Coca Cola, CSR and Human Rights

Coca Cola in Columbia

In 2001, Lawyers for the United Steel workers union filed a lawsuit in America on behalf of the Colombian union Sinaltrainal.

'The suit alleges that Coca-Cola and Panamerican Beverages, its principal bottler in Latin America, waged what union leaders describe as a campaign of terror, using paramilitaries to kill, torture and kidnap union leaders in Colombia'.

Coca Cola deny responsibility as they claim to not own or operate the plants involved. Yet Coca Cola owns 25% of bottling plant Panamerican Beverages which is Coca Cola's main bottling plant in Latin America. Panamerican also deny the charges.

In 2003 it was reported that Panamerican Beverages would stand trial for allegedly hiring right-wing paramilitaries to kill and intimidate union leaders in Colombia. But District Judge Jose E Martinez excluded Coca-Cola and its Colombian unit because its bottling agreement did not give it "explicit control" over labour issues in Colombia. The BBC Reports that this is 'the first time a US judge has ordered a company to stand trial for alleged human-rights violations committed overseas under the Alien Tort Claims Act'. However they add that, 'Corporations usually succeed in getting such cases dismissed before they reach trial'. Lawyers acting on behalf of the trade unionists are reported to be appealing against Coca Cola's exclusion.

Gill reports that 180 Coca-Cola employees have suffered major human rights violations over a period of fifteen years with nine of them having been murdered. Family members have also experienced threats, abductions, torture and murder.

Gill continues by explaining how 'Multinational firms profit from the reduced effectiveness of trade unions that arises from the intimidation of workers by paramilitaries. Weak unions pose less resistance to job cuts, lowered wages, reduced benefits, and “flexible” contracts that are promoted by multinational corporations'

'Murdered unionists are not the product of indiscriminate, chaotic violence, nor are they the “collateral damage” of civilians caught between warring groups. They are the victims of a calculated and selective strategy carried out by sectors of the state, allied paramilitaries, and some employers to weaken and eliminate trade unions'.

Coca-Cola is reported to be aggressive in the restructuring of its operations and centralising of productions in Columbia. 6700 workers have lost their jobs between 1992 and 2002 and 80% of the Coca-Cola work force is now composed of non-union, temporary workers. Wages for these individuals are only a quarter of those earned by their unionized counterparts. Coca-Cola has consistently pressured unionized workers to resign. In 2003 it closed 11 of its 16 bottling plants and 'forced workers to renounce their union contracts. Despite collective bargaining agreements that oblige it to find new jobs for displaced workers, the company has failed to fulfill its obligations, prompting a 12-day hunger strike by Sinaltrainal in March 2004... The Vice-Minister of Social Protection, Luz Estela Arango, who is charged with ruling on the legality of the plant closures and the firings, is a former lawyer for the Coca-Cola Company'.

Coca Cola may deny the charges, however as Gill argues The Coca-Cola Company have failed to protect its workers from paramilitary intimidation, have benefited from the situation and 'in some cases, eyewitness accounts and abundant circumstantial evidence suggest that it is complicit with paramilitary terror'.

Coca Cola CSR

Coca-Cola is a worldwide organisation which has extended its activities to help fund and become a part of different organisations around the world. One such organisation is Camp Coca-Cola, which is a year round programme of leadership training and community service. It also offers a Summer Camp programme which includes a number of exciting yet testing activities. Camp Coca-Cola aims to challenge its members to see the world more openly as a place where they can make a difference. It is run by professionals who are dedicated to providing a unique and worthwhile experience to those who attend. Attendance is decided through nominations by local schools and community organisations on the basis that those who are chosen are dedicated to learning and are open to new life experiences. Coca-Cola fund this project which they feel is beneficial to the communities it serves and Camps have been specially set up all over America Organisations such as Camp Coca-Cola have been set up in an attempt by Coca-Cola to improve its overall image and to increase its ability to boost its own long term profits.

A further extension of Coca-Cola's work is 'Coca-Cola Africa'. This organisation is said to be committed to the future of the African continent and to the well being of its people and communities, and furthermore to its economic development. This statement stands in stark contrast to the activities which Coca-Cola have already been accused of in India. Such atrocities which have been previously mentioned in this report contradict the philosophy of 'Coca-Cola Africa'. This particular organisation which Coca-Cola initiated was set up to educate and distribute information about the dangers of HIV and AIDS. It places particular attention on the treatment of individuals who suffer from such diseases, and furthermore harshly criticises the discrimination of these unfortunate people.

One additional organisation of Coca-Cola is the Coca-Cola Foundation which is said to be the 'philanthropic arm' of the Coca-Cola Company. It focuses on education and the advancement of cultural diversity. Its main activities include the offering of scholarships, the building of schools and libraries and the donation of books. It aims to help and support people through higher education who lack both financial and personal support . It appears that Coca-Cola put a great deal of effort into initiating organisations and programmes to help extend the education of citizens around the world, more specifically in America and in Africa. Despite the ever growing number of these programmes which are available it is difficult for Coca-Cola to mask the shocking activities they carry out each day in the small communities in India where they operate their bottling plants. Coca-Cola may indeed help fund educational programmes in America, but this is of little consolation to the many villages in India, who are left suffering at the hands of this multinational.