RAHIM YAR KHAN, Nov 15: Employees of a multinational all over the world will organise a ‘Global Day of Action’ on Dec 4 this year against the administration’s policies.

This was stated by Dr Muhammad Hidayat Greenfield, regional coordinator Food & Beverage Strategic Organisation (F&BSO) Switzerland for Asia Pacific region, at a press conference here.

“We have three demands for the union of Rahim Yar Khan Unilever employees, that is, dialogue with the company administration, permanent working status for one-year old employees and change of newly-appointed security guards at the main gates at the local factory”, said Greenfield who has specially come from Geneva to highlight the demands of the workers.

He said around 8,000 employees were working in five major factories of Unilever in Pakistan, but only 509 of them were working on a permanent basis which was highly unfair. The global protest would be organised to stop lay-offs, he said, and the issue of Rahim Yar Khan employees also would be raised on the day.

“We are also fighting in international and national courts for the solution to genuine demands of the employees”.

He revealed that the Unilever administration in India had developed a so-called employees’ union to counter the real union and it was now trying to implement the same practice in Pakistan.

International Union of Food (IUF) Project Officer Qamarul Hassan said the number of permanent employees in Rahim Yar Khan factory was 2,000 in 1970 and annual profit touched Rs20 million then and today there are only 246 permanent employees, though the profit is a staggering Rs2.6 billion.

UNILEVER’S STANCE: According to the company head office administration, the Unilever Pakistan Limited is the largest FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) Company operating in the country for 60 years, providing employment opportunities, both directly and indirectly, to more than 8,000 people in five factories and offices across Pakistan. The company has manufacturing sites in the country.

It is a matter of serious concern that in spite of the above excellent conditions of employment, the discipline in the Rahim Yar Khan Factory has been adversely affected because of the continuously aggressive and negative attitude of the union officials over the last few months.

“At present we have a situation where it is extremely difficult to operate unless order is restored as well as the personal safety of all our employees is ensured. In view of the serious threats and the recent events, the management has been forced to review the security arrangements, and accordingly place the manufacturing facility under tight security arrangements to thwart any future law and order situation”.

In Rahim Yar Khan, the strength of permanent workers has reduced from 1,200 in 1970 to 246 in 2006 because of a number of reasons: superannuation, trimming down of operations, automation and re-structuring. Our standard practice is to engage with the unions on golden-handshake packages. Departure of permanent employees is a result of a Voluntary Separation Scheme endorsed by the unions concerned.

The significant change in numbers in the case of the factory in Rahim Yar Khan took place over a period of 36 years and is in line with global industrial practices, the administration defends.