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NEWS January 14th
2004
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UPDATE: Killer-Coke Campaign On 22 July 2003, an international boycott was launched against Coca-Cola. The campaign wasdesigned to bring huge public pressure on the corporation to ensure that workers in its subsidiaries abroad are fully protected by the company from attacks, and are allowed to organise freely in trade unions. There are signs that the campaign is already having an impact with investors dumping large amounts of Coca-Cola shares due to the uncertain climate in which Coca-Cola now operates. At the launch of the campaign in London, six protesters in north London brought the Coca-Cola processing plant to a standstill. Eleven arrests were made, although the people were later released without charge. The action is estimated to have have cost Coca-Cola at least £30,000 in lost revenue. In Piccadilly Circus hundreds of people listened to speeches and danced to samba beats while four ‘waitresses’ wiggled through the crowd offering everyone (literally) bloody Coke drinks. Marta Hinestroza, a refugee lawyer representing peasant farmers displaced off their land by BP's pipelines in Colombia, called for a boycott of Coca-Cola as representative of how multinationals are plundering the natural resources of the Colombian people, and using violent methods to crush opposition. A month after the international boycott had been
called, an assassination attempt was made on Juan Carlos Galvis, Vice-president
of SINALTRAINAL (the workers' union) as he was traveling in a bullet-proof
vehicle through the neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. In May 2002, several employees of Coca-Cola in Texas
accused the company of repackaging nearly out-of-date soda cans and
bottles and reselling them in stores frequented by people of colour
- primarily Latino and African-American people. Under the rules of entry for Coca-Cola into India, it was agreed that Coca-Cola would divest 49% of its equity stake in India within 5 years. In an unprecedented move, the government of India seems to have bowed to Coca-Cola's pressure, and is on the verge of changing its policy in this regard to suit Coca-Cola's interest. We are faced with a situation where Indian investors will own 49% of Coca-Cola's Indian operations, but have no vote whatsoever. Just like in the Enron case, the US government played a significant role. Robert Blackwill, the US ambassador to India, in a letter to Brajesh Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, stated that, 'I would like to bring to your attention, and seek your help in resolving, a potentially serious investment problem of some significance to both our countries. The case involves Coca-Cola, one of the largest single foreign investors in India.' Coca-Cola is also the target of an international
campaign demanding that Coca-Cola guarantee access to care and treatment
for all their employees and their families living with HIV/AIDS, especially
in Africa where Coca-Cola is a major employer. Don’t drink Pepsi if you work for Coca-Cola.
Rick Bronson, a driver at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in California found
this out when he dared to attempt to consume a rival drink. He wasn’t
aware that he was being watched by his bosses. A spokesman declined
to comment on Bronson’s case and wouldn’t say whether drinking
a rival company’s products was a disciplinary offence. Despite
this Rick was apparently fired for drinking Pepsi but insists that he
didn’t swallow. When activities carried out in its name can no longer
be denied, Coca-Cola absolves itself of all responsibilities by claiming
the plants are independent. Since, according to the South Florida Business Journal,
"Coca-Cola owns about one-fourth of Panamco", the buy-out
involved Coca-Cola Co. receiving about 304 million shares of Coca-Cola
FEMSA worth $674 million, in exchange for its Panamco shares. Coca-Cola FEMSA-Panamco will have revenues estimated
at $4.6 billion and estimated annual gross profits of $1 billion. It
is the leading bottler of Coca-Cola products in Latin America, and with
about 10% of Coca-Cola's worldwide sales, the second-largest Coca-Cola
bottler (the largest is Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Enterprises). An additional, rapidly growing and highly lucrative market for Coca-Cola, especially in Third World markets where local water quality is poor, is bottled water. Ironic, when as seen in Kerala, South India, it is Coca-Cola that is depleting and contaminating scarce local water resources. After passionate local protests and world-wide press coverage, Coc-Cola have now been ordered to stop their plundering of the Keralan community's resources. Alternatives Globalisation Action References Web
Keith Parkins
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