This study looks into the operations of Akzo Nobel Brazil and, in particular, at the labour conditions and at the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The research was conducted between April and November 2005, and built on a previous study that was conducted in 2002, also by the Instituto Observatório Social (Social Observatory Institute or IOS), during the first phase of the Company Monitor Project. The 2002 study identified a number of concerns, in particular relating to great disparities in the working conditions at the different Akzo Nobel plants, lack of policies to ensure equal opportunities for women and black employees, lack of common guidelines for collective bargaining and engagement with the Unions, and obstruction of Union activities by local management.

Summary based on research by:
Daniela Sampaio de Carvalho, Lílian Arruda, and João Paulo Veiga
Instituto Observatório Social
São Paulo, Brazil
2005-2006

Research conducted in co-operation with SOMO and FNV Bondgenoten.
Commissioned by FNV Mondiaal for the project FNV Company Monitor