Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Archives

USCIB Webinar: World Bank’s Global Partnerships for Social Accountability

Published on February 17, 2016

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USCIB will host an upcoming webinar on the World Bank Group’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) on February 24 from 11:00am-12:00pm. This will be the second webinar of the USCIB Corporate Responsibility Webinar Series.

To register for the February 24 webinar, please email Rachel Spence at rspence@uscib.org.

This webinar will introduce the GPSA and showcase its potential for solving vexing governance issues that are undermining the ability for entry into new markets and/or the long-term viability of private sector investments in the over 40 countries in which the GPSA is authorized to fund programs. GPSA is a unique unit within the World Bank’s Governance Unit focuses on supporting governments, citizens and the private sector to work together to solve governance challenges. It provides direct long-term assistance to civil society organizations to promote accountability by government actors on development challenges.

Speaker:

Haim Haviv serves as a Partnerships Specialist for the World Bank Group. Previously, Haim had served as Director of Investments for the Government of Israel in Washington D.C. (2013-2015), as a lawyer with Tnuva food industries (2010-2012) and as an accountant with Ernst & Young (2012-2013). Haim is an attorney and accountant by training.

IOE: No Need for World Employment Report to be “Overly Pessimistic”

Published on February 16, 2016

WESO_2016The International Labor Organization’s “World Employment and Social Outlook Trends: 2016” expects recent labor market growth to slow in the coming years amid uncertain economic prospects. The report recalls previous years’ editions in terms of content and approach, and the overall outlook for global employment remains bleak – worse than in 2015.

The International Organization of Employers (IOE) noted that rather than look only at growth and unemployment with a focus on vulnerable employment, the report could have looked at growth forecasts and their impact on employment, especially new forms of working arrangements. Given the current debate on the future of work, a different approach would have been welcome and may have painted a different picture of the future of employment.

Read the IOE perspective in full here….

Integrating Refugees in Labor Markets

Published on February 5, 2016

IntegrationWith the widespread migration of refugees to many OECD countries, policymakers are grappling with how to effectively integrate the large number of refugees and other asylum seekers into the workforce. On January 28, representatives from the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD met with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi to discuss the view of business on migration and the integration of refugees in labor markets.

The event coincided with the a release of a release a new OECD booklet on experiences, policy lessons and good practice in the integration of refugees and other groups in need of protection, developed over the last year in consultation with OECD member countries and social partners.

In his message to governments and other high-level participants, BIAC Secretary General Bernard Welschke called for advanced skills recognition on the national level, immediate and intensive language training, and targeted programs to better facilitate the integration of beneficiaries of international protection and other migrants into local labor markets. He also emphasized the importance of a consistent and efficient process to clarify the status of humanitarian migrants and refugees as this is a critical factor to determine their perspectives in labor markets.

Future of Work Forum and OECD Employment Ministerial

Published on February 5, 2016

worker_femaleThe future of work and the digitization of jobs bring new challenges to the frontier of policy dialogue with business stakeholders. Innovation and integration of digital tools and processes have brought forth new business models, evolving employment contracts and changing demands for skills at the workplace. The impact of this progress is a demanding area of interest for businesses and the policy community.

At the OECD Future of Work Forum and the Employment Ministerial that took place in January in Paris, stakeholders and leaders from the business community, the public sector and academia convened to discuss ways to foster and adapt employment in the changing nature of the digital economy while encouraging inclusive growth. The Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD was represented at each of the high level panels of the Future of Work Forum, and a strong BIAC delegation led by Chair Ronnie Goldberg, USCIB senior counsel, contributed business views on labor markets and the digital economy in the Employment Ministerial. BIAC’s call for more comprehensive and targeted education policies and the necessary flexibility in labor markets was well received.

OECD and UNHCR Call for Scaling up Integration Policies in Favor of Refugees

Published on January 29, 2016

ImmigrationThe integration of refugees in local economies has become more challenging as the refugee crisis continues to have a significant impact on local labor markets. Businesses have asked for orderly, transparent, efficient and well-thought immigration programs and have demonstrated a willingness to participate in deep discussions with their governments on how to contribute.

At the high-level conference with the OECD and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on January 28, the BIAC delegation, headed by Secretary General Bernhard Welschke, called for advances in national level skills recognition, language training and targeted labor market programs to support the integration of beneficiaries of international protection and other forms of migrants into the local labor markets.

The OECD and UNHCR stressed not only the moral imperative but also the clear economic incentive to help the millions of refugees living in OECD countries to develop the skills they need to work productively and safely in the jobs of tomorrow.

“Far from a problem, refugees can and should be part of the solution to many of the challenges our societies confront,” said Gurría.

The OECD also released a report, Making Integration Work: Refugees and others in need of protection, which provides the main lessons from the experience of OECD countries in fostering the integration of refugees. The report highlights many good practices to tackle key barriers and support lasting integration of refugees and their children. It stresses the importance of early intervention, including providing access to language courses, employment programs and integration services as soon as possible, including for asylum seekers with high prospects to remain. It also stresses the need to help migrants settle where jobs are and not necessarily where housing is cheaper. The report also underlines the need to adapt integration programs to reflect migrants’ diversity in terms of skills and  the specific needs of refugees.

