- Date filed
- 9 October 2020
- Keywords
- Countries of harm
- Current status
-
Filed
- Sector
- NCP
Allegations
Workers dismissed by the quinine-producing company Pharmakina, S.A. in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) submitted a complaint to the Luxembourg NCP arguing that Pharmakina S.A. and its Luxembourg-incorporated holding company, Pharmeg S.A., had breached the OECD Guidelines Employment and Industrial Relations, Human Rights, and other chapters when it fired workers seeking to be paid a legal wage. According to the complaint, the law of the DRC requires workers to be paid at least $5 per day, a rate not paid by Pharmakina. When eight worker leaders at Pharmakina sought to mobilise all the workers to demand payment of $5 per day, the company boss at first agreed to meet with workers to discuss their demands, but then fired the eight workers. The workers filed a complaint to the Luxembourg NCP seeking mediation to help them secure compensation for their loss of work and address the underlying wage dispute. Their complaint also alleges that Pharmakina is allowing discharge from production to pollute nearby Lake Kivu, to the detriment of the health of workers and nearby communities, and that Pharmakina is engaged in corruption, including by making regular illegal payments to illegal rebel groups formerly involved in committing atrocities against people in the DRC.
Relevant OECD Guidelines
More details
- Defendant
- Company in violation
- Other companies involved
- Complainants
- Affected people
- Other NCP's where the complaint was filed
Related complaints
- Workers of Pharmakina vs. Schweppes Holdings Ireland
- Workers of Pharmakina vs. Pharmakina S.A., Pharmeg S.A.