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UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings sent a message of strong global support and solidarity for the US Employee Free Choice Act to American officials in Switzerland and highlighted the case of British multinational Tesco plc, which has refused to recognise US workers’ right to organise, as a prime example of why US labour law needs to be improved.



Jennings was part of a global union delegation that met with Anne Chick, the First Secretary of the US Mission in Geneva, as part of the global month of solidarity for the US Employee Free Choice Act. The Employee Free Choice Act is vital legislation that will give American workers a chance to freely join unions and bargain collective for the first time in decades.



Jennings highlighted the need for the Employee Free Choice Act and told Chick that anti-union practices in the US have become so bad they are now an international issue.



Jennings and representatives from the International Trade Union Confederation, the global union for food and hotel workers IUF and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions made the visit as part of the global month of action in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.





“Union busting practices, routine in the United States, would be impossible in most other countries,” Jennings said. “We urge the US government to act urgently to create a climate in which fear and intimidation generated by massive violations of workers’ rights, including repeated trampling of labour laws already on the books, can be replaced by reason and sound industrial relations practices.”



He said multinational companies are now treating US workers by the same poor standard they treat workers in the developing world: giving them the lowest level of rights possible. He said this is even common among companies based in Europe that recognise union organising and bargaining rights in their home countries but do not do it elsewhere unless they are obligated by law.



Jennings gave Chick a report on retail giant Tesco, which recognises union rights in the UK-- its home country-- but has refused to meet or even speak with a union representing its work force in the United States.



As part of the global solidarity campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act, at least 55 UNI unions have visited US Embassies in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe to tell President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton that they support US workers right to organise and collectively bargain and believe that passing the bill will benefit workers around the world.



“For too long US corporations and their anti-union policies have had free reign, which has been a disaster for US workers and has been used as a model in many developing countries to deny workers’ their basic human rights,” Jennings said.