USCIB Webinar: ILO General Discussion on Global Supply Chains

Published on January 28, 2016

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Recent pressure from workers’ groups and certain governments has urged the International Labor Organization (ILO) to focus its attention on global supply chains, which will be the topic of its next General Discussion in June. USCIB hosted a webinar on February 10 about the upcoming discussion, which reviewed how to push back against the unsupported claims that global supply chains will drive down workers’ wages, and that global companies can somehow be made to control their entire supply chains.

The webinar gave members an opportunity to share their perspective on the General Discussion with the Employer spokesperson, Ed Potter, as well as International Organization of Employers Secretary General Linda Kromjong.

To view a recording of the webinar, please contact Rachel Spence (rspence@uscib.org).

IOE President Targets 5 Key Inhibitors of Labor Markets at B20 Kickoff

Published on January 28, 2016

labor_and_employmentSpeaking at the B20 kick off meeting in Beijing on January 26, International Organization of Employers (IOE) President Daniel Funes de Rioja targeted the five key inhibitors of flexible labor markets and optimal labor market participation.

With employment already earmarked by the Chinese G20 presidency as a prime area of focus, Funes wasted no time in setting out the expectations of business: “I want the G20 to make ambitious commitments on the headline aim of Energetic Labor Markets and Adaptable Workforces.”

He set out five key actions for the G20 leaders to optimize labor market participation:

  • Remove barriers to starting, operating and growing a business.
  • Create easy-to-understand, employment-friendly labor law.
  • Promote the variety of forms of employment needed to allow companies maximum opportunities to hire as many people as possible.
  • Decrease the burden of non-wage labor costs – in many cases an obstacle to employing people.
  • Create attractive regulatory framework conditions that stimulate the establishment of apprenticeships systems.

Funes went on to recall the recent IOE-BIAC-Deloitte survey on youth employment in G20 countries, launched just six weeks ago in Ankara, which found that 80 percent of respondents believed that the current regulatory framework for the establishment and operation of enterprises was “more cumbersome than supportive.” The IOE President cautioned that with such framework conditions in place, bringing more people into employment remained a pipe dream.

On top of the required action above, Funes also called for more transparency and accountability in the G20 employment process. The G20 national employment plans could, he acknowledged, play “a decisive role”, but their potential had not been fully exploited to date. The G20, with the support of business, needed to ask themselves:

  • Are the employment plans concrete and ambitious enough?
  • Is implementation of the employment plans sufficient?
  • What are the lessons learned from the last two years?

Summing up, Funes said that the B20 called on the Chinese G20 presidency to refocus the employment process on job creation and growth, and to strengthen the implementation of employment commitments through more rigorous and robust assessment of the employment plans in place across the G20.

USCIB Webinar: USAID’s Public-Private Partnership to Support Responsible Land-Based Investments

Published on January 22, 2016

USCIB hosted a webinar on USAID’s Public-Private Partnership to Support Responsible Land-Based Investments on February 4, which kicked off the USCIB Corporate Responsibility webinar series.

USAID speakers discussed their call for Expressions of Interest for potential private sector partners to co-create, co-design, co-invest and collaborate in addressing land tenure risks related to current or future land-based investments with a particular focus on African land deals as a means of piloting the effectiveness of the recently finalized Analytical Framework for Land-Based Investment in African Agriculture that USAID has just developed with the G7, UN Food and Agriculture Organization and African Union.

A recording of the webinar is available here. (Free registration is required).

Speakers included:

Chad Dear
ChadDear is an interdisciplinary social scientist, educator and development professional dedicated to improving land and resource governance. Through positions in academia, civil society, and government, Dear has led applied, interdisciplinary research teams; designed and implemented rural livelihood and natural resource management projects; and designed innovation programs within USAID.  Recent achievements include co-leading establishment of the Mountain Societies Research Institute (part of the Aga Khan Development Network), and guiding the Institute’s inaugural applied research programs. Dear, PhD Forestry and Conservation, has nearly ten years of on-the-ground international experience, primarily in Central Asia and Southern Africa, as well as significant domestic experience in the American west, including Alaska. He publishes in academic, technical and popular literature.  Dear is affiliate faculty in the College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana; an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow; and a former Fulbright Fellow.

Sarah Lowery
SarahLowery is an Economist and Public-Private Finance Specialist in USAID’s Land Tenure and Resource Management Office. She focuses on the link between secure land tenure and inclusive economic growth and leads econometric, financial and risk analysis related to strengthened land tenure, access to finance and responsible investment. Lowery has designed public-private financial mechanisms in Brazil and Colombia that encourage sustainable land use, and she has authored several papers on climate finance innovations like REDD+ bonds and ways to unlock larger pools of capital like agricultural finance in the pursuit of conservation goals. Lowery holds an MBA and Master of Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business from Lafayette College.

