Earlier this year 162 workers out of 170 employed in three warehouses exclusively contracted by PepsiCo in West Bengal organized a union and submitted their demands. They were harassed, assaulted by company goons and then brutally fired. In May 2013, they were allowed to return to work, but under conditions that strip them of their human rights.
CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO PEPSICO! [1]
They were told they can return to work if they declare they will never again join a union, made to sign false statements which they were told were legally binding, and told to cut up their union cards and step on them as they walked into the warehouses. Those who refused were told they will never work again and that they will be blacklisted by all local employers.
Despite threats, harassment and home visits by management, 28 of these unfairly dismissed workers have refused to surrender their rights. In August they formed the PepsiCo (Frito-Lays) Workers Action Committee and escalated the campaign.
US-based multinational food and beverage company PepsiCo has so far denied that these actions constitute abuses and has refused to take corrective action. The IUF has therefore filed a formal complaint against the company for violation of the OECD Guidelines with the US government's National Contact Point for ensuring respect for the Guidelines- and is launching a GLOBAL CAMPAIGN in defence of its members at PepsiCo in India.
CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO PEPSICO [1] demanding unconditional reinstatement of the 28 workers with full back pay and full recognition of their trade union rights.