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International Instruments for the Protection and Promotion of Workers’ Rights in a Globalized Economy
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Points for Discussions rSummary of international instruments available for trade unions and their campaigns for core labour standards and workers’ rights; rFocus on multinational enterprises as a focal point for trade union campaigns rLocal/International actions
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International Opportunities for TU UN UN Declration on Human Rights, Internatonal Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights, the UN GLOBAL compact ILO Conventions/recommendations Supervisory mechanism FoA ILO Declaration on Fundamental Workers Rights ILO Tripartite Declaration on MNEs and Follow-up OECD Guidelines on MNEs TUAC IMF/WB SAP’s and PRSP WTO G8 and regional / bilateral /unilateral initiatives Consultations with labour unions and labour rights clauses CSR and private voluntary initiatives Codes of conduct Negotiated instruments Framework agreements
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UN Global Compact (1) rShared value for the global market, promoting global citizenship r10 Principles –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.
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UN Global Compact (2) - 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. - Environment 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. -Corruption 10. Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery
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UN Global Compact (3) Role of trade Unions: rCheck the reports of the MNEs sent to the Global Compact and use it for their local/global trade union work
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ILO and the INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CODE rConventoions rRecommendations rDeclarations
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ILO Conventions: Supervisory Mechanism rFor Ratified Conventions –Article 22 Report - Review by CEACR –Article 24 : Representation –Article 26 : Complaint rFor Non-Ratified Conventions –Article 19(5-e) Report rFor Freedom of Association matters –Special procedure through Committee on Freedom of Association Annual Review on Non-ratified Core Standards General Survey ILO Declaration +
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ILO Declaration on Fondamental Principles and Rights at Work rCore labour standards: -FoA and C.B. -Discrimination -Forced labour -Child labour
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ILO Tripartite Declaration on Principles concerning MNEs rAdopted in 1977 by GB (amended in 2000) as a voluntary instrument to: –Regulate conduct of MNEs –Define the terms of MNEs relations with host countries, esp. in labour-related and social issues rAims for: –Enhancing the positive social and labour effects of the operations of MNEs
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ILO MNE Declaration : Follow-up rA Procedure adopted by GB in 1980 (revised in 1986) as promotional tool to: –provide for the submission of requests for interpretation in cases of dispute on the meaning/application of its provisions rSurvey –The effect given to the principles of the Declaration is “monitored” through a periodic survey
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ILO and the role of T.U. rNational legislation ; defending workers by ratifying ILO conventions rMonitoring; role of TU in the ILO supervisory mechanism rUse ILO instruments for shaping agreements at various level.
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OECD Guidelines for MNEs rAdopted in 1976, and reviewed in 2000 rGuidelines, major features: –Recommendations addressed by governments to MNEs, not legally binding –comprehensive set of rules, multilaterally endorsed, that governments are committed to promoting and recommend to MNEs –Voluntary principles and standards for responsible business conduct rMajor components: NCP, CIME (Committee on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises), and TUAC/BIAC
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OECD Guidelines : 2000 Review rExpanded Coverage –All core labour standards, environment performance, human rights, corruption and consumer interests –Global application, not just in OECD countries rStrengthened National Contact Point (NCPs) –handle enquiries, assist in solving problems, and report and meet annually on national experiences –promote Guidelines for effective implementation
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OECD Guidelines : content rThe 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, 5.Environment, 6.Combating Bribery, 7.Consumer Interests, 8.Science and Technology, 9.Competition and (10) Taxation.
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OECD Guidelines : application rThe 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.
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Role of TU rOECD guidelines as a basis of codes of conduct rUse of the NCP to support national trade union actions r Consult TUAC; it has 56 affiliates in the OECD member countries and represents about 66 million workers. It works closely with the other international trade union organizations. (http://www.tuac.org)
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IMF/WB Introducing Core Labour Standards in: rSAPs / PRSP rRegional agreements
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CSR and private voluntary initiatives rInitiatives undertaken by management rCSR is related to the process of globalising production (EPZ) rImportance of the image of the company/fragility of markets
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Development of Private Voluntary Initiatives (PVI) As response of global community to the growing power of MNEs rAlternative Trade Organizations rSocial Labelling (SL) rCodes of Conduct rNew Codes of Conduct (New COC) rFramework Agreements (FA) 1970s 1990s
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Code of Conduct rUnilateral declaration, mainly for social appeal rCode of conduct for business –consumer rights, product safety or environmental protection –ethical behaviour codes for employees rInternational instruments to monitor the social responsibility of business –ILO MNE Declaration –OECD Guidelines for MNEs –attempt by UN to set a global code Note: These are not VPIs!
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New Code of Conduct Four Major Characteristics rPurely private, voluntary initiative (PVI) rResponse to the situation of poor labour standards created by the failure of national governments; rinternational application rCross-cutting application to suppliers and subcontractors
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Definition 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)
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Number of New Codes r246 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
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Why New Codes are important for 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 Great potential and also danger Truly applied, codes may establish ILSs as binding international framework for responsible corporate behaviour So, union’s involvement is vital
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CSR and TU rCSR 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
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Negotiated agreements and global labour relations rFramework agreements negotiated between: Global union Federations (GUFs) and MNEs
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Framework Agreements “An agreement negotiated between an MNE and an international trade union organization (such a GUFs) concerning the international activities (or behaviour)of the company” Main purpose of framework agreements is to establish an ongoing relationship between the MNE and the GUFs to frame “principles” of industrial relations and good labour practices
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Framework Agreements (2) rImplement Core Labour Standards; rApply “Decent working conditions”; rApply environmental standards;
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Major Framework Agreements rIUF - Danone (1988), Accor hotel group (1995), Nestle (1996), Del Monte (2000) and Chiquita (2001) rIFBWW - Ikea (1998), Faber-Castell (2000), Hochtief (2000) rICEM - Statoil (1998), Freudenberg (2000) rUNI - Telefonica (2000), OTE (2001), Carrefour (2001)
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Codes of conduct and FA Codes of ConductInternational Framework Agreements Unilateral actionsNegotiations between workers and management Not all Core Labour Standards are necessarily acknowledged All Core Labour Standards are explicitly acknowledged Rarely address suppliersUsually include suppliers Monitoring, when envisaged, is under the management’s control Unions are called to participate in the implementation process Feeble basis for dialogueStrong basis for dialogue between unions and management
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Important Aspects for FA rCapacity of GUFs to engage in F.A. with a large number of MNEs rMonitoring F.A. rCapacity of MNEs to control subcontractors or supply-chains rExtension of EWC versus GWC and strategic alliances between European Trade Unions and GUFs. rAgreements between MNEs and GUFs for the implementation of monitoring of FA
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Regional Economic Agreement National Labour Relation / Tripartite Committees ILO Tripartite Declaration on MNCs International Instruments International National Private Public ILO Declaration on F.P.R.W. Framework Agreements Code of Conducts Social Labelling Labour Legislation CFA ILCs UN Global Compact OECD Guidelines for MNCs
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Policy and Strategy for T.U. rSet up institutional mechanisms and capacities to fully utilize all the available international instruments –Regular reporting –Complaints procedures in case of violation –Multilateral approaches to problem-solving rImportance of International, Regional, and Sub-regional trade union networks/IT and communication systems rNetworking / SoliComm portal http://www.solicomm.net/
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WWW.ITCILO.IT/ACTRAV PROGRAMME FOR WORKERS’ ACTIVITIES OF THE ILO TURIN CENTRE (ACTRAV) WWW.ITCILO.IT/ACTRAV ACTRAV-Turin
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