Yuliya Neyman
YuliyaNeyman is a Land Governance and Legal Advisor in USAID’s Land Tenure and Resource Management Office. She leads the office’s private sector engagement and responsible investment work. Prior to joining USAID, Neyman worked as a corporate lawyer at White & Case, LLP in New York City. Prior to earning her law degree, Neyman worked as a journalist, and has written for the Huffington Post, Miami Herald, South Florida Business Journal, New York Daily News, Newsday, Washington Times and USA Today. Neyman has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, and a law degree from Columbia Law School.

2016 USCIB Corporate Responsibility Webinar Series

The goal of the series is to provide members with introductions to new and innovative initiatives and organizations related to corporate responsibility that may be of interest and to allow for deeper dives into certain topics. The following additional webinars will be offered over the course of the first half of 2016. We hope you are able to join us for some or all of these programs and would like to remind you that you are welcome to indicate your interest in one or more of the below webinars (or to suggest other topics) via this form. 

February 24: World Bank Group’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA)
This unique program within the World Bank’s Governance Unit focuses on supporting governments, citizens and the private sector to work together to solve governance challenges. The GPSA provides direct long-term assistance to civil society organizations to promote accountability by government actors on development challenges. This webinar, jointly hosted with GPSA, will introduce the GPSA and showcase its potential for solving vexing governance issues that are undermining the ability for entry into new markets and/or the long-term viability of private-sector investments in the over 40 countries in which the GPSA is authorized to fund programs.

March 23: Bretton Woods II:  New America Foundation’s multi-stakeholder platform for reducing global volatility
Led by Tomicah Tilleman, a former senior adviser to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, the non-partisan BWII is working with a large coalition of organizations to demonstrate that large long-term financial actors can significantly increase their long-term returns by dedicating a percentage of their holdings to investments that address root causes of volatility, such as poverty, corruption, poor governance and the lack of rule of law. Such directed investments can also improve investment climates in countries throughout the world in ways that have a multiplying effect for multinational enterprises. BWII also presents an opportunity for companies with unique competencies to lend their talents to this important endeavor.

IOE Reaffirms Business Commitment to the 2030 Development Agenda

Published on January 19, 2016

Business for 2030 homepage logoDuring her New York visit for the United Nations Global Compact meeting earlier this month, International Organization of Employers (IOE) Secretary General Linda Kromjong reaffirmed the commitment of the IOE’s members and partner companies around the world to the realization of the UN 2030 Development Agenda.

Kromjong formally represented the collective voice of business on labor and social policy at the Global Compact’s first board meeting under the leadership of Lise Kingo on January 14. Kingo succeeded Georg Kell following his retirement as executive director last year.

Addressing the meeting, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated his expectation that businesses “play a leading role in implementing the SDGs.”

“Our 13,000 signatories based in 170 countries, and our local networks, can be a force for change from the ground up,” he said. “We have a strong track record of translating UN goals and issues into concrete business action”.

In her intervention, Kromjong recalled her role as co-chair of the Global Compact Human Rights & Labor Working Group, as well as the role of IOE member federations in hosting national Global Compact networks. She highlighted IOE work on business and human rights, migration, youth employment, core labor standards and the sustainable development agenda – all key areas of focus for the Global Compact.

Kromjong also cited USCIB’s Business for 2030 web portal as one of many examples of employer organizations’ commitments to the sustainable development goals. She assured Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the IOE was encouraging its members and their company affiliates globally “to advance the SDGs through their operations, innovations and partnerships and to be part of the solution.”

BIAC Calls for More Resilient, Flexible and Inclusive Labor Markets

Published on January 15, 2016

Two machinists working on machineAt the OECD’s Employment Ministerial, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD called for more resilient and inclusive labor markets.

More than ever, current labor market challenges require a policy that promotes resilience and flexibility. All parties are tested: companies to find appropriately trained and mobile workforces, workers to develop skills relevant to the labor market, and policymakers to provide for employment and social policy frameworks that encourage access for all, placing employment security over job security. The OECD’s goal should be to give guidance on ways to create more resilient and adaptable labor markets and jobs, within the context of the over-riding goal of enhancing productivity.

“The focus on employment security should serve to improve the resilience of the entire labor force and also facilitate the ability of workers to successfully progress among or between jobs”, said Ronnie Goldberg, chair of the BIAC Employment, Labor and Social Affairs Committee and senior counsel at USCIB.

The digitization of our economies should be seen not as a threat but as an opportunity. At the Ministerial, BIAC emphasized the importance of ongoing OECD work on skills and technology. Technological and structural changes inevitably result in labor market disruption. Flexibility-enhancing policies, together with those promoting life-long learning and development of strategic skills, are necessary to address these disruptions and raise aggregate employment levels.

BIAC also highlighted the importance to business of the current refugee crisis facing many OECD countries, and of labor migration in general. The business community is willing and able to assist governments in more swiftly processing and integrating refugees, for example by helping with skills assessment and recognition. At the same time, governments need to establish clear, transparent and efficient national immigration laws with policies that facilitate labor mobility, and allow the integration of migrants to meet labor market needs.

“Companies are well aware of the magnitude of the current challenge facing governments and local communities,” said Goldberg. “We have a wealth of on the ground experience and knowledge that can be brought to bear, and would welcome the opportunity to be at the table with policymakers.”