Corporate Responsibility and Labor Affairs Archives

At High-Level Conference, Business Engages With G20 on Labor Issues

Published on May 25, 2011

G20 France 2011As part of their ongoing engagement in the preparatory meetings leading up to this November’s G20 Summit in Cannes, two USCIB affiliates, the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) joined forces with the French business group MEDEF to participate in a high-level conference in Paris on May 23 on social policy issues.

The ministerial-level conference was opened by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who presented the French priorities and expectations for the G20 in this area.  French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde also spoke.  Other key participants included G20 labor ministers, the heads of the ILO, WTO and OECD along with top representatives of the IMF, World Bank and other agencies, and business and labor representatives.

The business delegation at the conference was jointly organized by IOE and BIAC.  It included IOE Executive Vice President Daniel Funes de Rioja of Argentina, who addressed the issue of fundamental principles and rights at work, BIAC Chairman Charles Heeter (Deloitte), who spoke on employment recovery, MEDEF President Laurence Parisot, who spoke on policy coherence, and Alexander Gunkel, deputy director general of the German employers’ confederation BDA, who discussed social protection.

Participants at the conference recognized that coordination between different social actors and international institutions is essential in responding to the global jobs crisis, and they recognized the important link between economic growth, employment policies and social protection.  In his remarks concluding the conference, French Minister of Labor Xavier Bertrand acknowledged the role of entrepreneurs in creating jobs, and emphasized France’s focus on youth employment, calling for ambitious employment policies in the G20 nations.

The next meeting in the G20 process will take place on June 10, during the ILO’s International Labor Conference, when there will be consultations in Geneva with the social partners from the G20 countries.

Staff contact: Ronnie Goldberg

Related: G20 Advisory Group Launched for CEO Input to Heads of State (May 25, 2011)

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Poorest Countries Need a Level Playing Field, Business Tells UN Conference

Published on May 11, 2011

Attracting private investment that supports economic growth in the world’s least developed countries relies heavily on creating conducive environments, business representatives told heads of state, ministers, and business and civil society leaders participating in the Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, held May 9-13 in Istanbul.

The conference pinpointed actions and opportunities to help the 48 countries at the base of the global pyramid achieve more stable, prosperous and sustainable economies and communities. With over 500 business delegates, it provided an unprecedented opportunity to elevate the role of private-sector investment in the poorest nations and to mobilize business engagement toward development objectives.

Among the business delegates were Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president for labor and corporate responsibility, and Louise Kantrow, the International Chamber of Commerce’s permanent representative to the United Nations.

Read more on ICC’s website.

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ILO to Send High-Level Mission to Venezuela to Investigate Attacks on Private Enterprise

Published on March 30, 2011

During its March 23 meeting, the International Labor Organization’s Governing Body unanimously decided to create a high-level tripartite mission to examine the complaints of attacks against the Venezuelan employers’ federation FEDECAMARAS, its leaders and the private sector in general. Since 2003, the ILO has been examining a case, presented by USCIB affiliate the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and FEDECAMARAS, concerning the continuing violations of the Venezuelan business community’s fundamental rights. The mission will take place this summer and will report its findings to the ILO Governing Body at its November 2011 session.

The tripartite mission will include personalities from the business community, trade unions and the ILO. Topics that will be reviewed include bullying and harassment of FEDECAMARAS and its leaders, the creation and promotion of similar employers’ organizations by the government, and permanent attacks on the independent media to prevent employers’ exercising freedom of expression.

The IOE’s secretary general, Antonio Peñalosa commented: “This will be the first such ILO mission to Venezuela and will serve to examine in situ and in detail all the IOE complaints against the government of Venezuela in recent years.” Mr. Peñalosa added that the IOE is pleased that the government had accepted the mission and opened the door to dialogue to resolve the multiple business complaints that accumulated at the ILO, to which the Venezuelan authorities had until now refused to respond.

Click here to read more on IOE’s website.

