Here’s what happened (and if management gets its way this never happened):
· 18 months after Barry Callebaut’s new chocolate factory in Baramati started operations, workers tried to form a union in November 2022
· Local management colluded with a local politician to create an in-house union called Barry Callebaut Kamgar Sanghatana (BCKS)
· All workers were registered as BCKS members by management
· Workers refused BCKS and on January 2, 2023 announced they had formed an independent, democratic union, Barry Callebaut Employees Union (BCEU)
· The next day local management terminated four apprentices (three women and a person of undeclared gender) for being too close to BCEU
· Other BCEU members were threatened with termination
· Local management repeatedly told workers they must be members of BCKS and should resign from BCEU
· On January 13, 2023 (11 days after the union was declared) local management filed charges against the BCEU’s elected General Secretary
· A month later on February 22, 2023, local management signed a collective agreement with BCKS, despite the fact that BCEU represented the majority of the 43 workers at that time
· BCEU’s elected General Secretary was terminated from employment on November 6, 2023
The next day national management told the union to deny any of this happened and in return they can sign a collective agreement