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New Delhi 14.01.2014 ­– UNI Global Union urges the rest of India to follow the state of Delhi’s lead and think again about FDI in retail, especially the threat posed by Walmart. The decision by the APP Delhi government is the right one. The APP recognised the threat to employment in Delhi if multinationals, especially Walmart, were allowed to takeover the retail market.

UNI said the country’s people would fair better without Walmart, highlighting some of the company’s grave abuses against its workers in the United States and elsewhere. Walmart has had a negative impact on both retail wages and employment in areas in which it operates.

UNI Global Union’s Deputy Secretary Christy Hoffman said, “This is a defeat for Walmart and victory for the workers of Delhi state. We know from our global research that Walmart has a devastating impact upon small businesses and a negative impact on employment growth and the survival of small businesses.

“If proper safeguards and enforceable conditions are not in place to restrain Walmart it will use its size to crush opposition and dictate the terms of supplier contracts to the detriment of India’s workers and local businesses. Delhi has shown there is an alternative.” 

Walmart had planned to open up retail stores across the country – those plans have been put on hold because of a ground-swell of opposition in India and investigations into Walmart’s business practices in India.

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.