Belching Out the Devil (50 page)
Read Belching Out the Devil Online
Authors: Mark Thomas
Despite having secured its dismissal from the lawsuits, the Company
sought - as it has throughout this dispute - to
engaged
in
constructive
dialogue with the plaintiffs
âboth to better understand their concerns and also to assess whether a mediated
resolution of the parties' differences could be achieved.
The parties' talks were fruitful and informative, although no final
resolution was possible. An impasse was reached and no further discussions are anticipated at this time.
sought - as it has throughout this dispute - toengaged
inconstructivedialogue with the plaintiffs
âboth to better understand their concerns and also to assess whether a mediated
resolution of the parties' differences could be achieved.
The parties' talks were fruitful and informative, although no finalresolution was possible. An impasse was reached and no further discussions are anticipated at this time.
The Coca-Cola Company
wishes to underscore that it
is innocent of the charges brought by the plaintiffs in the dismissed litigation. However,
the Company
is sympathetic to the underlying concerns about violence against any member of Colombian society, including union members
- which is one of the reasons why the Company helped
fund and sponsor the Colombia Foundation, whose work continues to remediate the effects of violence in the country.
El Salvadorwishes to underscore that it
is innocent of the charges brought by the plaintiffs in the dismissed litigation. However,
the Companyis sympathetic to the underlying concerns about violence against any member of Colombian society, including union members
- which is one of the reasons why the Company helped
fund and sponsor the Colombia Foundation, whose work continues to remediate the effects of violence in the country.
14. Is it still the case that Central Izalco is the sole supplier for Coke bottlers in El Salvador? If not, who are the other suppliers?
El Salvador is a controlled market and as such we buy from a marketing agency, who in turn assigns the volume to a qualified source. Central Izalco and El Angel are the two mills (out of 8) that meet our quality requirements and have been approved for use by our system in that country.
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15. Your website states, â
We only buy from sugar mills that adhere to our standards and we constantly monitor for compliance. If we find a supplier is not meeting our standards, we take immediate action. We care about the plight of these children and are serious about helping them
' - could you explain how often and what form the constant monitoring takes place for Central Izalco and/or any other suppliers?
We only buy from sugar mills that adhere to our standards and we constantly monitor for compliance. If we find a supplier is not meeting our standards, we take immediate action. We care about the plight of these children and are serious about helping them
' - could you explain how often and what form the constant monitoring takes place for Central Izalco and/or any other suppliers?
Our Company TCCC routinely utilizes independent third-parties to assess suppliers' compliance with our Company's Supplier Guiding Principles (SGP). The SGP are a vital pillar of TCCC's workplace accountability programs. They contain requirements that our direct suppliers must comply with regarding freedom of association and collective bargaining; prohibition of child labor; prohibition of forced labor and abuse of labor; elimination of discrimination; work hours and wages; provision of a safe and healthy workplace; and protection of the environment. If a supplier fails to uphold any aspect of the SGP requirements, the supplier is expected to implement corrective actions. The Company reserves the right to terminate an agreement with any supplier that cannot demonstrate that they are upholding the SGP requirements and has done so.
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16. Your website states that you are â
working towards hiring a monitoring system for plantations' -
has the multi-stakeholder initiative yet hired a monitoring system? And if so, what is its remit, how often does it report, how is it funded and what results have been found so far?
working towards hiring a monitoring system for plantations' -
has the multi-stakeholder initiative yet hired a monitoring system? And if so, what is its remit, how often does it report, how is it funded and what results have been found so far?
The multi-stakeholder initiative, led by the Ministry of Labor and the El Salvadoran Sugar Association, has put into place several social monitoring systems for the plantations.
Ministry of Labor Work:
⢠During the harvest the Ministry of Labor has labor inspectors whose only task is to detect child labor.
⢠Those cooperatives found to have child labor are subject to economic sanctions.
El Salvadoran Sugar Association Work:
⢠The Sugar Association employs 10 social workers who implement the industry's social responsibility programs.
⢠Every morning during the harvest those 10 social workers visit the cane farms looking for evidence of child labor.
⢠If a child is found cutting cane he or she is immediately removed.
In addition, every engineer from the sugar mills who works at the sugar cane farms has the obligation to report child labor. Failure to report child labor, would result in the termination of the engineer's contract.
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17. Your website refers to
âNine thousand children have been removed from the sugarcane fields in El Salvador over the last three years through our efforts with the UN and the Sugar Association.'
âNine thousand children have been removed from the sugarcane fields in El Salvador over the last three years through our efforts with the UN and the Sugar Association.'
a) Can you explain how the figure of 9,000 was calculated and by whom? How many of those 9,000 were removed from plantations that provide cane for Central Izalco?
All figures quoted have been determined by the International Labour Organizations' International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor. More information about IPEC can be found at:
http://www.ilo.org/ipec
http://www.ilo.org/ipec
b) What is the nature of the work that The Coca-Cola Company has undertaken through the UN that has led to this? Has the company sponsored or paid for practical programmes or are you referring to company support / lobbying for the establishment of UN norms and standards?
Our Company has publicly supported a proposal, authored by the World Bank and Business for Social Responsibility, to help position El Salvador as a responsible-sourcing country in conjunction with UN norms and standards. And we have funded the multi-stakeholder initiative working towards hiring social monitors to work with the co-ops to monitor and address child labor, led by the Ministry of Labor and the El Salvadoran Sugar Association.
We have also participated in multi-stakeholder dialogues that have included the International Labor Organization of the UN to understand and address the root causes of this serious issue in El Salvador.
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18. Your website states,
âOn Coca-Cola's recommendation, Fundazucar (the Salvadoran Sugar Association) engaged a social compliance auditing firm that helped the Association determine how to detect and control child labour and associated issues.'
What is the name of the social auditing firm? How often have they reported and what were their recommendations?
âOn Coca-Cola's recommendation, Fundazucar (the Salvadoran Sugar Association) engaged a social compliance auditing firm that helped the Association determine how to detect and control child labour and associated issues.'
What is the name of the social auditing firm? How often have they reported and what were their recommendations?
The social auditing firm is the internationally respected and certified
social compliance auditor, Cal Safety Compliance Corporation. The audits have taken place during the 2004-2007 harvests.
social compliance auditor, Cal Safety Compliance Corporation. The audits have taken place during the 2004-2007 harvests.
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