International Centre for Trade Union Rights

worldwide
Business and
human rights
Apple has joined the Fair Labor
Association (FLA) in a move
which should see the computer
giant undertake more extensive
monitoring and reporting on
social and labour issues. In
recent years Apple had begun
to attract criticism for labour
standards in factories producing
its products in China.
Goodelectronics and MakeITfair
who in 2011 ran a campaign
‘time to bite into a fair Apple’
say time will tell if the new
move will lead to any substantial
impact on the ground.
Business and
human rights
A report published by Leeds
University shows serious failings
in Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) reporting.
The term CSR covers a range of
initiatives under which private
companies report on respect for
social and environmental rights.
The new report shows that in
many cases there are problems
with routine recording of "irrelevant
data, unsubstantiated
claims, gaps in data and inaccurate
figures". The findings,
which cover major companies,
including Ford, BP and
Volkswagen & E.ON, raise
questions around the quality of
reporting of labour rights, both
in terms of internal reporting by
companies and for reports
presided over by slick, corporate
'social auditing' companies.
Business and
human rights
The US Supreme Court has
agreed to hear an appeal
against a 2010 ruling in the
Kiobel case. The 2010 ruling
had threatened a major
upheaval for human rights
advocates by shifting the
grounds on which the Alien
Tort Claims Act could place
responsibility on transnational
companies for rights violations
committed overseas. In late
2011 and early 2012 a flurry of
activity has seen legal activists
hastily preparing Amicus Briefs
to submit to the Court in support
of the plaintiffs case. One
strong if perhaps unexpected
expression of support arrived in
the form of an Amicus Brief
submitted by the US
Government, which strongly
supported the view that corporations
are accountable under
the ATCA.
Domestic Workers
A new global campaign ’12-by-
12’ has been launched to bring
the new ILO Domestic Workers’
Convention (C189) into force
by getting 12 countries to ratify
the convention and pass decent
national laws for domestic
workers before the end of the
year. Campaigners are calling
for domestic workers’ entitlement
to one day off a week, a
minimum wage, an eight-hour
day, the right to join a union,
protection from exploitation
and abuse, social protection
and the regulation of employment
agencies. The 12 countries
that are the focus of the campaign
represent 40 percent of
the world’s domestic work
industry: Brazil, Dominican
Republic, Peru, Paraguay,
Kenya, South Africa, Senegal,
Indonesia, India, Philippines,
Saudi Arabia and EU countries.
G20
The international union movement
has called on the G20 to
do more to ensure job creation
and decent work for the millions
of young people across
the world entering the labour
market. Unions at the first
meeting of the G20 Task Force
on Employment in Mexico City
in December 2011 highlighted a
growing jobs deficit of 64 million
people that severely threatens
economic recovery. ITUC
General Secretary Sharan
Burrow called for a “G20 Youth
Jobs Pact, with training and job
guarantees for young unemployed
and school-leavers, an
expansion in apprenticeships
and strengthened rights and
social protection for young
workers”. The trade union discussion
paper ‘Developing a
Compact to Raise Youth
Employment’ can be found at:
www.ituc-csi.org/trade-union
-discussion-paper-for.html.
Human trafficking
A new report highlights the
growing levels and increasing
complexity of the phenomenon
of human trafficking and calls
for increased labour regulation
and co-ordinated international
monitoring. The Centre for
Equal Opportunities in
Belgium describes increasing
abuse of migrant workers and
a growing professionalisation
of trafficking activities.
ILO
The ITUC has announced that it
will support its former General
Secretary Guy Ryder in a bid
for leadership of the ILO when
Juan Somavia leaves in May this
year. Ryder began his career in
the international department of
the British TUC before moving
on to one of the International
Trade Secretariats (now known
as GUFs). Since 1998 Ryder has
moved between the ITUC and
ILO holding increasingly senior
positions in the two organisations.
Indonesia
Speaking in support of
Government proposals to revise
the labour law Trade Minister
Gita Wirjawan (a former
Chairman at JP Morgan bank)
has described the law as a
major impediment to development.
The revisions will reduce
dismissal payments and create
longer periods between minimum
wage reviews. So far the
House of Representatives has
rejected the proposed revision
but according to Gita’s comments
investors feel that the
current law is ‘inflexible’ and
too favourable to workers.
Migrant workers
An official trade union relationship
has been created for the
first time between Nepal and
Kuwait and Bahrain. The Gulf
States are the largest employer
of Nepali workers, who send
home remittances to their families
in Nepal. Many workers are
female domestic workers or
male construction workers
whose labour rights are systematically
undermined. Two memorandums
have been established
between the Nepalese
trade union centre GEFONT
and the KTUF in Kuwait and
GFBTU in Bahrain. It is hoped
that the agreements will lead to
a framework of protection
being available for these vulnerable
workers for the first time.
A campaign for legislative
reform in Kuwait has also been
initiated as well as better monitoring
of recruitment agencies
in Nepal and trade union rights
education for migrant workers.
INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 26 Volume 18 Issue 4 2012