Coca-Cola in Colombia

LABOR RELATIONS:

• The Coca-Cola Company’s labor relations practices are among the best on the planet and we are continuously working to improve them. The Coca-Cola system is one of the most highly unionized multinational corporations in the world, with more than 30 percent of employees belonging to unions.

ENVIRONMENT:

• The Coca-Cola Company’s environmental practices are among the best on the planet and we are continuously working to improve them.

• We conduct audits of environmental performance and practices, document the findings and take necessary improvement actions.

UNIONIZATION IN COLOMBIA:

• In Colombia, only 4% of workers belong to unions, yet 31% of Coca-Coca bottler employees belong to unions.

• On average, wages for Coca-Cola workers are 2 to 3 times higher than the minimum wage.

• Coca-Cola bottlers currently have collective bargaining agreements in place with 12 unions (covering wages, benefits and working conditions).

COMMITTED TO COLOMBIANS:

• Last year, we committed $10 million to start the Colombian Foundation for Education and Opportunity, an organization that addresses the needs of victims of violence and is run by a group of well-respected Colombians.

CLEARED BY CSCC:

• In 2005, an independent assessment of bottling plants in Colombia by the internationally respected and certified social compliance auditor Cal Safety Compliance Corporation (CSCC) confirmed that workers in Coca-Cola plants enjoy freedom of association, collective bargaining rights, and a work atmosphere free of anti-union intimidation.

CLEARED IN COLOMBIA:

• Two different judicial inquiries in Colombia – one in a Colombian Court and one by the Colombian Attorney General – found no evidence to support the allegations that bottler management conspired to intimidate or threaten trade unionists.

DISMISSED FROM MIAMI LITIGATION:

• In 2003, TCCC was dismissed as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in 2001 in a U.S. District Court in Miami.

GLOBAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMITMENT:

• In 2005, we signed a joint statement regarding global labor relations with the IUF (the international organization for unions in the food and beverage sectors).

• “Coca-Cola workers are allowed to exercise rights to union membership and collective bargaining without pressure or interference. Such rights are exercised without fear of retaliation, repression or any other form of discrimination.”

• We are committed to ongoing dialogue with the IUF.

TCCC CALL TO ACTION:

• The Coca-Cola Company is taking a leadership role in ensuring the rights and safety of workers around the world and calls on international labor, NGOS, other MNCs and our critics to join in the process of creating a global solution.

Colombia: Key Facts
Colombia: Facts Sheet
Colombia: Court Rulings
Colombia: Employee Safety
Colombia: Q & A
Around the World: Commitment