Staff contact: Ariel Meyerstein

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ICC Secretary General Joins UN Global Compact Board

Published on March 1, 2011

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Jean-Guy Carrier, secretary general of USCIB’s affiliate the International Chamber of Commerce to the board of the UN Global Compact, an initiative encouraging companies to align their operations with 10 principles including human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Mr. Carrier will contribute a world business perspective on the Compact’s work.

The Global Compact represents more than 8,700 corporate participants and other stakeholders from at least 130 countries and is the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. It is the UN’s highest-ranking advisory body involving business and civil society, which also provides participants with resources for advancing sustainable business models and markets. The 23 board members who provide strategic and policy advice for the Global Compact also oversee implementation of the initiative’s integrity measures.

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

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Implementation of the Updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

Published on January 9, 2011

4223_image002With the 2011 update of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, an important instrument for corporate responsibility has been strengthened with input from the business community via BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, part of USCIB’s global network.

The Guidelines are the most comprehensive non-binding code of responsible business conduct, and cover the areas of disclosure, human rights, employment and industrial relations, environment, bribery, consumer interest, science and technology, competition and taxation. The success of the update will depend on shifting the Guidelines process away from an almost exclusive focus on its complaint mechanism to a more solution-oriented approach modeled on multi-stakeholder initiatives.

The Confederation of German Employers and the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers, both BIAC members, developed a brochure in order to familiarize enterprises with the Guidelines’ recommendations and the National Contact Point procedure.

The brochure addresses major issues, including due diligence and avoiding adverse impacts, in Q&A format and can be downloaded from the BIAC website at www.biac.org/mne_guidelines.htm.

The German and Dutch federations also co-organized and hosted a Conference on Responsible Business Conduct in a Global Context in The Hague on December 12, 2011. The conference focused on two significant developments in the field of corporate responsibility, namely the OECD MNE Guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The success of the Guidelines will also depend on their ability to contribute to a global level playing field for business. BIAC and USCIB will continue to urge OECD to undertake determined efforts to encourage emerging markets to adhere to the Guidelines.

Staff Contact: Adam Greene

State Department Flyer: OECD MNE Guidelines and U.S. National Contact Point

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Whither the Alien Tort Statute

Published on November 12, 2010

4020_image001USCIB Senior Advisor Timothy Deal participated in a panel discussion on November 10 organized by the DC Bar Association in Washington on “Whither the Alien Tort Statute?”

The ATS, adopted in 1789, gives federal courts civil jurisdiction over non-U.S. citizens for acts in violation of “the law of nations” or a U.S. treaty, such as piracy or attacks on ambassadors.  Since 1980, a number of suits brought by foreign plaintiffs against foreign governments and multinational corporations have stretched the interpretation of the statute and the meaning of “the law of nations” to include human rights abuses and anti-union violence, among other things.

The meeting followed a recent ruling by a U.S. Second Circuit panel in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum that the ATS gives U.S. courts jurisdictions over alleged violations of international law by individuals, but not by corporations.  Joining Mr. Deal on the panel were: John Bellinger, a partner at Arnold & Porter and the former State Department legal advisor; Terry Collingsworth, a partner at Conrad & Scherer; and Professor Ralph Steinhardt of the George Washington University Law Center.  Professor Edward Swaine, also from the GWU Law Center, moderated the discussion.

In his prepared remarks, Mr. Deal outlined continued U.S. business community concerns over the proliferation of ATS lawsuits, which principally target U.S. multinationals.  According to Mr. Deal, a major problem with the legislation is that global companies often “find themselves entangled in litigation brought by non-U.S. plaintiffs alleging wrongs committed outside the U.S., not by companies, but by the plaintiffs’ own government or agents of those governments, over which they have no control.”  He noted that ATS suits increase the risk, uncertainty, and cost of overseas operations and investments.  They can also “expose American companies to costly and protracted smear campaigns.”

While the panelists debated the pros and cons of ATS litigation from varying points of view, all agreed that the Second Circuit’s decision could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court, given the importance of the issues addressed and differing views among lower courts throughout the nation about the appropriateness of ATS lawsuits against corporations.

