International Trade Union News: Huge victory for Indonesian workers as fight with Nestle ends

Victory in Indonesia!

Following a three-year struggle for union recognition and full bargaining rights, Indonesian workers have won a huge victory in their battle with Nestle.  The IUF - the global union federation in the food sector - played a key role in a major worldwide campaign that went under the "Nespressure" slogan.  As the IUF stated today on its website.

Settlement at Nestlé Indonesia brings Nespressure campaign to successful conclusion

A settlement has been agreed which brings recognition and bargaining rights to the IUF-affiliated SBNIP at the Nescafé factory in Panjang, Indonesia.

The agreement, which was initialed by the IUF and Nestlé corporate management on March 28 and signed by the union and local Nestlé management on March 31, sets the stage for the SBNIP to bargain the Panjang workers' collective agreement including the wage bargaining which Nestlé management had been steadfastly rejecting for years.

In the course of their 3-year struggle for recognition and full bargaining rights, the SBNIP stood up to harassment and systematic pressure on leaders and members. They received support in many forms from IUF members around the world through the Nespressure campaign actions.

SBNIP members have expressed their appreciation for the actions of so many IUF affiliates in support of SBNIP. Speaking through the IUF Indonesia office SBNIP made clear the importance of this success. "This victory is not for IUF and affiliated SBNIP only, this is a real victory for all Indonesian workers. This is a very historic victory that from now on the Indonesian workers will have rights to determine their own wages through CBA negotiation." IUF general secretary Ron Oswald said, "We should today thank the SBNIP leaders and members at Panjang for their extraordinarily determined and courageous fight for their rights. Their success is our success in an ongoing struggle for rights within countries and within transnational companies. I am proud of the support IUF members around the world gave to this fight and proud that we were able to contribute in some way towards the Panjang workers' success".

As published on IUF UITA IUL (http://cms.iuf.org), March 31, 2011