Mind the Gap

Abstract

FOCUS □ BUSINESSAND HUMANRIGHTS Mind the Gap Cases concerning G4S and Unilever demonstratethe effectivenessof the Guidelines wherethereis politicalwill KIRSTINE DREW isPolicy Advisor atTrade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD in Paris The tions Enterprises OECD on good provide Guidelines corporate a set behaviour for of recommendaMultinational thatare Enterprises providea set of recommendationson good corporate behaviour thatare endorsedand enforcedby governments. The Guidelinescover areas of disclosure,employmentand industrial relations, environment, combatingbribery , consumerinterests, scienceand technology, competition and taxation. Multinational enterpriseshead-quarteredin countries that haveadheredtotheGuidelines are expectedto complywithall the recommendations ,even iftheyare non-legally binding.For their part, theforty-two adhering governments are required tosetup National Contact Points (NCPs) to'contribute totheresolution ofissues'arising in the context of the implementation of the Guidelines. Tradeunionsand NGOs are able to submit cases concerning allegedbreachesofthe Guidelines tothesegovernment-backed NCPs. The UnitedNationsSpecialRepresentative for Business and Human Rights,Professor John Ruggie,as partof his mandateto develop and operationalise a policyframework forbusiness andhumanrights, hasidentified theNCPsas havingthe 'potential ofproviding effective remedy', buthas foundthatthemajority ofNCPsperform poorly, intheabsenceofminimum performance standards and consequencesforcompanies. TUACagreesthat theGuidelines andtheNCPs havea potentially important roletoplayas a tool foraddressing thegovernance gaps in business and humanrights. However,the experienceof 120 tradeunioncases raisedoverthe past ten yearsshowsthatthereis a need to upgradesignificantly the substanceand proceduresof the Guidelines.Thereis also a need fora seismic shift inthelevelofpolitical willofadhering governments and intheambition shownbyNCPs. In 2010 the 42 adhering governments to the Guidelinesagreedto conductan updateof the OECD Guidelines. Theterms ofreference forthe updatewereadoptedinApril2010withtheaim ofensuring that theGuidelines remain '...a leadinginternational instrument forthepromotion of responsible businessconduct'. To succeedinthis aimmeansensuring thattheGuidelines and the NCPsmeettherequirements ofthebusinessand human rights agenda.IftheGuidelines aretostay relevant, governments cannotafford tofail. Trade unionexperience ofthe Guidelines Tradeunionshave raiseda totalof 120 cases since2000 representing an averageof 12 cases peryear.Thenumber ofcasesraisedwas highest in 2004(18 cases) and lowestin 2005and 2008 (10 cases). The vast majority (93.4 percent)of trade union cases have cited Chapter IV Employment and Industrial Relations. Of these 66.7percent concerned violations ofarticle IV.1a ) 'respect theright oftheir employees tobe represented bytradeunions...'and35 percent related to article IV.6and therequirement fornotice, information andengagement withemployee representatives on changesto operations including closure.Overa quarter ofcases raisedbytrade unionsconcerned Chapter II, GeneralPolicies. The majority of cases, 68 percent, have concernedallegations ofbreachesoftheGuidelines in adheringcountries (OECD and non-OECD), with39.1 percent ofcases concerning violations in non-adhering countries. Trade unionshave submitted cases to just25 out of the42 NCPs (59.5 percent). NCPsintheUS,Braziland South Koreahavereceived thehighest number ofcases. NCPshave acceptedjustoverhalfofthe120 tradeunioncases submitted todate(51 percent). Theyhave rejected26 cases (21.5 percent)and suspended9 cases (7.4 percent). Ofthe62 cases thathave been accepted45 (72.6 percent)are closedand6 (9.7 percent) havebeenwithdrawn. Ofthe51 casesthat haveeither beenclosedor withdrawn, 31 (60.8 percent)are assessed by trade unionsinvolved inthecase tohaveresulted ina positive outcome. TheleadNCPisconsidered tohaveplayeda positive rolein27(52.9percent) ofthesecases and theGuidelines to havehad a positive impact in 26 (51 percent) ofthesecases - 21.67percent overall. In other wordsthere are 5 cases wherethe tradeunionswere able to resolvetheissueswiththecompany outsidethe Guidelines process- often as a result ofa wider campaign - even iftheGuidelines case did not producea positive outcome. Parallelproceedings (judicialproceedings that addressthesame or similar issuesat thesame time)are the mostfrequently citedreasonfor rejecting, suspending or delayingcases. Out of the120 tradeunionscases, 51 involved parallel proceedings, whichprovedto be an obstaclein 34 cases - 66.7 percentof cases thatinvolved parallel proceedings and28.3percent ofthetotal number oftradeunioncases. Buildingon Success The twocases presented below concerning G4S andUnilever demonstrate theeffectiveness ofthe Guidelines wherethereis political will.It is no coincidence, however, thatbothinvolvetheUK NCP,whichis widelyregarded as thebestperforming NCP. The UK NCP demonstrates the 'potential',identified by ProfessorRuggie,of NCPstobridge governance gapsinbusinessand humanrights. Thisis thesuccesson whichthe updatehastobuild. LearningfromFailure Suchsuccessesare,however, theexception, not the rule.Over the past tenyearsa numberof INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 6Volume 17Issue 22010 Improving living andworking conditions: UNI vG4S InDecember 2006, the Global Union Federation (GUF) Union Network International (UNI) raised a casewith the UK NCP alleging that Group 4Securicor (G4S) operating inseveral countries had failed topay wages, refused to recognise unions, andinMalawi waspaying half rates for overtime. Thecomplaints concerning Mozambique, Malawi, Nepal andthe Democratic Republic ofCongo were successfully resolved bytheUKNCPusing an external mediator and resulted in the signing of a Global Framework Agreement by UNI andG4S. Securing the right ofworkers toorganise: lUFv UNILEVER InMarch 2009, the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and...