Coke boycott steps up a gear

Issued : Thursday 15 January, 2004

Since Labour Youth launched its boycott Coke campaign there have been a number of developments across the country as the boycott spreads. In October UCD students voted by a narrow margin of 51% to 49% not to stock Coca-Cola drinks products in their shops. Labour members worked closely with other left wing and human rights activists to ensure a victory for human rights. The turnout was just in excess of 3,200 students.

However Coca Cola issued a statement calling for UCD students to "reconsider the consequences of their decision and rescind it through a further ballot," (Irish Independent, 16 Oct 2003). Supporters of Coke during the referendum argued that a higher turnout of voters would produce a different result. And indeed they were proven right - there was both a higher turnout and a different result the second time.

Before the referendum Coca Cola called in help from abroad and Rafael Fernandez Quiros, Coca-Cola's director of communications in Latin America, was sent over to persuade students that there was no need for a boycott. He met with representatives of Labour Youth and addressed students in UCD, leaving early and avoiding questions.

In contrast Luis Eduardo Garcia, a Coca-Cola employee and union official for Sinatrainal also spoke to UCD students and remained for the full hour taking questions from supporters of Coca Cola on campus. He spoke of the difficulties faced by his union in organising in plants that bottle Coke in Colombia and of the violence and intimidation that he and his colleagues have faced.

The second ballot saw a turnout in excess of 4,000 students - one of the highest turnouts in a student referendum in UCD or indeed any campus in Ireland in years. This time however the numbers in favour of the boycott increased with just 44% of students voting to rescind the boycott and 56% voting to retain it.

In Trinity College the Labour branch initiated a campaign calling on students to boycott Coke. However this resulted in a threat from the Central Societies Committee to suspend the Labour student society. It emerged that the CSC was responding to an approach from the Senior Dean who in turn had been approached by Coca Cola.

Patrick Nulty, chairperson of Trinity Labour Youth said, "The CSC have ordered us to desist from continuing our Boycott Coca Cola campaign. The grounds they have put forward are totally spurious and inaccurate as any student of law could tell you looking at the trademark laws in this country. We have not even used the Coca Cola trademark." He further stated that "We are well with in our rights in what has been produced on our literature. This campaign is part of a growing international solidarity movement which we hope will make a real difference to the rights of Colombian workers and we will not be silenced."

Labour members in other colleges have been active in running and initiating the boycott campaign. In Limerick IT a successful meeting and stall were run to launch the campaign. Maynooth Labour have run several boycott coke stalls and there is now a broad based campaign in place in the college. In DCU and Blanchardstown IT leaflets and posters have been distributed and boycott Coke stalls were run in the University of Limerick and in Grafton Street. Labour Youth also held a protest outside the headquarters of Coca Cola in Ireland in Baggot Street on December 10th to mark international human rights day.

News of the student boycott campaign in Ireland has made it as far as Atlanta, the Global Corporate HQ of Coca Cola. The leading business publication the Atlanta Business Chronicle ran an in depth article on the boycott campaign highlighting the campaign in Ireland. The next few months will be critical in spreading the campaign around campuses and towns in Ireland. If you would like any leaflets or posters for use in your area or would like to organise a screening of 'State of the Union' which gives an overview of the situation in Colombia please email us at youth AT labour.ie