Boycott threats against Hess-Natur-Interessent

Alliance passes nearly 10,000 boycott threats against Hess Nature prospect Carlyle

28/02/2011

Attac activists have received a protest this Monday to welcome visitors to the conference called the "Super Return", which will bring together representatives of the world's most important private equity funds by Thursday in the Berlin-based Hotel Intercontinental. "Stop looting! - regulate private equity funds, involve employees" and "stop gun money at Hess Nature - armament investor Carlyle!" called for the protesters disguised as modern pirates on banners and in chants. With them in hand, they had nearly 10,000 boycott threats against the PE fund and arms company Carlyle: Should take over this Hess-nature, the signatories will no longer buy from the eco-textile shipper. The campaign also marked the beginning of an alliance campaign to transform Hess Natur into a cooperative.

"The locusts are back! The industry celebrates itself again with the cynical name of Super Return, that is, super return, and worries above all that in Germany in 2011 too few billion dollar deals are to be expected," said Jutta Sundermann of the nationwide Attac coordination circle , "But the public's resentment over this financial market arrogance is growing, as shown by the 10,000 people who are going to screw up Carlyle's business should the fund swallow Hess Natur." Since December, the anti-globalization network called Attac to prevent this takeover example and feels encouraged by the resonance.

The Federal Government accused Attac of continuing to regulate PE funds and similar financial market players in spite of diverging announcements during the financial crisis. Although the European Parliament passed a number of regulations in November; the rights of workers would continue to be systematically too short. "And the new rules do not effectively prevent a company from being bought to plunder it, and policy can be rewrapped from time to time
Financial market lobby, "said Jutta Sundermann.

That there are alternatives, Attac shows together with the network Solidarity Economy, the campaign for clean clothes and the works council. In March, the alliance will establish a cooperative, enabling Hess to take over nature from clients and employees instead of a financial investor such as Carlyle. More than 550 interested parties have already registered. "When thousands of people solidarize and become members in the coming days and weeks, we can counteract Carlyle and Co.," said Dagmar Embshoff, a member of Attac's Solidarity Economy Working Group and spokeswoman for the eponymous network. Walter Strasheim-Weitz from the works council added: "We now have the opportunity to turn the pioneer company for eco-fair clothing into a democratic model company."

The campaign alliance is not only about Hess nature, but about the fact that democracy also finds its way into the sphere of the economy. In addition, "solidarity economy" stands for a need-rather than a return-oriented economy, which is based on cooperation instead of competition. (Pm)