Dairy Workers

The following highlights the journey so far:

·         2006 (mid) - IUF Regional Secretary Ma during the staff meeting of IUF India Outreach posed an idea, viz.  whether we could explore the possibility of an umbrella organization for dairy sector employees.

·         Late 2006 till March 2007 - initial contacts with dairy workers unions in the states of Andhra Pradesh (AP), Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and West Bengal were   established and as the responses of these unions were positive, work continued.

The New Zealand Dairy Workers Union (NZDWU) national executive discussed and approved further support for the ongoing development of the Dairy Employees Federation of India (DEFOI) on June 9, 2011.

Following the example of last year’s victory at the GSK Horlicks plant in Nabha, northwest India, the union at the Horlicks plant in Rajmundry in Andhra Pradesh, won permanent jobs for 205 casual workers under the new Collective Agreement signed recently.

After two decades of precarious employment the 205 casual workers can finally access their fundamental trade union rights, joining the permanent workers’ union and securing the protection and benefits of the Collective Agreement for the first time. The number of permanent workers at the Horlicks Rajmundry plant is now 900.

On July 2 2011, delegates to the National Conference of Women Dairy Workers reported that women workers in the world’s largest dairy industry face wage discrimination, excessive working hours, increased night work, denial of opportunities for promotion, precarious employment, and access to even the most basic facilities such as separate toilets and changing rooms.

The IUF general secretary sits on the advisory board of Danone Ecosystem Fund initiative. Therefore please find the latest newsletter of Danone Ecosystem Fund for your information.

Following the October 18-19 2010 meeting of the IUF Dairy Division leadership group in San Francisco and building on the mandate from the 2010 Global dairy Conference the IUF has commissioned research resourced by the New Zealand Dairy Workers Union.

Since being appointed by the Italian government to the helm of Parmalat in late 2003, in the wake of a huge financial scandal, Enrico Bondi has been working steadily to navigate the company out of the crisis, while maintaining production and preserving employment.

The highly controversial proposed merger between Fonterra’s Chilean subsidiary Soprole and Nestlé Chile has been abandoned. The application to merge Soprole and Nestlé Chile’s dairy business and create a joint venture under the DPA banner has been withdrawn by both companies.

Hansa-Milch and Arla Foods to merge

The members of the two cooperatives approved the proposed merger on March 2nd.

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) rose for the seventh consecutive month in January 2011, up 3.4 percent from December 2010 and the highest (in both real and nominal terms) since the index has been backtracked in 1990. Prices of all the commodity groups monitored registered strong gains in January compared to December, except for meat, which remained unchanged.

The representatives of Humana Milchindustrie and Nordmilch cast a clear vote in favour of merger in early February. With this decision, the two cooperatives have created Germany's largest dairy company.

The International Dairy Federation, IDF, held its annual World Dairy Summit in Auckland (New Zealand), 8-11 November 2010.