News

Over 150 trade union leaders from around the world have joined the fight to stop union-busting at Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiaries outside of Germany.



The union leaders from almost 60 unions will endorse a solidarity motion today at the UNI ICTS conference in Mexico City that demands Deutsche Telekom end its double standard of respecting union rights at home but not abroad.



The unions said they will demand the German government, which owns 32 percent of Deutsche Telekom stock, intervene to stop the union-busting and will lobby the Germany government, socially responsible investors and DT customers to remind the company of its global responsibilities. Both Deutsche Telekom and the German government make claims in writing that they are socially responsible.



“We expect Deutsche Telekom to live up to its claims of social responsibility in real life,” said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. “It respects workers’ rights in Germany but is creating an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in the United States and in other countries to keep unions out of those workplaces.”



Deutsche Telekom engages in social dialogue and collective bargaining with its union counterpart ver.di in Germany but in other countries the company adopts the worst practices of its host countries: disrespect for workers, union-busting tactics, fear and intimidation for workers who speak up, and reprisals when they seek to join a union.



In the United States, T-Mobile USA has used threats and surveillance to try to stop workers from joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA).



T-Mobile USA’s anti-union behaviour has been well documented by academics as well as by US, German and international trade unions.



For example, on 26 August, 2011, four T-Mobile workers in New York who tried to form a union and hold a fair election at their workplace wrote to US Congressman Paul Tonko explaining why they had withdrawn their petition at the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) for an election:



“Unfortunately, T-Mobile USA has spent the past month creating an environment where a free and fair election is simply not possible. Since an election without fear is no longer viable, we are withdrawing our petition at the NLRB at this time,” the workers wrote.



Close to 10,000 people have joined an online LabourStart campaign calling on Deutsche Telekom to ensure T-Mobile USA management stops its union-busting campaign.



In the United States, UNI along with its affiliates the CWA and ver.di are challenging the anti-union practices of US subsidiary T-Mobile USA and working to get a global agreement with the company to secure worker rights for DT workers globally.



In June, 2011, UNI, ver.di and the CWA submitted a complaint to the German and US governments alleging that this conduct violates the global standards reflected in the OECD Guidelines for Multinationals.



“We Expect Better” is the global campaign for union rights at Deutsche Telekom that is supported by UNI Global Union, ver.di, CWA and the International Trade Union Confederation.



Join the LabourStart Campaign:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1093