In the beginning of August, over 100 employees, indignated by the humiliating treatment of DHL Delhi, spent three hours in a peaceful sit-in protest, inspired by the example of Mahatma Gandhi. They said they would not give in and were expecting to get support from the DHL activists who are coming to India for the DHL network meeting in November 2014. Just like their colleagues from DHL Mumbai, these workers too were affected by the decision of DHL to re-classify their courier positions as “managerial” and its outright refusal to negotiate the demands of its employees. In addition, they were threatened by India of Human Resources Managers on the grounds of joining a trade union, and in many cases have been transferred to work hundreds of miles from their homes and families as punishment for union activity. The protest against the false re-classification to managers was joined by union members and workers in DHL Chennai.
International support for the struggle of workers in DHL India came from unions representing workers at DHL network in Panama, France, South Africa. ITF and UNI Global Union turned to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and urged DHL to assess human resources in India, adding that they will continue to monitor developments closely, to ensure that DHL perform its obligations in both spirit and deed.