US Protesters' Anger at London Tobacco Giant's Annual Meeting

Source from:  Fresh Business Thinking 04/29/2011

Scores of angry protesters are once again crossing the pond to voice their anger at shareholders during a London headquartered company's annual meeting. This time, however, the targets of the protest are British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS, JSE:BTI) who, according to leading US trades union group, the AFL-CIO, are permitting underpaid tobacco pickers to operate on their supply chain. "BAT seems proud of its commitment to human rights yet tobacco workers are paid barely enough to live on, are forced to work in extremely hazardous conditions, frequently get sick and sometimes die in the fields, such is the extent of exploitation in North Carolina," said Baldemar Velasquez, AFL-CIO executive council member. At the London AGM the union protesters are calling on BAT to "back its words of support for human rights principles with action". The company's code of conduct says that it requires its suppliers to 'demonstrate a commitment to universally recognised human rights and freedoms' yet, the trades unions allege, does little to ensure this is the case. The Johannesburg and London Stock Exchange listed tobacco giant, 2nd globally after Phillip Morris in sales and revenue, is the company behind some 180 brands; from Lucky Strick to Pall Mall. British American Tobacco employs 60,000 globally, turning over just shy of £15 billion gross revenue. Central to this latest debate are not the company's employees, but the network of 200,000 independent farmers who contribute half a million tonnes of tobacco to the company. Brendan Barber, head of Britain's Trades Union Congress said: "BAT's corporate policies and its code of conduct promise to uphold human rights and the company says its supply chain partners will do the same, yet that promise is being broken every day through the inhumane treatment of tobacco field workers. "BAT can put a stop to the horrific treatment of these migrant workers, and needs to take its US subsidiary, Reynolds, and the growers to task. I hope today's protest encourages BAT shareholders to find out more about the plight of the American tobacco workforce, and increase the pressure on company directors to eradicate exploitation from every part of the BAT supply chain." Enditem