News

A union in India has served Fedex with a strike notice in protest over the company’s failure to honour its demands.



The ITF-affiliated Global Domestic Courier Services General Employees’ Union (GDCS union) served a strike notice to the operational manager at Fedex Express Services in Chennai on 17 June. The workers will take stage a walk-out at the beginning of July; they are angry that the company has not implemented the union’s charter of demands.



Lakshmanan Bhaskaran, the union’s general secretary stated that management had deliberately used delaying tactics to avoid implementing the union’s charter of demands and had failed to come to an amicable settlement on the matter. As a result, the union general body had resolved to arrange a strike and to issue a notice of strike to management.



It is understood that the union will also approach Raja Sridhar, president of the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union and general secretary of the state’s national union centre Hind Mazdoor Sabha to urge the labour commissioner to take the matter up for conciliation. Demonstrations in front of Fedex’s office are also planned; railway activists will be asked to provide solidarity support by joining the demonstrations.



In addition the GDCS union will also send a memorandum to Fedex’s main customers highlighting the company’s anti-labour practices.



GM Krishnamurthy, president of the GDCS union said:"Fedex in Chennai has a history of ignoring the notices and other communications from the union. This time the workers decided enough is enough. Things cannot get worse than this."



Sangam Tripathy, ITF Asia Pacific assistant regional secretary, added: “Fedex has a poor labour rights record in India. The strike notice means that the matter has become logged as an industrial dispute at the office of the labour commissioner.”