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The report, Aggressive and Unlawful: a report into Deutsche Post DHL Operations in Turkey) by John Logan, professor of labour studies at San Francisco State University and senior labor policy specialist at UC Berkeley, exposes a sophisticated anti-union campaign involving management at the highest levels. It charges that DHL used unfair and illegal dismissals to intimidate and create a climate of fear within the company.

According to the report, DHL fired at least twenty union supporters during a union organising campaign under the pretext of “poor performance”, safety violations and other vague violations of company policy. Even worse, the report finds that the anti-union behaviour of the company was not the result of a few rogue managers but “formed part of a sustained and coordinated strategy to limit workers’ freedom of association” and that the anti-union campaign appeared to involve “management at the highest levels of the corporation”.

UNI and ITF (the International Transport Workers Federation) have warned DHL on a number of occasions that its behaviour in Turkey was illegal and contrary to its own Code of Conduct and its commitments to international standards including the UN Global Compact.

ITF Organising Globally Coordinator Ingo Marowsky commented: “We and our colleagues in UNI Global Union have raised this scandal face to face with DHL management in Bonn and received nothing but platitudes, excuses and claims that there is no proof. Well DHL, here’s the proof, what are you going to do now?”

UNI Campaigns Director Alan Tate said: “This is a shocking report that shows that DHL’s anti-union campaign in Turkey originated from the highest levels of management and exposes the company’s claims to adherence to workers freedom of association as pure fiction. Its behaviour in Turkey is union busting – pure and simple.”

UNI and ITF have repeatedly called on Deutsche Post DHL to enter into a global agreement, which would set out minimum labour standards and trade union rights, including the right to organise, for all its workers

Deutsche Post DHL is one of the largest logistics companies in the world with over 470,000 employees in 220 countries and territories.

Read the full Report at www.itfglobal.org/files/seealsodocs/36752/JohnLoganReport.pdf

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