Taiwanese Groups Call for Boycott of Nestle Products and Commemorate the Second Anniversary of the Murder of Ka Fort

On September 21, marking the second anniversary of the murder of Diosado "Ka Fort" Fortuna, renowned Philippine labor leader and union president of striking Nestle workers, and the 35th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in the Philippines, Taiwanese groups called for a boycott of all Nestle products. More than twenty protestors including unionists, students, academics, and common citizens picketed the headquarters of Nestle Taiwan, leafleted the lunchtime crowd and covered Nestle advertisement with protest stickers. The protest was organized by Taiwan Committee for Philippines Concerns and Consumer Action, Taiwan, and participated by Labor Rights Association and other groups.

"More than 8 unionists in dispute with Nestle have been murdered in the Philippines and Columbia in the past 5 years," the Taiwanese groups condemned Nestle's unspeakable collusion with oppressive regimes in the world. "There's Blood in Your Coffee," chanted the protestors. Consumer activists also expressed concerns over the safety of Nestle products in Taiwan which are now mostly made in Heilongjiang, China and the Philippines where labor rights and environmental violations are repeatedly reported. Labor activists recounted numerous labor-rights violations when Nestle closed its Taiwan plants and thrown thousands of its long-time employees into unemployment.

"The murder of Ka Fort is but one case in more than 900 political killings in the Philippines ," Tsai Chih-Chieh, secretary general of Taiwan Committee for Philippine Concerns, said, "and companies like Nestle is helping and benefiting from the de facto martial law of the Arroyo regime." It is also recounted that the Philippine Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the striking workers at Nestle's Cabuyao plant, where Ka Fort led a heroic strike since 2000 until his death, but Nestle refuses to abide to the ruling and the Philippine government chooses not to enforce the court ruling. This is symptomatic to the nature of the Arroyo administration which has helped multinationals like Nestle reap hefty profits at the expense of basic human rights.