1. Overview of International Instruments for the Protection and Promotion of Workers’ Rights in a Globalised Economy GLOBALISATION OF RIGHTS

2. International Opportunities for TU (1)
UNITED NATIONS (
Global Compact (CSR)
ILO (
Conventions/Recommendations
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998) and Follow Up
ILO Tripartite Declaration on MNEs and Follow-up (CSR)

3. 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

4. What is the UN Global Compact?
Birth: World Economic Forum, 1999
UN 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
NCP itself existed even before the 2000 revision. However, there were only a few existed. The review reaffirmed the governments’ commitment to establish, activate and effectuate NCPs.
NCP must be : Visible, Accessible, Transparent, and Accountable (four basic criteria)
NCPs should inform inwards and outwards investors of the Guidelines!!!
NGO - in most NCPs, NGOs are still outside of the formal framework
Case on Marks and Spencer : ---- Talks began between French and UK NCPs
Still, there are large gaps among the NCPs in terms of the fulfilment of the four basic criteria!!!

5. UN 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.

6. UN Global Compact - Labour - Environment Corruption
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
NCP itself existed even before the 2000 revision. However, there were only a few existed. The review reaffirmed the governments’ commitment to establish, activate and effectuate NCPs.
NCP must be : Visible, Accessible, Transparent, and Accountable (four basic criteria)
NCPs should inform inwards and outwards investors of the Guidelines!!!
NGO - in most NCPs, NGOs are still outside of the formal framework
Case on Marks and Spencer : ---- Talks began between French and UK NCPs
Still, there are large gaps among the NCPs in terms of the fulfilment of the four basic criteria!!!

7. Nature of the Global Compact
Initiative 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.

8. UN Global Compact Role of trade unions:
Check the reports of the MNEs sent to the Global Compact and use it for their local/global trade union work

9. 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

10. 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

11. ILO Conventions: Supervisory 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
ILO Declaration
Annual Review on Non-ratified Core Standards
General Survey +

12. 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

13. 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)

14. ILO Tripartite Declaration on Principles concerning 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
- Only set of guidelines of its kind globally agreed by business, labour and governments
Objectives: 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

15. ILO MNE Declaration : Follow-up
Periodic surveys on the effect given to the principles of the Declaration (every 4 years, 8 surveys so far)
Receivability
To date, only 5 cases were decided by GB
Pure reports of wrongdoings of MNEs are outside the scope of the Procedure

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. OECD 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 MNE Guidelines was originally adopted as part of the Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises
Aims to encourage the positive contributions that multinational enterprises can make to economic, environmental and social progress and to minimise the difficulties to which their various operations may give rise.
It is “the consensus of the member governments of the OECD as to what constitutes responsible behaviour of international business.

19. OECD Guidelines : content
The Guidelines consist of ten chapters covering most aspects of company behaviour:
Concepts and Principles,
General Policies,
Disclosure,
Employment and Industrial Relations (FoA, CB),
Environment (OSH),
Combating Bribery,
Consumer Interests,
Science and Technology,
Competition and (10) Taxation.

20. 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.

21. OECD Guidelines : application
The Guidelines apply to MNEs operating in or from:
the 30 OECD member countries, plus currently nine non-OECD members: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.
Guidelines also apply to these companies’ operations worldwide.

22. Role of TU Check OECD Annual Report on Guidelines
When a company breaches the Guidelines, TU can raise this case with the NCP
Consult TUAC; it works closely with ICFTU, WCL, ETUC and GUFs. (

23. Code 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

24. New Code of Conduct Four Major Characteristics
Purely private, voluntary initiative (PVI)
Response to the situation of poor labour standards created by the failure of national governments;
international application
Cross-cutting application to suppliers and subcontractors
New Code of Conducts are:
Responses to negative publicity generated by reports of dangerous working conditions, inhumane working hours, starvation wages, brutality and the widespread use of child labour.

25. 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)

26. Number 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

27. Why New Codes are important for Trade Unions?
New Codes are on “labour practice”
Great potential and also danger
Most companies adopt COC without involving trade unions
So, they can be used as an excuse for having no union
Distinction between Unilaterally adopted codes and Negotiated codes
Therefore, workers’ organizations have to know pros and cons of the new codes. For maximum utilization of the new instruments, trade unions should understand their background, role, limitations, advantages and main features.
Truly applied, codes may establish ILSs as binding international framework for responsible corporate behaviour
So, union’s involvement is vital

28. CSR and TU CSR 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

29. Negotiated agreements and global labour relations
INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS
Instruments negotiated between a MNE and a Global Union Federation (GUF) concerning international operations of the company;
MNEs commit themselves to applying the same labour standards to their employees in all the different countries where they operate

30. Framework Agreements Implement Core Labour Standards;
Apply “Decent working conditions”;
Apply environmental standards;
Promote good labour practices

31. Major Framework Agreements
IUF - 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)

32. Codes 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

33. Important 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-chains
Extension 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

34. International Instruments
Framework Agreements
ILCs
ILO Tripartite Declaration on MNCs
UN Global Compact
CFA
ILO Declaration on F.P.R.W.
OECD Guidelines for MNCs
Code of Conducts
Social Labelling
Regional Economic Agreement
Private
Public
National Labour Relation / Tripartite Committees
Labour Legislation
National

35. 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

36. PROGRAMME FOR WORKERS’ ACTIVITIES OF THE ILO TURIN CENTRE (ACTRAV) WWW
PROGRAMME FOR WORKERS’ ACTIVITIES OF THE ILO TURIN CENTRE (ACTRAV)
ACTRAV-Turin