 Nestle union protests against harassment of union members Union members are protesting against human rights violation by foremen at a plant of Nestl?Japan Holding, a Japanese subsidiary of the Swiss-based Nestl? in Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The Nestl?Japan union is calling on Nestl?Japan workers to protest and demand that the company stop ganging up on its members. Nestl?Japan has been continuing its policy of antagonizing the trade union for over 25 years, with foremen constantly harrassing them. Even after the Supreme Court in 1995 ruled that the company's action is illegal, the company refused to stop carrying out unfair labor practices, including the discharging of trade union leaders. When the union and supporters made representations to the company's head office in Kobe on October 15, the company gate was closed, with only a video camera monitoring the petitioners. At the Shimada plant in which violations of human rights were decreasing thanks to the protests from labor organizations in the prefecture, harassment against union members started again at the end of 2003. Union members are forced to choose between quitting the union or the company. The trade union is bracing itself against the attacks, upholding their call that safe good coffee can only come from a plant that operates without illegal labor practices. (end) |