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UNI Global Union’s Deputy General Secretary Christy Hoffman told union leaders gathered at the ITUC World Congress in Berlin that they must use every tool at their disposal to advance the right to organise – a human right.

Hoffman said this includes mobilizing responsible investors to demand change when employers don’t respect their workers rights

She explained that, “An estimated $34 trillion dollars in assets are now managed by the 1200 funds or asset managers which have signed to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) -  about 20% of the value of global capital markets and a growing share. The PRI principles embed the rule that employers should not interfere with workers’ organising.

There is also the UN Guiding Principles, which require that shareholders use their influence within the companies they own to correct violations of human rights.”  

Hoffman said UNI has engaged in discussions with about 40 European based investors, and advisors to ask them to intervene when a company in their portfolio does not respect the human rights of its workers. 

“Our goal is that the CEO should have to explain himself at least once a week for his company’s bad behaviour and if no progress the threat of disinvestment should be come real.”

Hoffman gave the concrete example of the DHL campaign, in which UNI and ITF   engaged about 10 funds from the top 20 investors in the company -and the 5 top research firms which advise hundreds of funds, drawing their attention to the company’s failure to respect human rights at work.

“Some of these funds then had discussions with the company. One threatened to divest.   And how do we know that this pressure from investors made a difference?  In settlement discussions, the company’s first demand was that we stop all contact with investors.”  
Hoffman gave a second example of the G4S campaign in which a long list of investors were engaged with the company on a regular basis over a two year period- asking the company to explain its systemic failure to even abide by local law as concerns its workers. 

“In the case of G4S, one small Norwegian  fund publicly divested - acting upon the recommendation of its analyst  and a settlement followed shortly thereafter.”
  
Hoffman also pointed out how investors can be mobilized to support shareholder resolutions which elevate the issue of labour rights, particularly effective with US and UK based companies.  

“Only last week there was a well supported shareholder resolution at National express in the UK supported by 3 local authority funds and the TUC.   We are actively pursuing investors to support a resolution in T-Mobile. And in the past, shareholder actions, have enabled workers to organise in First Group, Tesco and many more.” 

In conclusion Hoffman said, “Capital is globalised and this presents both threats and opportunities.  These funds invest the retirement savings of the world’s workers.  This is  workers capital…we must ensure that these funds are the leading edge of a more just economic system and we must  demand that these billions are actively deployed to promote the human rights of workers.  Because it won’t happen on its own - if we don’t do it, no one will.”  

Among those sharing the stage with Hoffman was Kirsty Drew Senior Policy Adviser TUAC, who gave a clear and concise explanation of the two key international instruments – the global rules – relevant to growing unions, including those in the global supply chain, namely:
·    OECD Guidelines for MNEs 
·    UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Please see attached document for details.