3. Network activities in the context of the IUF­FES Nestlé project 3.1. Network activities in the Asia-Pacific area: the meeting in Jakarta, autumn 2002 The network meeting held in Jakarta in autumn 2002 was the fifth transnational event organised by the IUF for Nestlé trade unions in the Asia-Pacific region. 6 This meeting was attended by union delegates from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, representatives of the IUF general and regional secretariats, and a representative of the German trade union NGG which co-ordinates the global network. Not all the countries in which Nestlé operates factories were represented, one reason being because invited unions did not avail themselves of the opportunity to attend: for instance, the very conservative Japanese Nestlé union, which has a cosy relationship with management, was not particularly interested in taking part. Another reason was that the IUF has no contact with or access to Nestlé factories in certain countries, such as India, Thailand and China. The situation is especially problematical in the case of China, because although Nestlé is building up enormous production capacity there, no trade union organisational structures exist in China apart from the government unions, and it is still far from clear how independent trade unions can be established. The network meeting for the Asia-Pacific region focused on three main issues: (1) Discussion of Nestlé‘s global and regional strategy and its effects Nestlé has divided up its worldwide activities into zones: Europe, America and Asia/ Oceania/ Africa(AOA). Asia/ Oceania/ Africa is currently the most profitable zone. The company is experiencing high 6 This total includes the network meeting in Manila in December 1999, which was broadened out into an international meeting. 15