Read the joint statement issued by the German NCP and parties concluding the specific instance - 21 May 2014

In May 2013 the German NCP received a request for review from a group of trade unions - including Indocement Union, SP-ITP, the Federation of Indonesian Cement Industry, the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions, and IndustriALL Global Union - alleging that PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, an Indonesian company, and HeidelbergCement AG, a German company, had breached the employment and industrial relations provisions of the Guidelines in Indonesia. The trade unions alleged that Indocument had not accorded the union an appropriate level of respect and by transferring union leaders to other units within the company. Indocement contested the union’s statement but stated that it desired to preserve its previously cooperative relationship with the union.

The NCP conducted an initial assessment, which included a statement by HeidelbergCemeent Ag, Germany, to examine whether the questions raised deserved further consideration. The NCP determined to accept parts of the request and offered assistance to achieve better co-operation between Indocement and the unions and to help employees overcome scepticism regarding union membership. The NCP did not accept the part of the request relating to a specific incident occurring on 7 September 2012 as parallel judicial proceedings in the Indonesian courts were already underway concerning this incident.

With the NCP’s assistance, the two parties met in a mediation meeting and reached an agreement on 21 May 2014. Notably, both sides affirmed commitment to respecting the rights and safety of the unions and their members. In addition, both parties agreed to put CSR projects on the agenda of the regular meetings of the union and the management in order to promote the union’s involvement in such programmes. Read the full joint statement issued by parties.

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