To read Mr. Deal’s remarks in full, click here.

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Business Urges G20 Partnership for Jobs Growth

Published on April 19, 2010
Daniel Funes de Rioja (left), executive vice president of the International Organization of Employers, and Rhian Chilcott of the Confederation of British Industry.
Daniel Funes de Rioja (left), executive vice president of the International Organization of Employers, and Rhian Chilcott of the Confederation of British Industry.

Washington, D.C., April 19, 2010 – Business leaders from major world economies met with G20 labor ministers in Washington today, urging them to work more closely with the private sector to preserve and create jobs, and improve worker employability.

Labor and employment ministers from throughout the G20 will convene in Washington tomorrow to make recommendations on employment to G20 leaders.

“Education and training outcomes, and the wider goals prioritized by the G20 leaders in Pittsburgh last year, will only be achieved by governments working with business as partners in both policy and service delivery,” stated Wiseman Nkuhlu of South Africa, president of the International Organization of Employers (IOE).

“In this recovery, continued attention must be given to restoring conditions for sustainable private sector-led recovery,” according to Charles P. Heeter, Jr., principal with Deloitte LLP and chair of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC). “This is the necessary path to maximize sustainable job creation.”

“Rapid and sustained economic recovery will drive job growth,” the business leaders said in a joint statement, available at www.ioe-emp.org and www.biac.org.

The IOE and BIAC jointly convened the G20 business delegation.  Their main recommendations to labor ministers were:

  • Review and reform regulation affecting business operations to better support a return to sustainable growth, investment and employment.
  • Focus on employability for all groups including those at the margins of the labor market as a key priority, including to ensure support and incentives for job seekers and the unemployed to move into employment.
  • Improve education and vocational training to help working people avoid unemployment and remain in the workforce during labor market crises.
  • Harness more flexible working options, including temporary and part-time work, especially as a way of getting more people back into the workforce.

American participation in the business delegation was organized by the United States Council for International Business, which serves as the U.S. affiliate of both IOE and BIAC.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading global business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Policy Committee

 

 

Global Jobs Pact a Highlight of 2009 ILO Conference

Published on July 22, 2009
USCIB’s Ronnie Goldberg and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney at the International Labor Conference.
USCIB’s Ronnie Goldberg and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney at the International Labor Conference.

At the ILO’s 2009 International Labor Conference, which took place in Geneva June 2 to 19, governments, employers and trade unions adopted a Global Jobs Pact outlining the role of the ILO in economic recovery worldwide.  This came on the heels of a “Global Jobs Summit,” where 17 heads of state shared their perspectives on the global jobs crisis.

“The Global Jobs Pact is a resource of practical policies that will enable each country to formulate a package specific to its situation and priorities,” according to USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg, who serves as the American employer member of the ILO’s governing body.   She said delegates also began work on an ILO recommendation to governments on HIV/AIDS in the workplace, and held a discussion on gender issues.

The International Organization of Employers, which coordinates business participation in the ILO, has released an employers’ guide to the Global Jobs Pact.

In keeping with the tripartite structure of the ILO, representatives of governments, business and labor participated in all of these discussions.  The U.S. employers delegation, organized by USCIB and led by Ed Potter (Coca-Cola), also included Ms. Goldberg, Paurvi Baht (Levi Strauss), Margaret Hart Edwards (Littler Mendelson), and John Raudabaugh (Baker & McKenzie).

During the discussion on HIV/AIDS, employers stressed the primary responsibility of the health sector in this area of policy making and allocation of resources.  Workplace policies and responses must be in support of national responses to HIV/AIDS, business representatives said, and ILO work in this field must take place in the context of international cooperation, in particular with the World Health Organization and UNAIDS.  The ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS, which has the support of both employers and workers, remains an essential reference document.  The debate will continue at the 2010 ILO conference.

