TUAC - TRADE UNION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE OECD

07/09/2010

A new report published by Human Rights Watch has called on the OECD to “develop a robust complaint and enforcement system” for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises so as to crack down on double standards in labour practices.

‘A Strange Case, Violations of Workers’ Freedom of Association in the United States by European Multinational Corporations’ exposes European companies for proclaiming adherence to and largely complying with international labour law and standards at home, whilst failing to meet the same standards in the United States.

Although US law is less protective of workers’ freedom of association, the report points out that “[N]othing in American labor law or practice forces European companies to adopt practices that undermine workers' freedom of association…”. In other words European companies are choosing to adopt “behavior and practices… that fall short of compliance with international norms”.

The existence of double standards raises serious question marks over the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives, including the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The report called on the OECD to ensure that its complaints mechanism is accessible, transparent and expedient, making use of the full range of available tools – not only mediation but field missions, special investigations and “other methods that will allow affected workers to tell their stories first-hand in their own voices and their own words”. The OECD should also ensure that workers that raise cases are protected from reprisals and that NCPs provide effective remedy.

TUAC will take up these recommendations in its ongoing consultations with the OECD on the Update of the OECD MNE Guidelines.