Belching Out the Devil (52 page)

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Authors: Mark Thomas

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34. What controls and monitoring have been put in place to ensure that the soil's carrying capacity should not be exceeded within the application area of treated wastewater at Coca-Cola's Kaladera plant?
An area of about 40,000 sq. metres has been developed as greenbelt in the plant. This consists of about 10,000 sq. metres of lawn area and about 1,600 numbers of trees. The greenbelt is irrigated by the treated wastewater by means of sprinkler system. This prevents any run off and water-logging in the greenbelt. On an average about 120 cu. metre/day wastewater is used to maintain greenbelt of 40,000 sq. metre (4 hectare) which is well within the standard of 134 to 180 m3 of water / hectare prescribed by the state pollution control board for sandy loamy soil.
 
35. When did the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ballia last produce beverages? What is its current operational status?
Ballia plant was a co-packing facility owned by a franchise bottler. As part of business restructuring and consolidation, the production at Ballia was discontinued from June 26, 2007.
 
36. When did the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Plachimada Kerala last produce beverages? What is its current operational status?
The bottling plant at Plachimada in Kerala has not been operational since March 9, 2004.
 
37. What is the current status of negotiations regarding the relocation of the plant in Kerala?
We are continuously engaging with all stakeholders to ensure a win-win solution for all.
Appendix C: The Non-Answers of Ed Potter
Ed Potter is the Coca-Cola Global Workplace Rights Director and is in charge of labour issues. After the company blocked my formal attempts to communicate with him I managed to secure an interview from the time-honoured method of ‘bumrushing', namely, I spotted him in the street and ran at him with a recorder [Chapter 14: The Road to Delaware]. He assured me that allegation of misconduct and labour issues would be investigated seriously, so alongside other questions that arose from our chat, I emailed him. This is the summation of our all too brief exchange.
Sent:
05/01/2008 06:54 PM CET
To:
Ed Potter
Subject:
From Mark Thomas in the UK
Dear Ed
Good to see you at the AGM in Delaware the other month and I hope you are keeping well. I was wondering about some of the statements you made and wanted to follow up a few points.
Firstly, on Colombia, I asked if the union that replaced Sinaltrainal (SICO I believe) negotiated a pay cut following the events in Carepa where Sinaltrainal was driven out of town and had their offices burnt down. You said you didn't know, but would it be possible to find out?
Secondly, you said there was good relations with twelve other unions, what is the number of members in each of these unions and what percentage of the workforce does this represent?
Thirdly, you have said previously that CUT do not support the boycott call from Sinaltrainal. I was under the impression that CUT did support the boycott call, could you clarify this and provide the source for this statement?
Fourthly, you said that casual workers in Colombia were not allowed to join an industrial trade union, I wonder if you might point out the law which you refer to?
Fifthly, you said 31 per cent of the workers at Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia were unionised, does this include casual labour? If it does not, what percentage of Coke workers are unionised if you were to include the casual workers into the equation?
On the subject of India, I was reading in the
Nation'
s letter pages that you said that The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers ‘indirectly create employment for 125,000 more [workers] in related procurement supply and distribution roles'. I wonder if you might break down the 125,000 figure for me? Does this figure include panawallahs and juicewallahs (people who sell Coca-Cola products from their stalls)?
On the issue of passing on claims to you regarding the treatment of workers in developing nations, I wonder if you might spell out to me what measures would be taken to investigate the matters or indeed if you have initiated any measures? I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes
Mark Thomas
 
 
Subject: response to the email
Ed Potter has referred your email to me. You can find information about our workplace practices on both
cokefacts.com
and on
www.GetTheRealFacts.co.uk
.
Sincerely,
 
Kari Bjorhus
Director, Public Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company
Appendix D: Death Threat
This is a copy of a death threat sent by the Black Eagles, naming Luis Eduardo aka Chile [Chapter 4: ‘Chile']. This death threat was sent in February 2007.
The Black Eagles call on the terrorists in the trade union of Coca-Cola - Javier Correa, Luis Garcia AKA El Chile, Domingo Flores AKA El Gordo, Nelson Perez - to stop the backlash against the Coca-Cola company - You have already caused enough damage - Stop this campaign against the employers of Santander who are supporting the downtrodden of this country - We declare that the military objective of the Black Eagles - how do you prefer death - torture - cutting up into pieces - coup de grace - in the style of Magdalena Medio and this is how you terrorists define it - So stop your campaign, the backlash - Remember Commander Mancuso doesn't like a fuss.
This isn‘t just a threat, we will carry it out. We will do it. The day will arrive.
a
This conversation really happened.
b
I had trekked up to the top of a mountain to see a dam that had been built by villagers to conserve water for the wildlife. The holy man lived in a tent at the top of a ridge. It was a tiring trip and he had offered a cup of tea. Sitting on the rug with him it had seemed rude to ask, ‘so what are you about then?' So I did a lot of grinning, and bowing. His tent had grabbed the best spot, as it looked out across the long valley, green and lush from the dam water, and this scene rolled back as far as it was possible to see with the human eye. I did at one point say to the holy man,‘you've gt yourself a lovely view here, haven't you,' but somehow as the words came out of my mouth it sounded like I was talking about Littlehampton.
c
This is apparently not true but only in the sense that I have no facts to prove it.
d
This is absolutely true in the lying sense of the word.
e
Once again a truth waiting to happen…but technically a lie.
f
Balaclavas are referred to as ski masks in the USA but there is a major difference between these two items - namely, a British grandmother would never knit a ski mask.
g
The community are running their own water project with the help of Berkeley College to create a water system independent of the water board and without need of stand pipes.
h
This is an urban myth.
Copyright © 2008 by Mark Thomas
 
Published in 2009 in the United States by Nation Books,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
116 East 16th Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10003
Nation Books is a co-publishing venture of the Nation Institute
and the Perseus Books Group
 
Published in 2008 in the United Kingdom by Ebury Press, an imprint of Ebury Publishing
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address the Perseus Books Group, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810.
 
Books published by Nation Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected].
 
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
 
LCCN: 2009920887
eISBN : 978-0-786-74756-6
 

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