Staff contact: Ronnie Goldberg

Employers’ Guide to the Global Jobs Pact

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ILO website

Labor Department Panel Looks at Ways to Reduce Child Labor Abroad

Published on June 25, 2009

On June 10, a day designated by the International Labor Organization as World Day Against Child Labor, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis led a panel discussion in Washington among employers representatives, unions, aid groups and other NGOs to discuss strategies to combat child labor in poorer countries.

Also leading the discussion were Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Christina Tchen, the executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls.  This year marks the 10th anniversary of ILO Convention 182, which seeks to combat the worst forms of child labor.  Sen. Harkin said that much progress has been made since then, but that nations “must keep a light focused on this [issue], to get kids out of the worst forms of child labor and into schools.”

USCIB Vice President Adam Greene reported on the results of a USCIB-sponsored workshop on child labor, held last February in Atlanta.  He said main key conclusions included the need for all stakeholders to raise awareness of the issue, to work together and to focus on holistic solutions that address the root causes of child labor in the societies where it occurs.

Among the other business representatives who spoke at the event, Cindy Sawyer, director of work environment and workplace rights at The Coca-Cola Company, noted that her company has a firm policy prohibiting child labor in its supply chain.  But “no one sector or actor” can solve the problem by itself, she said.  “We need to bring together national and local governments, industry, and local groups” to help fight child labor.

Labor Department press release on the event

Information on World Day Against Child Labor (ILO website)

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New Global Commitment to Tackle Jobs Crisis

Published on June 18, 2009
The ILO’s headquarters in Geneva: governments, employers and trade unions will adopt a Global Jobs Pact at the conclusion of the annual ILO conference.
The ILO’s headquarters in Geneva: governments, employers and trade unions will adopt a Global Jobs Pact at the conclusion of the annual ILO conference.

Geneva and New York, June 18, 2009 – Employers, trade unions and governments have reached a historic global agreement on measures to promote employment and enterprise development during economic recovery, according to the International Organization of Employers (IOE).

The Global Jobs Pact will today be adopted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) annual conference in Geneva – the main United Nations labor and social policy forum.  It will be the first truly global identification of labor and social measures to combat the crisis, which brings together both the developed and developing world.

The Geneva-based IOE is the largest private-sector network in the world, representing national business federations in 140 countries.  It is the leading international business organization on social and labor matters, directly representing business in the ILO and working closely with policy makers at all levels.  The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), based in New York, serves as the IOE’s American affiliate.

USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg, who serves on the ILO’s governing body, helped draft the Global Jobs Pact.  She said it lays out clearly the policy approaches needed to support job creation by the private sector.

“Enterprises of all sizes have been negatively impacted by the crisis, and they all require the right policies to return to growth,” stated Ms. Goldberg.

The Global Jobs Pact directly meets the challenge laid down by G20 governments in April – supporting employment by stimulating growth, investing in education and training and implementing effective labor market policies, while also focusing on the most vulnerable.

“Having agreed measures which can combat the crisis, the hard work now begins,” the IOE said in a statement.  “The challenge for the ILO, international organizations, governments, trade unions and employers, will be translating these ideas into practical measures which actually make a difference on the ground.  The true test of the new pact will be its translation into more jobs in all countries.”

The Global Jobs Pact underlines the key role the private sector must play in any recovery.  It emphasizes the importance of policies that support business survival, entrepreneurship and investment. It also identifies the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure development, and the positive role of rural employment, as measures to respond to the jobs crisis.

“The employers of the world are committed to ensuring the global jobs pact translates into more sustainable enterprises and therefore more jobs and a rapid and comprehensive global economic recovery,” stated the IOE.  “The survival of private enterprises will be critical to that recovery.”

The text of the Global Jobs Pact is available on the ILO’s website (www.ilo.org).  Click here to access a copy.

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility. Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including the IOE, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.

Contacts:
Scott Barklamb, IOE
+41 22.917.68.02 or barklamb@ioe-emp.org

Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

ILO website

IOE website

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