International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department TRIPARTITE DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES CONCERNING MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND SOCIAL POLICY

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department What is the MNE Declaration? Only set of guidelines of its kind globally agreed by business, labour and governments Minimum benchmarks on good investment policy and practice for private and public sectors Inspired by principles underlying ILO conventions and recommendations Applies universally regardless of ratification, not legally binding

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department What does the MNE Declaration address?  How MNE contributions to foreign direct investment can help achieve decent work  Decent work involves four aims: promoting employment and incomes realizing fundamental principles and rights at work enhancing social protection and social security strengthening social dialogue

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department How does the MNE Declaration address FDI and decent work? Background and aim General policies Employment Training Conditions of work and life Industrial relations

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department BACKGROUND AND AIM Universal commitments of four parties multinational enterprises (MNEs) workers’ organizations employers’ organizations governments Two main aims To encourage the positive contribution which MNEs can make to economic and social progress, and To minimise and resolve difficulties to which their operations can give rise

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department GENERAL POLICIES All four concerned parties should:  obey national laws  respect international standards - United Nations human rights instruments - fundamental principles and rights at work  support development priorities

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department EMPLOYMENT The four parties assume respective roles to:  Promote productive employment in MNEs, directly and in linkages  Pursue equality of opportunity and treatment  Enhance employment security in set-up and changes of MNE operations

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department LINKAGES TO PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  MNEs encouraged to promote employment through supplier and subcontractor relationships  Contractual arrangements should not be used to avoid the responsibilities embodied in the principles of the Declaration

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department TRAINING Cooperation among the four parties helps to:  Develop national policies for vocational training  Ensure training that meets needs of enterprise and host country  Encourage skills development and vocational guidance linked to employment

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department CONDITIONS OF WORK & LIFE The four parties assume their roles to:  Offer wages, benefits and conditions of work in MNEs as favourable as those of comparable employers -in developing countries with no comparable employers, provide best possible wages in MNE operations  Where appropriate, secure for workers basic amenities of a good standard  Help abolish child labour by respecting minimum age for employment  Ensure highest standards of safety and health

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS The four parties assume their respective roles to:  observe standards of industrial relations in MNEs as favourable as those of comparable employers  respect freedom of association and the right to organize  effectively recognize and facilitate collective bargaining  provide systems for consultations on matters of mutual concern - not a substitute for collective bargaining  set up processes to examine individual and joint grievances  establish voluntary conciliation machinery to prevent and settle disputes - with workers and employers equally represented

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department 1998 ILO STUDY: 215 AVAILABLE CODES OF CONDUCT Choice of issues: a.Health and safety (75%) b.Employment discrimination (66%) c.Child labour (50%) d.Wage levels (40%) e.Forced labour (25%) f.Freedom of association (15%)

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department 1998 ILO STUDY: 215 AVAILABLE CODES OF CONDUCT Definition of benchmarks

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department MNE DECLARATION Only set of global guidelines of its kind followed up by business, labour and governments Follow-up conducted in consultation with ILO Governing Body and International Labour Office

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department TOOLS TO REACH BENCHMARKS: INFORMATION REPORTING AND FOLLOW- UP SURVEYS Questionnaire agreed by business, labour and governments  Questionnaire sent to constituents in all ILO member states  Consultations among business, labour and governments at national level  Separate or tripartite responses provided to the ILO  Summaries of replies and analysis negotiated by business, labour and government representatives  Recommendations for further action adopted by the Governing Body

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department MNE DECLARATION FOLLOW-UP INTERPRETATIONS  under a Procedure approved by the Governing Body, interpretations can be requested in concrete disputes  a request for interpretation must meet certain procedural criteria to be accepted, or « received » for subsequent review on the merits  Process of review: requests are processed by the Office, then examined by the ILO Governing Body  To date, interpretations of the MNE Declaration have been given in four cases  Interpretations confront common concerns in diverse contexts, for example: Access by workers’ organizations to MNE representatives authorized to make decisions Timing of notice to governments and workers’ organizations before MNE change of operations that would significantly affect employment.

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department TOOLS TO REACH BENCHMARKS: INFORMATION RESEARCH AND STUDIES  Highlight and learn from successes and difficulties in integrating FDI and decent work in policy and practice  Consultation and cooperation with business, labour and governments  Thematic, sectoral, and analytic studies by country, region and at a global level  Showcase tools to manage and report on social and labour effects of MNE/FDI activities  Link research findings to promotional activities and advisory services

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department TOOLS TO REACH BENCHMARKS: DIALOGUE PROMOTIONAL & ADVISORY ACTIVITIES  Promote use of the Declaration as a tool for good investment practice in roundtables, seminars, conferences and workshops upon request and in cooperation with government, business and labour  Encourage synergies in applying the Declaration in countries/regions Negotiate social understandings with government, business and labour Facilitate mechanisms for tripartite consultations on FDI, decent work, and employment Provide advice on laws, policies, and partnerships that integrate FDI and decent work

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department MNE DECLARATION FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION & LIAISON SERVICES  Communicating up-to-date developments on MNE-related trends databases searchable by country and topic  Advocating the Declaration’s integrated approach to FDI and decent work in international policy making in human rights, investment, and development fora liaison with UN System, World Bank, OECD, EU, OAU, and others

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department The Global Compact Shared Values for the Global Market Promoting Responsible Global Citizenship

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department Nine Principles Human Rights Labour Environment 1. Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights. 2. Make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses. 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. 7. 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.

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department Core Elements Advocacy and Promotion Policy Dialogues Learning and Communication

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department Multinational enterprises Business Associations International Business of Commerce International Organisation of Employers World Business Council for Sustainable Development Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum Business for Social Responsibility Global, sectoral and national associationsLabour ICFTU Civil Society Organisations International human rights and environmental organizations

International Labour Office Multinational Enterprises Department STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING BENCHMARKS:  Acceptance of a globally-agreed floor MNE Declaration of ILO OECD Guidelines on MNEs UN Global Compact  Complementarity of action rather than competition  Participatory implementation of policy and practice to reach benchmarks  Transparency in evaluation and reporting to enhance comparability

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