(SEIU) Out Loud Sodexo Workers From Seven Countries Speak Out on Human RightsScr

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Out Loud : Sodexo Workers From Seven Countries Speak Out on Human Rights Page
1Out Loud:Sodexo Workers From Seven CountriesSpeak Out On Human Rights Advance
CopyService Employees International UnionOctober 2010 Executive Summary Around
the world, Sodexo employs low-road employment practices: hiring poor workers,
paying themthe low wages , and at times even depriving workers of desperately
needed income by failing to paythem for all the hours they work, denying
overtime pay, and docking their pay for meals they don’t eatand breaks they
don’t take. The business model that Sodexo employskeeps workers in poverty
andlocks their communities in seemingly endless cycles of poverty. Meanwhile,
Sodexo continues to report impressive profits, and publicly proclaims that it
upholds highstandards when it comes to human rights and labor practices. For
example, the company says it“willnot discriminate against any employee for
engaging in union organizing activities or otherwisesupporting a union,” and
endorses theUnited Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
theprinciples of the International Labour Organization.1 But as the firsthand
accounts of Sodexo workers interviewed for this report show, Sodexo may not
beliving up to those standards. In this report, workers at Sodexo sites in seven
countries Morocco,Colombia, Guinea, the Dominican Republic, India, Turkey, and
the United States discuss theirexperiences with Sodexo’s employment practices .
The report compares theseworkers’ perceptionsof actual Sodexo practices to the
image it tries to portray of a company that supports economicopportunity and
respects its workers’ right to freedom of association. As a global company,
Sodexo faces many regulatory regimes and public pressures exposing it to
variousrisks. In order for Sodexo to manage its operations effectively and to
expand its business, the companydepends, among other things, on public and
governmental goodwill. Sodexo’s record of good corporatecitizenship is a
valuable asset.2A failure to adequately manage labor relations could
increasereputational risk, lower worker productivity, interfere with the
company’s ability to compete for publiccontracts, and ultimately impact
financial and shareholder returns. Increasingly, institutional investorsaround
the world look at the social performance of companies as one criterion to
determine theirinvestment decisions. Sodexo Pays Poverty Wages All Over the
WorldSodexo has consistently failed to live up to the standard set forth in the
Universal Declaration of HumanRights that “everyone who works has the right to
just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an
existence worthy of human dignity.”For example:
Out Loud : Sodexo Workers From Seven Countries Speak Out on Human Rights Page 2
In
Guinea
, Sodexo workers who service the Simandou iron mine which promises ore worth$30
billion to $40 billion over its operating life
report making as little as 33 cents (€0.25)perhour. Over the course of a month,
that comes out to just$78/€60. In the
Dominican Republic,
Sodexo workers at the Pubelo Viejo gold mine which expects togenerate revenues
of $32 billion over its lifetime
say they make as little as$214.64 (€159.36)per month. InMorocco, an emerging
financial and business hub where many French businesses have set upshop, Sodexo
employees claim they end up working three to four hours without pay, which is
aparticular hardship since their wageshover just above the country’s minimum
wage(as little as$251.77/€186.91 per month). In
India
, workers not only say they earn poverty wages
as low as $71.30 (
€52.38) per month but also describesqualid conditions in Sodexo’s
company-provided housing. InColombia, workers described salaries that are often
no greater than the legal minimum wageof $283.24 (€211.14) per month. InTurkey,
workers claim that Sodexo pays them as little as the national minimum
wage($469.93/€348.87), which the U.S. Department of State saysdid not provide a
decent standardof living for a worker and family. The minimum wage does not even
reach the “hungerthreshold,” and is only about one-quarter of the poverty
threshold as defined by a prominentlabor union in the country. And in theUnited
States, many Sodexo workers report that they make so little that they qualifyfor
federal anti-poverty programs, further straining an already overburdened social
safety net. Sodexo Has InterferedWith Workers’ Right to Freedom of Association
Freedom of association
including the right to form trade unions has been repeatedly acknowledgedas a
fundamental human right. Sodexo purports to support its workers’ rights to join
unions, but the workers interviewed for this report raised compelling concerns
to the contrary, raising questions aboutSodexo’s professed commitments to human
rights norms. For example: InColombia, a country where efforts by workers to
form a union have long been faced withharsh responses from employers, the Sodexo
workers interviewed report that 16 people wereperceived to have had their
employment terminated for trying to form a union at thecompany’s account at the
National Chocolate Company. In the
United States
, Human Rights Watch recently issued a reportthat said, “Despite claims of
adherence tointernational standards on workers’ freedom of association,Sodexo
has launchedaggressive campaigns against some of its US employees’ efforts
toform unions and bargaincollectively.” The National Labor Relations Board,
which enforces the nation’s labor law, hasinvestigated several workers’
allegations andcharged Sodexo with unlawful anti-unionbehavior. In the
Dominican Republic
andMorocco, workers interviewed for this report were concernedthat Sodexo has
seemed to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation when workers seekto form
a union. For example, in the Dominican Republic, a group of workers at the
Pueblo Viejomine decided to organize a short work stoppage to bring the issue to
the attention of management. Two days after the work stoppage, Carin Mieses, the
main leader, says she wasfired. Sodexo Workers Are Not Always Paid for All the
Hours They WorkNot only does Sodexo pay people wages less than the value of the
work they perform, workersinterviewed in several countries felt thatthey
don’talways even get paid for all the hours they work.For example:
Out Loud : Sodexo Workers From Seven Countries Speak Out on Human Rights Page 3
InColombia, concerns about whether Sodexo was paying appropriate overtime was
one of theissues that convinced workers to begin to organize a union at the
National Chocolate Factoryplant. In
Guinea, someworkers report that long, unpaid transportation times on the
company’s bus totheir jobs at the Simandou mine the only realistic way to get to
the site without owning yourown vehicle adds an even greater hardship to an
already difficult situation. Some workers also report concerns that they have
not been paid for all the hours they workedin
Morocco
, the
Dominican Republic
, andIndia. Sodexo Disrespects Poor Workers In
Guinea
, Sodexo workers report that all Guinean employees
including managers eat in aseparate canteen from the Europeans and other
expatriate employees at the Simandou mine. In
Colombia
, the
United States
,
Morocco
, andGuinea, workers describe health and safetyproblems and allege that the
company has been unresponsive and in some cases eventhreatening when they have
raised these safety concerns with management. Conclusion: A Global Path Forward
for SodexoFirsthand accounts in this report suggest thata company’s own code of
conduct and statedcommitment to key global standards of corporate
responsibility no matter how strong they look onpaper may fall short when there
is no consistent, long-term mechanism for ensuring its successfulimplementation
and enforcement at the worksite level. In the long run, we believe the only way
toensure that Sodexo adheres to responsible labor standards is through the
negotiation of a globalagreement with the Global Union Federation for its
sector, the International Union of Food,Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant,
Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF) that ensures allSodexo
workers have the right to organize trade unions free from company intimidation.
Such anagreement would ensure that workers have access to the most efficient,
effective means of creatingand enforcing appropriate standards that comply with
established global codes for labor and humanrights
(SEIU) Out Loud Sodexo Workers From Seven Countries Speak Out on Human Rights
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