The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 17, 2006 - 5A

Adverstisement
An Open Letter From The Coca-Cola Company:
Colombia Labor Relations Update for Our
Campus Customers
On March 22, the International Labor Organization (ILO) announced that it will
accept independent requests from the International Union of Food, Agricultural,
Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) and
from The Coca-Cola Company to investigate and evaluate the labor relations and
workers' rights practices of the Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia.
Some of our college and university customers, responding to calls from concerned
parties on their campuses, have asked for an impartial and independent
evaluation of the labor relations and workers' rights practices of the Coca-Cola
bottlers in Colombia. We pledged our commitment to such an assessment, and
now with the ILO's agreement to conduct an investigation and evaluation, we
can fulfill that commitment.
The ILO is uniquely well qualified to conduct a fair and independent investigation
and evaluation. An agency of the United Nations, the ILO focuses on the
promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labor
rights standards. The ILO has also been called on previously to investigate labor
relations and workers' rights practices in specific countries. For example, its
ongoing work in Cambodia is credited with improving working conditions in the
textile and garment industries.
The ILO investigation in Colombia will be completely under the management
and control of the ILO, which will determine how the investigation is to be
carried out, over what time period, and how and when its findings will be
reported. The Coca-Cola Company and the Colombian Coca-Cola bottlers have
pledged full cooperation with the ILO in this project.
We believe an organization with the ILO's qualifications and credentials will

produce a report whose conclusions will be accepted as valid by all concerned
parties. The Coca-Cola Company and the Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia are
committed to addressing any issues that are raised in the ILO investigation
regarding labor relations and workers' rights in our system.
At The Coca-Cola Company, we are committed to continuing to improve our
policies and practices through dialogue and engagement with our stakeholders
worldwide.
Learn more at: www.ilo.org, www.iuf org, www.cokefacts.org and
www2. coca-cola. com/citizenship!.

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