Monitoring International Labor Standards Summary of Domestic Forums (2003) / Chapter Skim
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3 Trade Unions
3 Trade Unions
Pages 12-27
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From page 12... ...
; Barbara Shailor, the AFL-CIO; Richard Clayton, Service Employees International Union; Peter Chapman, Shareholder Association for Research and Education; and Katie Quan, the Center for Labor Research and Education, Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California, Berkeley. INTERNATIONALTEXTILE,GARMENT AND LEATHER WORKERS' FEDERATION Neil Kearney, presenter The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF)
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From page 13... ...
and owe allegiance to no country, the failure of governments to enforce their own labor legislation for fear of driving away foreign investment, and the apathy of consumers in the West who simply don't care under what conditions a product is made. Labor rights abuses are occurring in a context of more than 180 International Labour Organization (ILO)
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From page 14... ...
But the best way to enforce compliance with ILS is to empower workers by building up independent trade unions and encouraging collective bargaining; ensuring that freedom of association is a reality and not just on paper would go a long way toward eliminating violations of ILS. Workers and unions should also be actively involved in the monitoring and auditing process because they are the ones closest to the problems.
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From page 15... ...
Although the international policy of the CWA still remains focused on assisting the development of free trade unions, it is now also concerned with the establishment and enforcement of ILS; the two missions are tightly linked and mutually supportive. The CWA is well aware that monitoring compliance with ILS is a very complex issue, but it strongly urges that this complexity not result in inaction or in watering down the goals of the National Academies project.
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From page 16... ...
TRADE UNION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE OECD Roland Schneider, presenter The Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) was founded in 1948 and is an international trade union organization of 56 national trade unions
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From page 17... ...
Neither is it a way to impose global wages and working conditions. The argument put forth by opponents of ILS that they will hinder economic growth is simply wrong; they will, in fact, enhance economic growth by facilitating democratic workplace procedures and by preventing developing countries from becoming victims of a race to the bottom brought on by the never-ending quest of MNCs for lower labor costs.
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From page 18... ...
In addition, it called on private and public pension funds to state explicitly their ethical criteria in judging investment options. With respect to corporate codes of conduct, a recent European Union Green Paper noted that such codes are not adequate substitutes for binding national laws and regulations covering employment; because corporate codes gravitate to the lowest common denominator, they should be viewed as complements to the administration and enforcement capabilities of governments.
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From page 19... ...
Lastly, the review process at the National Contact Point has been strengthened; what is important here is that the enforcement of the Guidelines relies on the threat of public disclosure, and the accompanying bad publicity, to alter company behavior. A comprehensive and reputable database could be used by concerned parties to pressure companies with operations in countries where core labor rights are being violated.
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From page 20... ...
Ms. Shailor argued that the intellectual debate has been won and, in the near future, the notion of tying respect for basic labor rights to trade agreements, and ensuring their enforcement, will be generally accepted.
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From page 21... ...
Mr. Clayton stated that the SEIU has been very successful in the United States in pressuring companies, through its work with pension fund administrators, to adopt labor policies that protect fundamental workers' rights.
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From page 22... ...
Because of the large number of workers involved in the informal economy, failing to measure the informal economy can give a distorted view of a country's record in abiding by international labor standards. Another point of interest is that the CalPERS system is dynamic: A country that improves its labor rights compliance sufficiently can move from the impermissible to the permissible category.
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From page 23... ...
Although financial fraud lay behind most recent corporate revelations, companies might also have hidden liabilities with respect to the labor standards under which foreign workers are producing their products. Investors should be just as concerned about the labor rights records of companies as they are about financial misdeeds; the reason is that a firm's reputation, and thus its stock price, can be severely damaged by consumer boycotts and worker lawsuits in response to working conditions that violate ILS.
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From page 24... ...
have, either directly or indirectly, adopted the ILO standards as the appropriate measure of labor rights. Shareholder groups prefer that independent auditors be used for monitoring and that this involve local religious and human rights groups and trade unions, as well as international NGOs.
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From page 25... ...
apparel industry have a long history, and to this day there are grave problems with late payments, failure to pay the minimum wage, and intentional miscalculations of overtime hours. As can well be imagined, the problem is even worse in foreign factories in Asia and Latin America where there is a shortage of independent and technically competent monitoring and adequate enforcement institutions and mechanisms.
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From page 26... ...
Although the definition of forced labor would seem to be straightforward' many of the workshop's participants argued that the traditional interpretation should be substantially widened to include the following situations: excessive coerced overtime, low wages, and lack of vacation and sick leave are the norm; access to bathrooms and restroom facilities is restricted; employers maintain possession of workers' passports and other critical documents; and employees are forced to pay recruitment fees to brokers. Questions also arose about the definitions of freedom of association and collective bargaining and whether these are situation-specific.
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From page 27... ...
How can we determine the presence or absence of freedom of association and collective bargaining in cases where the demarcation lines between management and so-called worker representation are not obvious? One way to judge is to look at the content of the agreements and determine whether the agreements are available and agreeable to workers.
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