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At a top level UN meeting in New York this week, UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip singled out Prosegur, Walmart and T-Mobile as examples of companies whose anti-union bias in certain countries is destroying the concept of decent work. Jennings, speaking in the presence of the Colombia Labour Minister, Luisn Eduardo Garzon, called for Prosegur to set an example in Colombia rather than abusing workers and taking an anti-union stance.

After Jenning had spoken about Prosegur's actions in Colombia, the Colombian Labour Minister made this final remark,“What is the concept of corporate social responsibility? I believe it needs to be brought into the current day. Creating a foundation, an NGO, with respect to foundations and NGOs, is to send a message of assistentialism. Is taking a photo with poor children and involving yourself in a campaign [corporate social responsibility]? And that’s not taking anything away [from the foundations and NGOs]. But it is evident that corporate social responsibility starts with wanting to comply with rights, you have to comply with the rules of the game and the law and it seems to me that when you don’t permit social organizations, or you stigmatize social or trade union organizations, there is a lack of corporate social responsibility.” (See this comment at 1 hour 3 minutes on the video)

Jennings and the Colombian Labour Minister were speakers at the “Making Dignity and Prosperity the Norm” session at the EcoSoc event held at the United Nations where ILO Director General Guy Ryder made the key note speech.

(Watch the whole session here with Philip Jenning’s speech beginning at 27 minutes 35 seconds)

Guy Ryder focused on the need for a new global social contract where the UN multilateral system was in contact with the lives and concerns of people. Ryder said a decent job was only behind health and education in a recent poll of people’s concerns. Ryder concluded, “Making dignity and prosperity the norm is central to such a global social contract for sustainable development and its political glue is surely decent work.

See transcript of Philip Jennings’ speech below:

Philip Jennings’ Speech to UN ECOSOC, March 31 2015

“Organising workers in the private sector is a battle”

“There is nothing philosophical about organising workers in the private sector, it is a battle. We cannot make workers’ dignity and prosperity the norm without a strong trade union movement.

I bring the message from the frontline about how difficult it is in this environment to organise workers – we have very significant headwinds, we have significant obstacles.

“US worst place when it comes to gaining recognition for trade unions”

We’re here in the US, the world’s number one economy. This is also the worst place when it comes to gaining recognition for trade unions. This is the worst place in the western hemisphere in terms of getting access to workers, discussing with workers, having a fair opportunity to say to them “would you like union representation”. For years and years this has been the prevailing model, whatever the government and whatever its political persuasion.

Therefore if you look at what this has meant in this country you see there is clear correlation: the more you weaken your labour movement and take your workers away from collective bargaining, strangle and throttle their voice at the work place - the more unequal economically the country becomes.

I can cite case after case – the world’s largest private sector employer Walmart, not one union member in this country, not one collective bargaining agreement. And this was a model often seen as the most admired by the business community.

31.57 We have companies with good records at home, German companies like T-Mobile, when they cross the Atlantic and come here they use the most brutal intimidatory methods to prevent people from joining a union.

“Prosegur…acts in a brutal anti-union fashion when they should be setting an example”

We have with us here the Minister of Labour for Colombia and he knows that over the years the most difficult place to be a union leader is Colombia. Thousands of workers have lost their lives. We then have a Spanish company called Prosegur which acts in a brutal anti-union fashion when they should be setting an example. So I just say to all of you that out there it feels like a battle, out there it is extremely difficult to get our job done.

If there is one message that I can bring to you, it is that our society has become less democratic, less equal, when these kind of measures particularly from the private sector and backed up by governments with their dodgy trade deals, we will not lift the spirits or the economic opportunities for humanity with the level of obstacles that we see now.

But coming from Wales, and we are an optimistic people I am happy to say there are some changes in the air. Every day we say thank you for the presence of the ILO! And for the people who had the courage and good politics to create it. It’s our security council, they are our peacekeepers, they are a place of refuge, they are our shelter. It is important that the ILO’s basic declarations are seen and applied by business and government. I wonder in this current climate if we could reinvent the ILO as it is today. Thank god that it’s there and I would like to thank all the staff at the ILO for all the extraordinary work that they do. Thank you – you give hope and solace to many.

“(Application of UNGPs represent) a huge change and a huge opportunity to clean up this planet when it comes to respect for workers’ rights”

Now we begin to see with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the notion of due diligence, the fact that governments everywhere now have to produce national action plans; that every business on this planet has to take measures to see the extent to which it is respecting the human rights of its employees with remedies. This is a huge change and a huge opportunity to clean up this planet when it comes to respect for workers’ rights. We like the OECD new guidelines and there contact points, governments are now taking their responsibilities seriously bringing in their social partners, of bringing together a social dialogue, about trying to improve behaviour. The investment community out there is now looking at what we call responsible business conduct. We have the UN Global Compact which brings together a significant number of companies but needs to do a lot more in terms of the applications of those basic principles.

“…the writing is on the wall with the level of inequality…this a threat to economic livelihoods, it’s a threat to business…”

If we don’t have strong trade unions and we cannot organise working people into organisations, if we cannot negotiate, if we cannot take industrial action as needs be, then our ability to bring prosperity and improve conditions of men and women on this planet is brought into question. In fact it becomes almost impossible. You’ve seen the writing on the wall with the level of inequality, take those figures seriously, this is a threat to economic livelihoods, it’s a threat to business, it’s a threat to communities, it’s a threat to your neighbour, it’s a threat your own well-being.

We have time to correct this and that is why these sustainable development goals and the good work you are doing here we have a chance to measure progress, to hold people to account and to ensure that an employee of Walmart, or of Prosegur or of T-Mobile or of any other business wants to join a union, they can do so free from fear.