Unilever Under Fire: Ivory Coast Workers Accuse Unilever of Union Rights Violations

Employees at Unilever Côte d’Ivoire have alleged that the company severed its collective bargaining agreement with employees amid plans to sell its local operation to a consortium led by SDTM. Documentation demonstrates that Unilever rejects ensuring severance pay or medical coverage in the case of a layoff following the transaction.

What does the existing agreement stipulate?

The 2004 collective bargaining agreement with the union – renewed in 2007, provides severance pay of one month’s average gross salary per year of seniority to a maximum of 18 months, as well as six months of medical coverage, for layoffs arising from the sale of the business. Workers worry these rights will go unheeded when SDTM takes over. 

Unilever insists no employees are being retrenched because the sale of shares “does not amount to the termination of employees’ contracts”. They claim there is no obligation to pay severance because employment will continue after the sale. Still, at a meeting with the Labour Inspectorate in Abidjan, Unilever Côte d’Ivoire’s head, Arona Diop, stated employment terms would be dictated by SDTM—not the prior agreement.

Is this legal under Ivorian labor law?

Under Article 16.6 of the Ivorian Labor Code, any significant change to employment contracts must be initiated with the consent of each individual worker. They each maintain that Unilever’s non-compliance with the agreement represents an unequal treatment to which they are entitled, and that the representations made by Unilever are actionable.

Employees point out that Unilever extended post-sale protections to its European staff when it spun off its ice cream business—something they did not afford to employees in Ivory Coast who sought a two-year guarantee, and were allegedly denied—this deepens their sense of unfair and unequal treatment.

With a sale projected by June 20, local unions and legal representatives are pushing for enforcement of the collective agreement or other similar guarantees. The company may now face legal action and increased scrutiny regarding its labor practices.