Overview of International Overview of International Instruments for the Protection and Instruments for the Protection and

Promotion of Workers’ RightsPromotion of Workers’ Rightsin a Globalised Economyin a Globalised Economy

GLOBALISATION OF RIGHTSGLOBALISATION OF RIGHTS

International Opportunities for TU (1)International Opportunities for TU (1)

UNITED NATIONS (www.un.org)• Global Compact (CSR)

ILO (www.ilo.org)• Conventions/Recommendations• ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and

Rights at Work (1998) and Follow Up• ILO Tripartite Declaration on MNEs and Follow-

up (CSR)

International Opportunities for TU (2)International Opportunities for TU (2)

• OECD Guidelines on MNEs (CSR)

• TUAC/Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (56 members in 30 countries)

• Codes of Conduct

• Framework Agreements

What is the UN Global Compact?What is the UN Global Compact?Birth: World Economic Forum, 1999UN GS Kofi Annan challenged business leaders to join an

international initiative – the Global Compact – that would bring companies together with UN agencies, labour and civil society to promote UN universal principles and values; initiative launched in New York in 2000

Today more than 3000 companies from 80 countries from all regions of the world , international TUs and NGOs are engaged in the Global Compact, working to mainstream and advance 10 universal principles in business activities in the areas of HUMAN RIGHTS, LABOUR, ENVIRONMENT AND ANTI-CORRUPTION

UN Global CompactUN Global Compact – major contribution of UN to promotion of

CSR

10 UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES applicable in all 191 UN member states: – Human Rights

• 1. Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

• 2. Make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

UN Global CompactUN Global Compact- Labour

3. Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

4. The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;5. The effective abolition of child labour; 6. Eliminate discrimination in respect of employment occupation.

- Environment7. Business should support a precautionary approach to environmental

challenges;8. Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; 9. Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly

technologies.- Corruption

10. Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery

Nature of the Global CompactInitiative based on a voluntary choice of

companies to commit themselves to responsible mode of conducting business;

Involves all relevant social actors: governments, companies, labour, NGOs and UN and its authority.

GC is a network including GC Office and 6 UN agencies: OHCHR, UNEP, ILO, UNDP, UNIDO and UNODC.

UN Global CompactUN Global CompactRole of trade unions:

Check the reports of the MNEs sent to the Global Compact and use it for their local/global trade union work

ILO

UN specialized agency that promotes social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights

UNIQUE TRIPARTITE STRUCTURE ILO ROLE:

Formulate international labour standards in the form of conventions and recommendations and

Supervise their application in the ILO 179 member states

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CODE

Conventions (185) Designed to be ratified; binding legal obligation subject to international supervision; minimum standards NOT maximum standards!

Recommendations (195)Often supplementing a convention; provides guidelines for national policies and action;

TRIPARTITE AND UNIVERSAL; PRODUCT OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE; GOVERNMENTS, TRADE UNIONS AND EMPLOYERS INVOLVED IN THE FORMULATUION, ADOPTION AND SUPERVISION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ILS AT NATIONAL LEVEL

ILO Conventions:ILO Conventions:Supervisory MechanismSupervisory Mechanism

For Ratified Conventions– Article 22 Report - Review by CEACR

– Article 24 : Representation

– Article 26 : Complaint

For Non-Ratified Conventions– Article 19(5-e) Report

For Freedom of Association matters– Special procedure through Committee on Freedom

of Association

Annual Reviewon Non-ratified Core StandardsGeneral Survey

ILO Declaration

++

ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1)

Adopted in 1998 by the ILC; applies to all ILO member states;

Commitment by governments, employers and trade unions;

Supported by follow-up: evaluation procedure of Annual reports sent by member states that have NOT yet ratified one or more core conventions and Global Reports which cover one of the four categories of principles

ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (2)

Core labour standards – 4 groups of principles/rights:

- FoA and C.B. (C. 87 & 98)

- Discrimination (C. 100 & 111)

- Forced labour (C. 29 & 105)

- Child labour (C. 138 & 182)

ILO Tripartite Declaration on Principles ILO Tripartite Declaration on Principles concerning MNEs and Social Policyconcerning MNEs and Social Policy

Adopted in 1977 by GB (amended in 2000) as a voluntary instrument to:– Main voluntary instrument as regards labour

aspects of CSR;– Regulate conduct of MNEs: – Aims for enhancing the positive social and labour

effects of the operations of MNEs

ILO MNE Declaration : Follow-upILO MNE Declaration : Follow-up

Periodic surveys on the effect given to the principles of the Declaration (every 4 years, 8 surveys so far)

ILO and the role of T.U.

National legislation ; defending workers by promoting ratifications of ILO conventions

Monitoring; role of TU in the ILO supervisory mechanism

Use ILO instruments for shaping agreements at various level.

OECD/ Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development

30 member countries (AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, CANADA, CZECH R. , DENMARK, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, HUNGARY, ICELAND, IRELAND, ITALY, JAPAN, KOREA, LUX, MEXICO, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NORWAY, POLAND, PORTUGAL, SLOVAK R., SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TURKEY, UK, USA) committed to democracy and the market economy

A provider of comparative data, analysis and forecasts so that governments can: compare policy experiences;

seek answers to common problems; identify good practice and co-ordinate policies.

OECD Guidelines for MNEsOECD Guidelines for MNEs Adopted in 1976, and reviewed in 2000 Guidelines, major features:

– comprehensive set of rules, multilaterally endorsed, binding for adhering governments which are requested to promote their application by MNEs operating in their countries and by MNEs based in their countries operating worldwide

– voluntary to enterprises, not legally but morally binding;

Major components: NCP, CIME (Committee on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises) , and TUAC

OECD Guidelines : contentOECD Guidelines : content The Guidelines consist of ten chapters covering most

aspects of company behaviour: 1. Concepts and Principles, 2. General Policies, 3. Disclosure, 4. Employment and Industrial Relations (FoA, CB),5. Environment (OSH), 6. Combating Bribery, 7. Consumer Interests, 8. Science and Technology, 9. Competition and (10) Taxation.

Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD - TUAC

- international trade union organisation which has consultative status with the OECD;

TUAC represents views of organised labour in industrialised countries;

56 national trade union centres in 30 OECD countries, covers 66 million workers.

OECD Guidelines : applicationOECD Guidelines : application

The Guidelines apply to MNEs operating in or from:

1. the 30 OECD member countries, plus currently nine non-OECD members: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.

2. Guidelines also apply to these companies’ operations worldwide.

Role of TUCheck OECD Annual Report on GuidelinesWhen a company breaches the Guidelines,

TU can raise this case with the NCPConsult TUAC; it works closely with

ICFTU, WCL, ETUC and GUFs. (http://www.tuac.org)

Code of ConductCode of Conduct

Is a written policy or statement of principles adopted voluntarily by a company to express its commitment toward a particular conduct

NOT NEGOTIATED BUT UNILATERAL DECLARATION

Code of conduct for business– consumer rights, product safety or environmental protection– ethical behaviour codes for employees– International instruments to monitor the social responsibility of

business– ILO MNE Declaration– OECD Guidelines for MNEs– attempt by UN to set a global code

New Code of ConductNew Code of Conduct

Four Major CharacteristicsPurely private, voluntary initiative (PVI)Response to the situation of poor labour

standards created by the failure of national governments;

international applicationCross-cutting application to suppliers and

subcontractors

Definition of New Code of ConductDefinition of New Code of Conduct

“Commitments voluntarily made by companies, associations or other entities which put forth standards and principles for the conduct of business activities in the marketplace”

(“Workers’ tool or PR ploy?” – by Dr. I. Wick)

Number of New CodesNumber of New Codes

246 codes (June 2000 by OECD study)- 118 by individual companies, 92 by industry and

trade associations, 32 by partnerships between stakeholders and 4 by inter-governmental organizations

- Only 163 mention monitoring- Only 30% mention freedom of association, and

only10.1% refer to ILO codes

Why New Codes are important for Why New Codes are important for Trade Unions?Trade Unions?

New Codes are on “labour practice”

Most companies adopt COC without involving trade unions So, they can be used as an excuse

for having no union

So, they can be used as an excuse for having no union

Great potential and also danger

Truly applied, codes may establish ILSs as binding international framework for responsible corporate behaviour So, union’s involvement is vitalSo, union’s involvement is vital

CSR and TUCSR could be a positive process for TU if:

- Strengthen FoA and the creation of unions- Strengthen C.B- Support organising- Not only comply with the law but it goes beyond

national legislation (socially and ethically responsible to stakeholders/local communities)

- Alliances of TU and civil society

Negotiated agreements and global labour relations

INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTSINTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS Instruments negotiated between a MNE and a Instruments negotiated between a MNE and a

Global Union Federation Global Union Federation (GUF) concerning (GUF) concerning international operations of the company;international operations of the company;

MNEs commit themselves to applying the same MNEs commit themselves to applying the same labour standards to their employees in all the labour standards to their employees in all the different countries where they operatedifferent countries where they operate

Framework AgreementsFramework AgreementsImplement Core Labour Standards;

Apply “Decent working conditions”;

Apply environmental standards;

Promote good labour practices

Major Framework AgreementsMajor Framework AgreementsIUF

- Danone (1988), Accor hotel group (1995), Nestle (1996), Del Monte (2000) and Chiquita (2001)

IFBWW- Ikea (1998), Faber-Castell (2000), Hochtief (2000)

ICEM- Statoil (1998), Freudenberg (2000)

UNI- Telefonica (2000), OTE (2001), Carrefour (2001)

Codes of conduct and FACodes of conduct and FA

Codes of Conduct International Framework Agreements

Unilateral actions Negotiations between workers and management

Not all Core Labour Standards are necessarily acknowledged

All Core Labour Standards are explicitly acknowledged

Rarely address suppliers Usually include suppliers

Monitoring, when envisaged, is under the management’s control

Unions are called to participate in the implementation process

Feeble basis for dialogue Strong basis for dialogue between unions and management

Important Aspects for FAImportant Aspects for FA

Capacity of GUFs to engage in F.A. with a large number of MNEs

Monitoring F.A.Capacity of MNEs to control subcontractors or

supply-chainsExtension of EWC versus GWC and strategic

alliances between European Trade Unions and GUFs.

Agreements between MNEs and GUFs for the implementation of monitoring of FA

Regional Economic Agreement

National Labour Relation / Tripartite

Committees

ILO Tripartite Declaration on

MNCs

International InstrumentsInternational InstrumentsInternational

National

Private Public

ILO Declaration on F.P.R.W.

Framework Agreements

Code of Conducts

Social Labelling

Labour Legislation

CFAILCs

UN Global Compact

OECD Guidelines for MNCs

Policy and Strategy for T.U.Policy and Strategy for T.U.

Set up institutional mechanisms and capacities to fully utilize all the available international instruments– Regular reporting– Complaints procedures in case of violation (case: CROATIA,

asbestos)– Multilateral approaches to problem-solving

Importance of International, Regional, and Sub-regional trade union networks/IT and communication systems

Networking / SoliComm portal http://www.solicomm.net/

PROGRAMME FOR WORKERS’ ACTIVITIES OF THE ILO TURIN

CENTRE(ACTRAV)

WWW.ITCILO.IT/ACTRAVWWW.ITCILO.IT/ACTRAV

ACTRAV-Turin