IUF PepsiCo Investor Update: A disturbing pattern of human rights violations
PepsiCo claims to be dedicated to respecting human rights standards but consistently violates the right of workers to form trade unions and to bargain collectively – a basic human right. PepsiCo management at the company's Frito-Lay plant in Lahore, Pakistan has responded to the formation and official registration of a trade union with 650 members in July this year by harassing and transferring union officers and seeking to violate the union's collective bargaining rights by creating a bogus union...The attack on rights in Pakistan follows a similar pattern of rights violations in Guatemala. On April 28, 2015, workers at the PepsiCo snack foods plant in Guatemala City legally registered their union, SITRAFRITOLAY, with nearly 900 members out of the factory’s 1300 workers. In June 2015, the company violated their collective bargaining rights by signing a 3-year collective agreement with a small management-supported organization. Management and the company union offer workers financial inducements to sign off on their membership in SITRAFRITOLAY...In West Bengal, PepsiCo’s refusal to recognize and to remedy ongoing human rights violations at their warehouse supplier makes the company complicit in human rights abuses.