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UNI Global Union has urged the Indian government not to relax its foreign direct investment rules. UNI says to do so would allow multinational giants such as Walmart to enter the country without enforceable conditions and safeguards.



Walmart says the current sourcing rules, which are designed to protect Indian businesses and workers, mean it is unable or unwilling to do expand its business in India. UNI says those sourcing rules need to be reinforced and fully enforceable rather than weakened.



In a letter to India’s Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, UNI said the country’s people would fare better without Walmart, highlighting some of the company’s grave abuses against its workers in the United States and elsewhere. The letter said that Walmart has had a negative impact on both retail wages and employment in areas in which it operates.



“Walmart has a devastating impact upon small businesses in the surrounding areas and a negative impact on employment growth and the survival of small businesses,” the letter said. “Walmart’s suppliers and their workers fare poorly also. Its size allows it to dictate the terms of supplier contracts. This power depresses conditions in the supply chain for workers and businesses.”



Walmart already operates wholesale stores in India with local partner Bharti but had planned to open up retail stores across the country. In the US and abroad Walmart has pursued a growth at any cost strategy. Its unsustainable business model has been exported from the US to countries where its rapid expansion has been at the expense of smaller, often family retailers.



Media reports say a cabinet note moved by the Department of Industrial Policy (DIPP) has proposed to ease rules about sourcing from small scale Indian enterprises and dropping the condition that firms can only operate in cities with a population of at least a million people.