FOCUS □ BUSINESS AND HUMANRIGHTS 'Ruggieď individualism: you're on your own Don'tworry, we're tamingthe transnational JEFF BALLINGER isawriter and researcher on labour rights and globalisation The because meticulously logicis conscientious seductively monitors simple: consumers its supply a global -informed brand chain meticulouslymonitorsits supply chain becauseconscientious consumers -informed bythelatest technologies - willpunishitat the retail levelfor anytransgression. Rather, according to Jeffrey Swartz, the CEO of Timberland, consumers don'tcareat all aboutworkers' rights in the factories producingfor the footwearand apparelcompany: "With regard tohumanrights, theconsumer expectation todayissomewhere intheneighbourhood of, 'don'tdo anything horrible or despicable'... iftheissuedoesn't matter muchto theconsumer population, there's nota big incentive fortheconsumer-minded CEOstoact, proactively" . In a 2008interview he musedabouthisdesireto "seduceconsumers to care"so thathisCorporate SocialResponsibility (CSR) report was notmere "corporate cologne". The'dirty little secret' ofCSR is thatnobodyreadsthesereports; one of Sun Microsystems' teamlamented thefact that only247 outof38,000fellow-employees evenbothered to downloadits2007CSRreport. The cases ofNike (1996-2000)and the hand-stitched soccer ball industry (1996-98)areoutliers (see below). Reviewing thepastdecadeof'responsible business 'strategies oftheUnited Nations from a trade unionperspective requires a brief, broadlook at thedevelopment ofCSRas practiced bytransnational corporations sincetheearly 1990s.Sincethe earliest 'code ofconduct' requirements forsupplierfactories (i.e.,Levi's, Reebok,NikeandMattel), labour rights havedeclined nearly tothevanishing pointin production-for-export areas aroundthe world.Flexibilisation through contract-work has reached epidemic proportions; millions ofworkers arefinding workinforeign countries insituations akintobondedlabour;factory managers skipping out on severancepayments is becomingmore commonplace - inshort, workis becoming more andmoreprecarious with eachpassing year, even as corporations tweaktheir'codes' and trumpet new breakthroughs in 'freeassociation' rights in theirsupplychains.Parasitic 'social auditors' someoperating inan ostensible 'non-profit' mode - post thousandsof factory reports each year whileworkers continue tostrike andcorrupt governmentsjail and harass independentunion activists. Leavingaside the questionof 'why' former Secretary-General, KofiAnan,feltthe need to undertake a CSR programme, the 'what'can be characterised as ephemeral ornearly non-existent. Corporations join the UN's Global Compact (UNGC),paya feeand agreeto somevagueand unenforceable principles. The only'stick' is a risk ofde-listing - it'shappenedtomaybe1,000companies out of nearly10,000thathave joinedbecausethosefirms quitreporting (on thatcompany 'sownself-regulation regime), orquitpaying thefees,orboth. Launchedin early1999by Anan'sCSR pointman ,Prof. JohnGerard Ruggie, theUNGCdrew early criticism for'bluewash' but,bythis relatively latedateinthedevelopment ofcorporate self-regulationschemes , suchprojects had gainedwide acceptance byelitecommentators; injudicious participation bymanyNGOs,foundations and even tradeunionshadsignificantly moderated thestigma usuallyattached to discussions withcorporationsthat werenotnarrowly connected withcollective bargainingor specificrepresentational questions. Asa result, thefewcritics weremarginalisedand self-regulation rolledalongas ethical supply-chain management despitecontrary evidence from workplaces acrossthe globe.More thana bitdefensive, Ruggie tookaimatthoseof us whoraisedobjections: "If youwanttomake globalisation work for everyone, as wedo,then itisworthwhile. Butif youreject globalisation, globalcorporations, or eventhesystem ofcapitalism itself, then you won't likewhatwe're doingatall - anymore thanyour predecessors liked social Keynesianism orsocialdemocracy because suchpragmatic innovations inevitably reduce thesocialrationale andpolitical support for more polarised rejectionist postures". [To me, 'rejectionist' is not so pejorative and shouldnotprecludediscussions betweenthose who critique themonitoring modelandtheproponentsof corporateself-regulation. After all, mostcorporations claimto be 'uncompromising' aboutquality- can'tlabourrights campaigners resist compromise on basicrights suchas collectivebargaining ?] Within a fewyears, theGlobalCompact's annual meeting was a regular stopforCSRpractitioners ,whichis to sayitbecameone ofthedozen orso globalvenuesforinternational bureaucrats, politicians and corporate CEOs. Atthesemeetings , theparticipants (usually onlythose'invited') would hive offintoworking groupsto discuss 'continuous improvement', 'silo-wide' opportunities ,blendedvalue or topicssuchas 'The New Metrics'. By2005,Ruggie hadacquired thetitle of 'Special Representative of the UN SecretaryGeneralon Businessand HumanRights' (SRSG) andhe left theUNGCtoa lieutenant, GeorgKell, while embarking on a grand quest to write humanrights rulesforglobalbusiness.Harvard University granted hima special 'centre'at the KennedySchool of Government whichis wellINTERNATIONAL union rights Page 10Volume 17Issue 22010 FOCUS Li BUSINESSAND HUMANRIGHTS funded andstaffed with thelikesofSimonZadek who authored a Harvard BusinessReviewarticle withhighpraiseforNike'sworker-friendly supplierfactories . In 2008theSRSGlaidouta hierarchy ofproblematic industries, putting mining andoil/gas companiesatthetop ,withallothers fardownthelist - with foodanddrink a 'distant second'(hischaracterisation ). Whiletheextractive industries area popular target -with a ready list ofspectacular and graphic abuses- thefootwear/apparel/textile sectoris arguably moreresponsible fortheparlous state ofhuman rights intheworldtoday. Myreasoning - in businessschool terminology - is 'opportunity cost'.How diddeep démocratisation andKeynesian reforms gettraction inthemiddle decades of the20thcentury? Tradeunionsand massesoffed-up workers propelled thedrivefor economicjusticewithresponsive governance consumer regulations, healthand safety inspectionsand the like. Later, in the 1980s,defiant worker movements inPoland,Brazil, SouthKorea andSouth Africa pushedautocrats from power. 'Sweatshops', wrote MarcMiller inhisbiography ofYiddish writer Morris Rosenfeld, 'werea catalyst forchange'. After twodecadesdocumenting how...