TUAC - TRADE UNION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE OECD

22/06/2015

22/06/2015

Last week a trade union delegation attended the OECD’s 3rd annual Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct on 18-19 June, which was held at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris. 

Key themes addressed included: access to remedy for victims, responsibility in international sporting events; due diligence in the textile and garment sector; stakeholder engagement in the extractive sector; due diligence in the financial sector; climate change; and China’s approach to responsible business conduct.

Trade union speakers at the Global Forum gave the following messages: 

- Sharan Burrow (General Secretary of the ITUC), speaking in the Opening Plenary, emphasised the need to focus first and foremost on the rule of law, as well as to strengthen non-judicial grievance mechanisms;

- Pierre Habbard (TUAC) addressed the need to improve responsibility throughout the investment chain, emphasising in particular the importance of asset owners;

-Dwight Justice (ITUC) emphasised the role of industrial relations in providing access to remedy and the need for grievance mechanisms to provide remedy to rights-holders; 

- Jin Sook Lee (Building and Wood Workers International), after drawing attention to the high numbers of migrant construction workers and the long sub-contracting chains, called for international sporting organisations to meet their responsibility to respect human rights.

The effectiveness of the National Contact Points (NCPs) of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises was a common theme running through the two day-discussion. Participants agreed that there was “unprecedented momentum” around the OECD Guidelines, following recent commitments made by the G7 Leaders and OECD Ministers to strengthen NCPs.   

G7 Leaders had encouraged the OECD “to promote peer reviews and peer learning on the functioning and performance of NCPs” while en­suring that their own NCPs “are effective and lead by example”. OECD Ministers had similarly called on the OECD to “continue its efforts to further strengthen the performance” of NCPs including through “peer reviews and ex­changes of best practices”.

TUAC prepared a 15-point Plan for improving NCP effectiveness, which was circulated at the Global Forum. It will use this Plan as the basis for engaging with the G7 on turning the commitments made into a time-bound work-plan.   

Further information on the 3rd annual Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct, including the full agenda, is available on the conference website.

The web cast for all sessions can be accessed here.

TUAC’s 15-Point Plan for improving NCP effectiveness is attached.