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UNI Global Union backs the stance taken by its Dutch affiliate FNV Bondgenoten and US affiliate UFCW at Ahold’s AGM on April 17, 2012. The unions jointly urged Netherlands-based Ahold to respect workers’ rights at its Giant-Carlisle supermarket chain in the US.



A group of Giant-Carlisle workers told shareholders gathered at the meeting in Amsterdam that there was clear evidence of intimidation at the Giant-Carlisle stores aimed at preventing workers from exercising their human rights and labour rights by infringing on their ability to make a free and fair choice on whether to join the union.



Tracey Barrentine, who travelled to the meeting from Stephens City, Virginia in the USA stated how her manager distracted her from her job in Giant-Carlisle by handing her a letter in person which detailed the company’s view that she did not need to join a union and which, she believed, was intended to intimidate her. Speaking in the meeting she stated: “Last year while I was working in the bakery in our store, my manager distracted me from doing my work and serving my customers. Rather than allowing me to do my job, add value to the shareholders, he insisted that I look at a letter from Rick Herring, President of Giant of Carlisle.” She asked the Chairman of Ahold: “Have you seen this letter about the alleged evils of unions? It is a shameful letter. I am appalled that money and time are being misused to send intimidating letters filled with lies about unions. It is wrong. He said we would lose our jobs because of the union.”



Alke Boessiger, Head of UNI Commerce said, “70% of Ahold owned supermarkets in the US have collective bargaining, and Ahold itself has said that its relationship with the UFCW in this regard is a good one. It is this situation which makes the behaviour of the company, in being so oppositional to workers who simply want the same rights in other parts of the company, so difficult to understand. We back our affiliates in both the Netherlands and the US who stand with these workers and urge Ahold steer well clear of the Walmart model.”



At the same meeting, many shareholders also raised their concerns about Ahold’s labour relations in the US.



Kees Gootjes of VBDO stated to René Dahan, Chairman of the supervisory board: “A dialogue has not evolved at Ahold level between the union and your organization, which is quite unfortunate in our view because this conflict started last year, and it’s been going on for more than a year, and we still don’t see a solution. So my question to you is would you be prepared to engage in a dialogue with this union in order to solve this conflict?”



Kris Douma of Mn Services stated at the meeting: “Over the past few years, we have seen that indeed there have been letters from the American subsidiaries to American employees that are intimidating. We’ve seen billboards at the personnel entrances of stores that are clearly intimidating. Why can you not here at this meeting say that indeed situations have occurred that could be experienced by employees as intimidating and that you guarantee that that will not happen again and that people indeed have the liberty and the freedom to decide whether or not they want to become members of the trade unions or whether or not they want elections in the United States? That is actually what we ask from you. A commitment…”



Ahold sales increased in 2011 by more than 5.5% to over 30 billion euro and net income increased 19% to over 1 billion euro, but instead of celebrating this, much of the meeting was spent discussing the problems in the U.S.



UNI affiliates who wish to learn more about this campaign and discover how they can support workers in the USA and the Netherlands should log on to www.iholdcampaign.org.