“Good Food, Good Life. This is Nestlé´s slogan, which unfortunately does not include its workers, as Nestlé is not prepared to enter into negotiations about the demands drawn up by the Peruvian National Union of Nestlé Workers (Sindicato Único Nacional de Trabajadores Nestlé Perú S.A. - SUNTRANEP) for 2008 in order to adjust wages to inflation.

Various meetings with the participation of the presidency of the National Union of Nestlé Workers (SUNTRANEP) and a company delegation headed by the Human Resources manager, Manuel Monge Calosi, were held within the framework of the negotiating committee. As Monge prevented any agreement which might have led to tangible results for the workers, direct talks have been suspended.

SUNTRANEP´s secretary-general, Alexander Caballero, told Sirel that the union adjusted its demands following their rejection by the company. However, during a meeting held on May 28, Nestlé refused yet again to accept even the reduced union proposal.

As a result SUNTRANEP resorted to the Labour Department which is currently analyzing the demands on the basis of the real current conditions and convened a conciliation meeting to be held on June 10. Workers expect the company to make an offer, which might help to cover the family food basket.

“Unfortunately the company does not go beyond comparing its wages with those received by the workers of its competitors, such as Alicorp, Gloria and others. We are looking forward to an improved company offer during our next meeting”, explains SUNTRANEP´s organization secretary, Carlos Cavel.

Adding on, SUNTRANEP´s press and propaganda secretary, José Coyco, stresses that workers are asking for a fair deal, as “wages have lost their purchasing power due to inflation in 2007, and therefore we try to recover what has been lost, this is our core demands”.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Information (INEI) the annual accumulated inflation of Peru was at 3,39 per cent in 2007, i.e. above the official target of less than 3 per cent.  . 

Nestlé has been operating in Peru since 1919 and has consolidated its presence in 1997, when it acquired the leading national ice-cream and candy manufacturer, D'Onofrio. Obviously Nestlé´s motto does not include its workers, for whom it will be difficult to gain access to good food and a good life, as long as the company does not even adjust their wages to the national inflation level.