International meeting of Parmalat workers unions

Posted to the IUF website 15-Oct-2003

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IUF-affiliated unions representing Parmalat workers from 8 countries on 4 continents met at the CAW Education Centre in Port Elgin in the province of Ontario, Canada, on September 27-28, 2003 to discuss strategies and agree on a common position with respect to this transnational company active in the dairy, juice and bakery sectors.

The meeting was an opportunity for affiliates to contribute their experience and knowledge to the project of building a common trade union strategy within Parmalat. Participants presented the issues affecting their respective memberships and identified common ground for future action.

During the 1990's, the company expanded widely beyond its home base in Italy and Europe, growing significantly through acquisitions throughout the world. This expansion has, on the whole, not been accompanied by fresh investments in the companies acquired, but rather by concentration and rationalisation, which has translated into plant closures and job losses. More often than not, the arrival of Parmalat has brought with it a deterioration in existing labour relations, and where unions seek to organise Parmalat facilities, they are met with hostility and forceful attempts to keep them out.

Participants agreed that the company's labour relations performance is a global problem calling for a global response founded on collective union strength and solidarity. A strategy and action programme was adopted which includes recommendations for further work and the commitment by affiliates to actively support the IUF's efforts to engage with Parmalat in order to secure minimum standards for trade union rights and recognition.