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Dole’s reaction to fallacious allegations against Dolefil, as reported in Switzerland

Dole would like to react very strongly against the accusations posted in the supporting documentation attached to Dolefil’s nomination to the ‘Public Eye’ award, as reported in Switzerland by Pro Natura and the Declaration of Berne.  While we consider that Pro Natura and the Declaration of Berne are two respectable organizations, we regret that none of those organizations contacted Dole in order to check the accuracy of the information, which was transmitted to them.

For example:

  • Wages: the average basic wage of a Dolefil hourly rank-and-file employee is now at PHP 410 (US$ 10.00) or PHP 800 (US$19.50) per day including benefits, definitely higher compared to the Government mandated minimum basic wage, presently at PHP 229.50 (US$ 5.60).

  • Child labor: Dolefil’s policy is not to employ people who are younger than 18 years old.

  • Pesticides: Most of the pesticides mentioned in the original report provided by the nominating organization are NOT used by Dolefil since the Company is using only chemicals duly approved for pineapple production by the Philippine Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) and not banned by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) of the United States or the European Union.  Product applicators are duly trained and certified by the same government agency.

  • Freedom of Association: a long-standing provision in Dolefil’s Collective Bargaining Agreement since the 1960’s is the union-shop clause (Art. 3, CBA) which provides that ‘the Company, as a condition of continued employment shall require all new employees within the bargaining unit to apply for membership with the union within 2 weeks after they have attained regular status’.  As a result of this clause, of Dolefil’s 5,717 regular employees, 91% are union members. Of the total union members, 95% are members of the bargaining unit of Amado Kadena, a union affiliated with the KMU.

  • Pumping of industrial wastewater: this accusation does not make any sense.  The river nearest to the plant is around 12 kilometers north and about 5 kilometers to the south.  The wastewater from the Dolefil cannery is treated in a series of 9 ponds before it is discharged to a dry creek.  The ponds are periodically examined and tested by the Company as well as accredited government agencies. 

All those facts, and others, are documented in Dolefil’s ISO 14001 (environment) and SA 8000 (labor) certifications.  This means that our Company can demonstrate that  allegations contained in the supporting documentation are fallacious.  Given the seriousness of these accusations and their defamatory content, our Company is currently discussing internally and with our main stakeholders in the Philippines additional ways to re-establish the truth.

Finally, we must also say that those fallacious attacks created incredulity and some anger among our Dolefil workers, their representatives, our growers, their cooperatives and more generally speaking among the entire community where we operate.  We would like to thank the hundreds of people who spontaneously expressed their support to Dolefil, by taking the initiative to sign manifestos.  These organizations include:

  • Landan People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative
  • TUPI Integrated Agricultural Cooperative
  • Cannery Multi-Purpose Cooperative
  • TIBUD SA KATIWABASAN Multi-Purpose Cooperative
  • Adventurers Multi-Purpose Cooperative
  • Unified Engineering and Manpower SVCS. Multi-Purpose Cooperative
  • Polo Samahang Nayon Multi-Purpose Cooperative
  • Labor Employees Association of Dolefil
  • Former Officers and Members of Pawis NG Makabayang Obrero-National Federation of Labor
  • Officers/Members UWDC-NFL (Dole Calumpang)


DOLE’S GLOBAL COMMITMENT TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Dole is committed to the quality of our products, sustainable environmental practices and the wellbeing of our 75,000 employees worldwide. Dole contributes generously to the communities where it operates around the world, promoting nutrition and health education as well as a healthier, more sustainable environment. Visit: http://dole.com/corporateresponsibility/ to learn more.