sustain trade union co-ordination and co-operation beyond meetings. The language barrier constitutes an additional obstacle. 4.4. Potential for the development of transnational networking within Nestlé The global trade union network within the Nestlé corporation does nevertheless offer scope for further organisational and substantive development of existing activities and initiatives in a pragmatic, progressive manner. As a reaction to the lack of continuity in exchanges of information and networking between meetings, and to the weaknesses and difficulties existing at local and national level, an organisational model has been devised which moves away from focusing on network meetings held at relatively long intervals and aims for work to be continuous. This model is based on intensifying and institutionalising networks in the four regions of the world(Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe) both horizontally and vertically with the aid of regional network co-ordinators. Their task will be to assist the Nestlé trade unions in their region, providing back-up during disputes and fostering exchanges of information with one another as well as with the IUF(vertical networking). The four co-ordinators, funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 15 are attached to the IUF general secre­tariat and will work closely with the IUF regional secretariats(hori­zontal networking). The network co-ordinators will in themselves be an asset in terms of networking, although in view of the time-limited nature of their posts their aim will be to make such headway in horizontal and vertical networking that they make themselves largely superfluous and establish a self-driven, accelerating momentum among network members. 15 The Friedrich Ebert Foundation has undertaken to finance four half-time posts as from September 2004 for a total of 2.5 years. Each co-ordinator will spend half of their working time on co-ordination activities at Nestlé and the other half(funded by the Norwegian trade union confederation LO) on similar co­ordination work at Coca Cola. 44