Telekom, DHL reject rights group's US labour accusations

Sep 2, 2010, 16:50 GMT

   New York/Bonn - Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Post on Thursday rejected accusations by Human Rights Watch that they - alongside other European firms - deprived United States employees of rights enjoyed by workers elsewhere around the world.

'We are angry at being named in this context,' Deutsche Telekom spokesman Christian Schwolow told the German Press Agency dpa.

   Schwolow was responding to a 128-page report issued by HRW under the title 'A Strange Case: Violations of Workers Freedom of Association in the United States by European Multinational Corporations.'

The report also named several other European firms such as Saint- Gobain, Tesco and Kongsberg Automotive.

   It asserted that while many European companies publicly embraced workers' rights under global labour standards, they were undermining such rights in their US business operations.

Schwolow said there is 'no question that Deutsche Telekom respects national regulations in all countries where the company has business operations.'

He said the HRW accusations referred to incidents that occurred several years ago, and drew on 'questionable' evidence.

In the US, Deutsche Telekom owns T-Mobile USA, the country's fourth-largest telecommunications company.

Deutsche Post, whose subsidiary DHL Express was included in the report, said nine of the 14 cases listed had been legally settled in their favour. A further five cases were still being investigated.

'We can say that these cases are in no way typical (of our employee relations),' Deutsche Post spokesman Dirk Klasen told dpa, adding that much of their US staff is unionized.

The report charged that some European multinationals had carried out aggressive campaigns to prevent their US staff from organizing and bargaining, in violation of international labour laws.

   'The behavior of these companies casts serious doubt on the value of voluntary commitments to human rights,' said Arvind Ganesan, director of HRW's Business and Human Rights Program.

   'Companies need to be held accountable, to their own stated commitments and to strong legal standards,' he added.

   The violations included forcing workers to become 'captive audiences' listening to anti-union harangues at company meetings, while prohibiting pro-union speakers.

   The companies also threatened workers with dire consequences if they sought to set up unions and warned that they would replace workers who took part in strikes.

Deutsche Telekom rejected the charges.

'We cannot and will not decide for our employees whether they want to be represented by a union,' Schwolow said.

   Spying on employee organizers and firing workers who supported organizing efforts were also cited by HRW as examples of the behaviour of European firms towards their American employees.

   HRW said its report was based on 30 worker interviews and worker testimony in legal proceedings, findings and decisions by US labour law authorities, company documents, and written exchanges with company management.

   'The US needs to close the loopholes in the country's woefully inadequate laws to protect workers, including reforms embodied in the Employee Free Choice Act,' Ganesan said.

   'The US labour law system is characterized by long delays, weak penalties, and one-sided employer access to staff inside the workplace,' he added.

   The report also recommended greater oversight by European headquarters of US managers' practices, while arguing for stronger mechanisms involving the International Labor Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

   HRW said there should also be stronger action by European governments and the European Union to require adherence to international standards by European firms.