Two years after signing an agreement with the IUF which it has never implemented, Unilever is on the verge of committing itself to 4 more years of violating the basic rights of a group of Indian workers. Does the company's signature signify nothing?
Act now! - click here to send a message [1] to company CEO Paul Polman telling Unilever to honor the agreement they have signed.
The agreement signed under the auspices of the UK government [2] in July 2010 committed Unilever to restoring to the workers in its factory in Doom Dooma, Assam (India) their right to freely choose the union they wished to adhere to and which would represent them for collective bargaining purposes. On its website [3], Unilever claimed "The agreement is being implemented."
Five years on and still waiting for recognition and rights, workers rally at a union general assembly.
The last two years, however, have seen only evasions, provocations and management lies. Workers affiliated to the IUF have been put under surveillance at rallies; earlier this year the union's office was firebombed. We don't believe Unilever is responsible for the arson attack, but we do hold it accountable for continued violations of basic rights which have allowed a volatile situation to fester. 
Management is now preparing to sign a new, long-term agreement with the organization it created to crush the IUF's affiliate and confiscate their rights for yet another 4 years. The workers have never had the possibility to do what they were promised: freely choose their union in conditions of security and anonymity,
Whatever Unilever professes, their management has shown a preference for repression over representation.
Act now! - click here to send a message [1] to company CEO Paul Polman telling Unilever to honor the agreement they have signed.