Multinational corporations with multiple destructive tendencies

By Sergio Ferrari - An alliance of more than 90 trade unions, religious and cultural associations, among others, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the field of human rights and the environment reached a historic milestone in Switzerland last January. Through an unprecedented citizen mobilization, in just two weeks this coalition collected more than 183.000 signatures – in a country of less than 9 million inhabitants – in support of the People's Initiative in favor of Responsible Multinationals (https://responsabilite-multinationales.ch/).

To this end, approximately 10,000 volunteers were mobilized and set up 1,000 stands and signature collection points throughout the country during the second and third weekends of January. If accepted at the polls, the text of the Popular Initiative will be incorporated into the Constitution. From then on, large Swiss companies, or companies based in Switzerland, as well as their subsidiaries and local contractors, will have to respect human and environmental rights in all countries where they do business and comply with the same requirements and obligations as in Switzerland. This means that any person or organization harmed by these companies in any country will be able to seek redress. In addition, an independent entity will be created to supervise and control commercial practices.

The committee promoting this constitutional change is composed of figures from a broad political spectrum (from socialists and greens to the liberal right, including the Christian Democratic center), businesspeople, and representatives from various NGOs. Speaking to reporters, Claude Ruey, a former national senator from the right-wing Radical Liberal Party and a member of the committee, acknowledged that in his long political life he had never seen "a cause in which so many people are involved." He described as "extraordinary" the fact that 183.661 signatures were collected in just 14 days. "This clearly shows," Ruey emphasized, "the extent to which the population supports [this proposal] and how our fellow citizens share a great sense of justice." The significance of this citizen mobilization is that it achieved almost double the 100 signatures required by the Constitution in a record time of just two weeks. The Swiss Constitution grants an 18-month period to obtain these signatures.

"Slave" coffee

The arguments and examples that the prosecutors used to collect signatures are compelling.

Nutrade Comercial Exportadora Ltda., a subsidiary of the Swiss multinational agrochemical company Syngenta, as well as the Nucoffee program, also owned by Syngenta, marketed coffee from Brazilian farms where working conditions analogous to slavery prevail.

46% of Brazil's coffee – the world's largest producer and exporter – comes from the state of Minas Gerais. Several studies conclude that more than two-thirds of the workforce on coffee farms in that state is informal: they are not entitled to a minimum wage, overtime pay, or social benefits. In the Brazilian coffee sector, cases of forced labor and very serious labor violations, as well as child labor, are regularly reported.

A joint investigation by the Swiss Coalition for Responsible Multinationals and the WAV research collective denounces six cases of labor exploitation and forced labor in Brazil linked to Nutrade or the Nucoffee program. Sucafina continued to purchase this product from Nutrade even after Brazilian authorities confirmed serious labor irregularities.

Syngenta is also accused of violations in other countries, such as water contamination in the towns of Cipreses and Santa Rosa in the Costa Rican highlands, due to the use of its pesticides. Chlorothalonil levels up to 200 times higher than the legal limit were detected in the water. This highly toxic fungicide is banned in the European Union and Switzerland because it is suspected of being carcinogenic.

"Killer" gold

Less than 3.000 kilometers from the coffee plantations of Minas Gerais lies the La Esperanza gold mine in southern Peru. Located approximately 2.000 meters above sea level in a highly isolated area of ​​the Arequipa Department, the mine is owned by the Peruvian company Yanaquihua SAC. All the ore it extracts is sold to Metalor, a controversial Swiss gold refinery, which transforms it into gold bars destined for the vaults of the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), the country's main financial institution. UBS and several Swiss luxury brands dealing with this precious metal claim that it is undeniably "sustainable," meaning produced under fair conditions. However, reality seems to contradict this, as evidenced by a series of dramatic accidents at La Esperanza.

The first incident was a serious fire in gallery I, in which 27 miners died of asphyxiation. According to the Swiss Coalition for Responsible Multinationals, the Swiss refinery Metalor, the sole buyer of this gold, should have ensured that basic safety standards were respected during extraction so that no worker was injured. Furthermore, as highlighted by the Coalition, the serious safety deficiencies were well known, as between 2011 and 2022 there were 196 accidents resulting in significant injuries and disabilities, and between 2019 and 2022 three workers lost their lives due to the collapse of a gallery roof.

A report by Peruvian authorities on the 2023 fire, not yet published, reveals the seriousness of the safety problems at that company. The mine lacked an alarm system to facilitate coordinated evacuation in case of disaster. It also lacked a formal emergency evacuation plan, and evacuation routes and emergency exits lacked signage. Finally, it lacked an adequate fire protection system, such as extinguishers, sand, and water tanks, and the safety shelters were poorly equipped. This state of negligence could have led to even more serious consequences, given the number of detonators and explosives that investigators found deep within the mine, left without any protection. In any case, the company operating the mine denies that safety requirements were not met.https://responsabilite-multinationales.ch/etudes-de-cas/or-extrait-dans-une-mine-de-lhorreur/).

From Namibia to Argentina, passing through the Amazon.

Examples of utter disregard for human and environmental rights by Swiss companies are frequent and abundant.

Among them are the 300.000 tons of toxic waste in Namibia, where the Canadian multinational Dundee Precious Metals processes copper with a high arsenic content to supply the Geneva-based multinational IXM. As well as the disastrous impact on deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes by the agri-food multinationals Cargill, Bunge, Cofco International and Amaggi, all based in Switzerland (https://responsabilite-multinationales.ch/etudes-de-cas/geants-suisses-agroalimentaire-profitent-deforestation-amazonie/In Argentina, dust emissions from the Sika factory, a Swiss multinational specializing in construction chemicals, are polluting the Las Mercedes neighborhood, about 35 kilometers from the city of Buenos Aires. The Swiss Coalition confirmed that medical examinations performed on 48 residents of the neighborhood show that this dust is making the population sick. Among other harmful elements, this toxic residue includes particles of silicon dioxide, an element that the World Health Organization has classified as a very high-risk carcinogen.https://responsabilite-multinationales.ch/etudes-de-cas/une-usine-de-la-multinationale-sika-pollue-un-quartier-de-buenos-aires-en-argentine/).

A little history

In November 2020, following a very broad mobilization, Swiss citizens voted on a first Initiative on Responsible Multinationals. Although the result was 50,7% in favor, the proposal did not have the support of the majority of cantons (provinces), as required by the Constitution. The opposition, particularly the far-right and pro-business sectors, argued that, if approved, this initiative would introduce a single, very demanding civil liability in Switzerland and that, as a result, major economic groups would emigrate to other countries with fewer requirements. The Executive Branch, whose majority is right-wing, also opposed it, arguing the need to act "in a coordinated manner at the international level" to put Swiss and European Union companies "on an equal footing." It then promoted, as an alternative, a counter-proposal. In reality, a simple alibi to reassure consciences, as it only aims to make multinationals report on their activities, but without any legal obligation to comply.

In July 2024, the Directive on Business Due Diligence in Sustainability came into force in the European Union, aiming to promote sustainable and responsible business behavior in the operations of companies and their respective global value chains within and outside Europe. This step forward in controlling the behavior of European multinationals on human rights and environmental standards has so far had no impact on Swiss policy, which has not even incorporated it as a reference.

Therefore, Swiss civil society is once again raising its voice to relaunch an essential principle of international justice and propose this new initiative. And, fundamentally, to demand, with the force of a very high level of mobilization, that it be decided very soon at the ballot box how Swiss multinationals, which until now have been irresponsible and violators of basic rights, should behave in the future.

Translation: Rose Lima.