Memorandum submitted by Prospect
JOINT COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS: LABOUR
RIGHTS AS HUMAN RIGHTS
As a trade union we are currently engaged in
a three year Department for International Development funded project
that aims to address poverty reduction via Corporate (Social)
Responsibility and supply chains. The approach is grounded in
trade union values which we believe impacts all dimensions of
the "world at work" be this local and/or global and
that labour rights are fundamental to the health and well being
of workers in all business activities. We therefore want this
submission to be considered as part of the Select Committee's
current inquiry.
Prospect is an independent, thriving and forward-looking
trade union with more than 102,000 members in the public
and private sectors. Our members are engineers, scientists, managers
and specialists in areas as diverse as agriculture, defence, energy,
environment, heritage, shipbuilding and transport. We are the
largest union in the UK representing professional engineers.
Enclosed for you is our new Negotiator's Guide
to Corporate Social Responsibility, which outlines the approach
we have to the global world at work encapsulating the core belief
of the right to decent safe work as a means to address poverty
and to hold organisations to account from within.
This approach, aimed at demonstrating the link
between organisational activities, core labour standards and the
Millennium Development Goals and that as trade unionists we can
bring about change to working practices, not only to the communities
in which organisations operate—but the broader accountability
in practices relating to the developing world—this to include labour
exploitation, national humanitarian campaigns, trade inequalities
and corruption that impacts individuals and communities in the
developing world.
LABOUR RIGHTS
AS HUMAN
RIGHTS
(Question 1 & 2)
Derived from the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and iAdopted in 1998, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work is an expression of commitment by
governments, employers' and workers' organizations to uphold basic
human values—values that are vital to our social and economic
lives. The Declaration covers four areas:
— Freedom of association and the right
to collective bargaining.
— The elimination of forced and compulsory
labour.
— The abolition of child labour.
— The elimination of discrimination in
the workplace.
The Declaration makes it clear that these rights
are universal, and that they apply to all people in all States—regardless
of the level of economic development. It particularly mentions
groups with special needs, including the unemployed and migrant
workers. It recognizes that economic growth alone is not enough
to ensure equity, social progress and to eradicate poverty.
Workers' rights are human rights, but that these
rights are still denied to millions of workers. Abuses range from
restrictive legislation to the brutal repression and even murder
of union activists—the ultimate breech of their fundamental
right to life.
DECENT WORK
AS A
HUMAN RIGHT
Decent workii is captured in four strategic
objectives: fundamental principles and rights at work and international
labour standards; employment and income opportunities; social
protection and social security; and social dialogue. These objectives
hold for all workers, women and men, in both formal and informal
economies; in wage employment or working on their own account;
in the fields, factories and offices; in homes or in the community.
PROSPECT, LABOUR
RIGHTS & POVERTY
REDUCTION
(Question 6)
Prospect's initiative to link the Millennium
Development Goals and trade union values, which in essence are
those of basic human dignity, into a force that can affect change
from within the organisations we represent (both private and public
sectors). This approach is also expected to achieve results: sustained
progress towards respect of human rights, development, peace,
security, eradication of poverty, and achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals.
Prospect's approach will be to raise awareness
of the MDGs and human/labour rights and then advocate for organisations
to address these issues via:
1. Corporate Social Responsibility
Demonstrating the link between organisational
activities, core labour standards and the Millennium Development
Goals and that as trade unionists we can bring about change to
working practices, not only to the communities in which organisations
operate—but the broader accountability in practices relating
to the developing world—this to include labour
exploitation and corruption that impacts individuals and communities
in the developing world.
The objectives of this ongoing work will be
to demonstrate:
— How the Millennium Development Goals
can help deliver organisational CSR policies.
— That organisations play a role, through
their overseas operations and supply chains, in alleviating poverty
by providing safe, decent and humane work.
— How organisational humanitarian/charitable
work activities can contribute to the Millennium Development Goals.
2. Procurement & supply chains (Question
8)
We aim to encourage members to call for ethical
procurement to be added to the bargaining agenda with their employers.
This will include advocacy to ensure that the working conditions
of workers in companies that supply goods to UK consumers (both
individual and corporate consumers) meet or exceed international
standards and adhere to labour rights.
Prospect
April 2009
i http://www.ilo.org/dyn/declaris/DECLARATIONWEB.INDEXPAGE?var_language=EN
ii http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Mainpillars/WhatisDecentWork/lang--en/index.htm
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