CROSS-BORDER SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND AGREEMENTS: An ...

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Cross-border social dialogue and agreements IFAs and codes of conduct The distinction between codes of conduct and IFAs is sometimes ignored or blurred. For example, a list of IFAs established by the Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung, in 2002, is called the “List of Codes of Conduct/Framework Agreements”, as if they were interchangeable. A footnote says: “Some GUFs call the agreements ‘Framework Agreements’, not Code of Conduct, because there had been only a few principles fixed in the first agreement which often have been extended by additional agreements. For instance in the case of Danone the first agreement of 1988 has meanwhile been developed by six other agreements”. This is, of course, not true. Neither the IUF nor anyone else ever called the Danone agreement a code of conduct, nor did anyone ever suggest that a code was in any sense stronger than a framework agreement. A similar list, by SASK, the Finnish trade union development agency, in 2005, is also headed Codes of Conduct/Framework Agreements, with a similar footnote. A positive article about IFAs in the IMF journal Metal World (Nilsson, 2002) introduces the subject by referring to IFAs “or Codes of Conduct, as they were formerly called” and goes on to say that IFAs were called codes of conduct “before that expression was compromised”. The article later correctly points out some of the fundamental differences between codes and IFAs, but the fact is that IFAs were never called codes and that the concept of codes was compromised from the beginning as a management-driven public relations exercise. The ICFTU and some GUFs have developed “model codes of conduct” as potential stepping stones to IFAs or for lack of a better alternative. But some analysts have pointed out with reason, that: 32 With this voluntary initiative by management to implement social policy rules as business principles, weak unions and workers’ representatives will tend to have little say in taking this further to a framework agreement that commits both management and unions. There is reason to consider this a barrier to adopting global agreements that commit both management and unions, and thus a hinder for trade union recognition (Tørres and Gunnes, 2003, p. 45). On the subject, these authors also note: Codes of conduct covering issues of social responsibility are becoming more frequent. However, the extent to which this is facilitating improved communications and dialogue between employees and management is more doubtful. … There is … a danger that codes are seen as something
International framework agreements: A reassessment – Dan Gallin more than they really are, and used to deflect criticism and reduce the demand for negotiations or external regulation. … In some cases, codes have led to a worsening of the situation for those whom they purport to benefit (Tørres and Gunnes, 2003, p. 443). Most trade unionists, analysts and researchers make a clear distinction between IFAs and codes of conduct. The ICFTU notes that … the content of a framework agreement is often similar to the language found in some of the codes of conduct that companies have adopted for their suppliers and which cover some, or all, of the fundamental rights at work. However, that does not mean that a framework agreement is the same thing as a code of conduct. It is not. There is a fundamental difference between a code of labour practice, which is a unilateral management pledge, mainly made to address public concerns, and a framework agreement, which is recognition that the company will engage the relevant international trade union organization and discuss issues of fundamental concerns to both parties (ICFTU, 2004). Others have been even more explicit. Riisgaard notes that code of conduct responses are frequently an example … where businesses … have embraced codes of conduct as protection against public opinion and as a means to sidestep demands for unionization. The RUGMARK certification system for example guarantees that no child workers have been used in the production of the labeled blankets, but does nothing to secure the rights of the remaining workforce … A 1998 ILO investigation of 215 codes found that only around 15 per cent refer to freedom of association or the right to collective bargaining, and likewise a 1999 OECD investigation shows that only around 20 per cent of the 182 investigated codes refer explicitly to the ILO conventions on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining … As seen in the examples above, one can seriously question whether most voluntary initiatives reflect NGO or business interests rather than workers’ interests. … As a result, it is important to differentiate between voluntary initiatives that are negotiated with labour and initiatives that are not (Riisgaard, 2003, p. 2). The author of this chapter has pointed out elsewhere that in many cases, far from promoting labour rights, one of the main purposes of codes of conduct has actually been union avoidance: In 1990, 85 percent of the top 100 US corporations were found to have a code; in the UK, this figure was 42 percent, in the Netherlands 22 percent. … However, most codes of conduct that address social issues are limited in their coverage and do not address basic labour rights. … 33
Page 1 and 2: CROSS-BORDER SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND AG
Page 3 and 4: Published by the International Inst
Page 5 and 6: Cross-border social dialogue and ag
Page 13 and 14: Contributors Dominique Bé, an econ
Page 15 and 16: Contributors Nathan Lillie is Assis
Page 17 and 18: Acronyms BWI Building and Wood Work
Page 19 and 20: Introduction Konstantinos Papadakis
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Page 27 and 28: Introduction - Papadakis role of co
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Page 31 and 32: Chapter 1 International framework a
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Cross-border social dialogue and ag
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Part 3 Legal dimensions 113
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Part 4 Varieties of dialogue and re
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Chapter 8 The ILO Maritime Labour C
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The ILO Maritime Labour Convention,
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Chapter 9 A report on the European
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A report on the European Commission
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Appendix
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