Victory at Almond (Thailand) Ltd.

CLR Labor Alert posted December 5, 2001

Victory at Almond (Thailand) Ltd.

Almond Labour Union in Thailand Declares Victory after Yearlong Struggle.

After almost a year of struggle, Almond Labour Union members can declare victory. An agreement reached on December 2nd between Almond management and ICEM (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions), representing the workers, provides for the reinstatement of fired workers, the company dropping lawsuits against the union, and contract negotiations.

The Almond workers remained strong and unified throughout this struggle, even in the face of severe anti-union intimidation.

This is an historic victory. For the first time, a major industrial dispute
has been resolved by union-employer negotiations over a phone hook-up spanning three continents. And a global trade union federation, ICEM, played a pivotal role in the settlement.

The agreement between multinational jewelry maker Almond and its Thai workers was negotiated over the past few days in a series of conference calls linking Bangkok, Brussels and New York. The Thai Almond workers unanimously voted to accept it.

Main points of the settlement:

• 40 Thai workers dismissed by Almond last December, including union leaders, will get their jobs back and will receive full compensation.
• Their union will now have full bargaining rights at Almond. The agreement states, "Within 3 days of receiving a list of demands from the Union on behalf of its members, the Company will in good faith enter into meaningful negotiations with the Union."
• Almond will drop all lawsuits connected with the dispute.
  

Campaign for Labor Rights has asked its Rapid Action Network and other groups to mobilize in solidarity with the Almond Union several times over the last five months. First, a letter writing campaign to Almond's US distributor, Michael Anthony Jewelers, generated 600 letters and emails. Then in October, a letter writing campaign targeting the Home Shopping Network, which sells Almond jewelry, generated nearly 1,200 letters to that company.

Most recently, from November 23-30, Rapid Action Network groups organized leafleting actions at Kay Jewelers outlets in 36 cities across the country. Kay Jewelers is the number one retailer of Almond Jewelry in the US.

Many thanks to those of you who have participated in the various levels of this campaign! Your actions played an important role in securing this victory. The settlement provides for the START of negotiations in the factory -- watch for further updates on these negotiations and on the implementation of this agreement.

For more information, the full text of the agreement, and background in this struggle, check the Campaign for Labor Rights website: www.summersault.com/~agj/clr, or the website of the Thai Labour Campaign:
www.thailabour.org.