle never cares about workers' human rights." (end)