(EU) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR)? - FDCL

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76 European automobile producers in MERCOSUR, like Volkswagen do Brazil, traditionally produce, to a large extent, for the domestic market. As a result of the weak Brazilian economy in 2002 and 2003 and given the importance of the Brazilian production and sales for the consolidated accounts of the Volkswagen AG globally, the Brazilian subsidiary Volkswagen do Brazil has been responsible for a major share of Volkswagen’s overall losses in 2002-2003. 203 VW do Brazil has an annual production capacity of 740,000 vehicles, but currently [2003], due to the “weakness in demand”, only 473,000 vehicles are being produced. 204 In times of such “weaknesses in demand” transnational corporations like Volkswagen, which like to praise their “social responsibility” towards their employees in a publicity-effective manner, don’t take labor law too seriously, as the 2003 corporate strategy to confront these losses shows: Cost-management through layoffs. And in doing so the Wolfsburg headquarters has not been squeamish and with only shareholder value in mind is ready to pass over labor laws as well as over their own otherwise publicly effective, marketed, both internally as well as globally valid codes of conduct. Volkswagen planned to reduce personnel in the plants in the federal states of São Paulo, Tabaute and Anchieta by 4000 employees. Anchieta is the oldest Volkswagen plant in Brazil and at the same time the largest Volkswagen entity abroad. In order to reach this goal, without violating the job security agreement between the union and the corporation which is valid until 2006, the 4000 employees are to be transferred to a Volkswagen employment and training firm –in response the VW-employees were up in arms and announced strikes. Volkswagen CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder felt he was in the position to pass over all valid Brazilian labor legislation, and to threaten all strikers with layoffs, 205 a statement which was explicitly confirmed by the Volkswagen spokesman. 206 This in turn induced the Brazilian Labor courts 207 to consider taking legal action against the VW-board of directors. 208 Whether the right to strike is a fundamental right, however, is being disputed. The right to strike is not explicitly mentioned in the ILO Conventions No. 87 “on freedom of association and the protection of the right to organize” of 1948 and No. 98 “concerning the application of the principles of the right to organize and to bargain collectively.” But the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) considers the 203 Apart from the “weakness in turnover” the resulting “costs of restructuring for the Brazilian-bussiness” are adduced. http://www.ftd.de/ub/in/1067066343667.html?nv=sl. 204 http://www.n-tv.de/3173891.html. 205 http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/economia/story/2003/09/030923_volksvale.shtml. 206 http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/economia/story/2003/09/030923_volksvale.shtml. 207 “Procuradora-Geral do Trabalho.” 208 http://www.estado.com.br/editorias/2003/09/26/eco043.html.
ight to strike to be an inseparable part of the principle of freedom of association. According to employers’ associations and some governments the exclusion from the ILO Conventions permits the opposite conclusion. 209 The “Global Compact” initiated by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the beginning of 1999 defines, in the third of its nine principles, the freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain. 210 The right to strike again finds no explicit mentioning here, instead the formulation leaves room for interpretation: “These freedoms also allow for industrial action to be taken by workers (and organizations) in defense of their economic and social interests.” 211 Volkswagen has not only signed this Global Compact of corporate responsibility, and thereby recognizes the right of “industrial action to be taken by workers (and organizations) in defense of their economic and social interests,” 212 but also had effective publicity on June 6th of 2002 in Bratislava, by declaring that Volkswagen was the first automobile corporation to lay down a code of conduct on social rights and industrial relations. According to IG-Metall (German Metal Workers Union) president, Klaus Zwickel, Volkswagen with this social charta is “rendering pioneer’s work” and giving the right answer to globalization.” 213 In this intra-company “Declaration on the social rights and the industrial relations within Volkswagen” 214 the following is said in § 1 Basic Objectives, on the freedom of association in 1.1: “The fundamental right of all workers to form unions and workers’ representations and to become a member of them is recognized. Volkswagen and the unions or workers’ representations work openly together in the spirit of a constructive and cooperative management of conflicts” 215 209 See: Sauter, Hermann: Sozialstandards im Globalisierungsprozess. Inhalt und Durchsetzungsmöglichkeiten, Enquete-Kommission “Globalisierung der Weltwirtschaft. Herausfordeungen und Antworten”, AU Stud 14/10, Deutscher Bundestag, p. 5. 210 “Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.” 211 http://www.unglobalcompact.org/content/AboutTheGC/TheNinePrinciples/prin3.htm. 212 http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Portal/Default.asp. 213 http://www.igmetall.de/pressedienst/2002/074.html. 214 http://www.labournet.de/branchen/auto/vw/allg/sozialcharta.pdf. 215 Own translation of the following original text: “Das Grundrecht aller Arbeitnehmer/-innen, Gewerkschaften und Arbeitnehmervertretungen zu bilden und ihnen beizutreten wird anerkannt. Volkswagen und die Gewerkschaften bzw. die Arbeitnehmervertretungen arbeiten offen und im Geiste einer konstruktiven, kooperativen Konfliktbewältigung zusammen.” Taken from: http://www.labournet.de/branchen/auto/vw/allg/sozialcharta.pdf. 77
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Christian Russau Enforcement of int
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Preface Since the end of 1999 the C
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If the “Interregional Association
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10 1.1 Negotiations of the “Inter
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12 A similar agreement of the so-ca
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14 tute in the eyes of many countri
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16 amaraty, where the FTAA-negotiat
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18 free trade agreement between the
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(EU) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR)? - FDCL

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