With the support of the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and other business organizations, the Economist Intelligence Unit published a report on the intersection of global business and the protection of human rights. “The Road from Principles to Practice: Today’s Challenges for Business in Respecting Human Rights” evaluates the state of play in business and human rights since the adoption of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011.

The report shows that 83 percent of executives surveyed from a wide variety of sectors believe that human rights are a matter for businesses, not just for governments. 71 percent also said that their company’s responsibility to respect human rights goes beyond “obedience to local laws.”

While this response suggests corporate attitudes are evolving quickly, only 22 percent say they have a publicly available human rights policy in some form, and 44 percent say that human rights are an issue on which CEOs take the lead. The most common barriers to progress, according to the respondents, are lack of understanding of their company’s responsibilities and lack of training and education for employees.

The report also shows that companies do not see a business case – focused on immediate costs and benefits – for human rights, but rather see respecting human rights as helpful in building good relationships with local communities, protecting the company brand and reputation, and serving ethical considerations.

The study also draws on in-depth interviews conducted with Ed Potter, director of global workplace rights at The Coca-Cola Company and chair of USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee; John Ruggie, former UN Secretary-General’s special representative on business and human rights; Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom and other experts from civil society, human rights and business organizations.

A high-level delegation from the International Organization of Employers (IOE) participated in an EU workshop in Brussels prior to an EU Development Policy Forum. This workshop is the second the IOE has attended in the past six months in efforts to inform EU policy discussions with business perspectives and recommendations.

Ronnie Goldberg, USCIB’s senior counsel and IOE vice president for North America, shared the opening session with Klaus Rudischhauser, deputy director general for international cooperation development.  She underscored the IOE’s strong commitment to building partnerships with the European Commission in light of many shared goals.

Acknowledging that EU support lifts millions of people out of poverty and contributes to a solid foundation on which private enterprises could be created and developed, Goldberg thanked the hosts for creating the space for deeper private-sector engagement, adding, “The IOE places great importance on building partnerships with the European Commission for the joint promotion of an enabling environment for growth and sustainable development.”

She reiterated the IOE’s key inputs to consultations on the post-2015 Development Goals over the past two years, which could equally frame EU-private sector dialogue. These included putting sustainability at the core of the agenda; ensuring that growth was inclusive to boost productive employment. Open and accountable institutions also had to be enabled.

Goldberg added that it is essential that EU commission funding support investment in infrastructure projects, such as road, rail, electricity, renewable energies and ICT; the protection and enforcement of property rights and the rule of law; effective financial services, particularly for SMEs; improvements in education and training for the delivery of work-ready young people, as well as more open markets and regional integration.

Competitive businesses increasingly recognize the value and importance of diverse workforces, and particularly the value to be had in employing persons with disabilities.  We are pleased to provide information on two resources available to our members seeking more information on this subject.

USCIB is proud to serve on the Steering Committee of the ILO Global Business and Disability Network, comprised of multinational enterprises, employer’s organizations, business networks and disability organizations around the world who share the conviction that people with disabilities add value to workplaces.

This ILO initiative has gathered over 50 multinational enterprises and employer’s organizations and business networks from a diverse range of sectors.

The ILO Global Business and Disability Network supports its members in their disability work and facilitates business-to-business dialogue around disability issues by:

• Sharing knowledge and identifying good practices;
• Developing joint products and services; and
• Strengthening employers’ organizations and business networks through capacity building

For more information about the Network, visit www.businessanddisability.org

The second resource, offered by the Employment and Disability Institute in ILR School at Cornell University, is a free, online one-hour short course entitled Make the Strategic Case for Disability in the Workplace.  This ideo-based course features examples from well-known U.S. based companies that have made progress in including people with disabilities in their workplaces.

Find out more or register by going to:  http://info.ecornell.com/make-the-strategic-case-for-disability-in-the-workplace

As the global economy contends with several diverging forces – including strong growth in the United States, falling energy prices, and continued struggles in Europe – policy makers and global institutions are seeking to make sense of conflicting signals.

One signal on worldwide employment levels comes from the International Labor Organization’s annual “World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015” report, which covers data on employment trends and challenges. According to the report, the global employment gap continues to widen, along with income inequality.

The International Organization of Employers (IOE) believes the report paints an overly pessimistic scenario of worsening global unemployment levels, continuing inequality and falling wage shares.

USCIB’s global network, including the IOE and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, has engaged with the B20/G20 process on global labor and employment issues.

“Regarding employment and economic growth, the challenges faced by individual countries are subject to wide variations,” the IOE said in a statement. “Generalizations are unhelpful and tend to mask growth divergences across economies, which may engender misleading policy responses that treat cyclical dimensions rather than addressing longstanding and structural rigidities.”

The IOE also noted it is important “to diminish the progress made thus far in terms of income inequalities,” and that “perceptions of rising inequality should not be confused with the reality.”

The statement concluded with a call to action:

“Much more can nonetheless be achieved in terms of addressing the challenges linked to employment, inequalities and economic growth. A more ambitious effort needs to be made on skills mismatch through better tailored education and skills training. This would address global inequalities more efficiently and create an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises to foster job creation.”