New business guide from UN Global Compact on labour principles

Publicado: 30 Julio 2009
Google translate: 

As part of the promotion of the labour principles, the UN Global Compact has recently issued a new guide for Business. The guide contains a description of the four labour principles in question and answer format. It also contains a listing of all the key ILO resources to support these principles. The guide is supported by the International Organisation of Employer (IOE), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and business leaders.



UNI Global Union has been working with the UN Global Compact labour working group with the International Labour Organisation(ILO) and ITUC. The labour working group was organised specifically to bring focus to the four global compact labour principles on promoting a common approach to implementing them.



The UN Global Compact's labour principles are derived from the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998):

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;

Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and

Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.



The guide is set out in a way that make’s it a practical resource for any business to use. Each principle is explained with a definition, an example of the principle in action and a solution to implement the principle in a business situation.


UNGC Principle 3 : Uphold freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.



What does freedom of association mean?



Freedom of association implies a respect for the right of all employers and all workers to freely and voluntarily establish and join groups for the promotion and defence of their occupational interests.



Workers and employers have the right to set up, join and run their own organizations without interference from the State or any another entity. Employers should not interfere in workers’ decision to associate, try to influence their decision in any way, or discriminate against either those workers who choose to associate or those who act as their representatives.



What does collective bargaining mean?



The right of workers to bargain freely with employers is an essential element in freedom of association….



Collective bargaining can only function effectively if it is conducted freely and in good faith by all parties. This implies:

· Making efforts to reach an agreement;

· Carrying out genuine and constructive negotiations;

· Avoiding unjustified delays;



How can companies uphold freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining?



· Take into account the role and function of the representative national

· employers’ organizations.

· Take steps to improve the climate in labour-management relations, especially in those countries without an adequate institutional and legal framework for recognizing trade unions and for collective bargaining.

UNI welcomed the initiative shown by the ILO, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the Global Compact in developing such a guide for multinational and national enterprises. UNI stated:



“With this guide there can be no confusion for human resource departments in business across the globe, about how to apply the UN Global Compact labour principles. All multinationals from Tesco, to T Mobile, to Walmart who have developed their own principles, should ensure that they are consistent in principle and practice with these global standards”



The UN Global compact has done an enormous amount of work in developing tools and methods of best practice to bring the 10 principles into daily practice in businesses across the globe. One such tool that deserves mention is the signing of global agreements.



The UN Global Compact encourages its signatories to sign global agreements as a way for business to put the four labour principles into action.



This is what the UN Global Compact says about global agreements:


“A global framework agreement can be an effective tool to advance the implementation of the Global Compact labour principles and improve industrial relations.



These agreements benefit both companies and employees by providing a common platform for addressing the Global Compact labour principles at the company level and within the context of national and international law. In addition, many agreements incorporate principles from other international conventions.



Because the framework agreements cover the same ILO conventions on which the labour principles are based, companies and employees do not have to negotiate new labour standards. Rather, the agreements emphasize the parties’ commitment to respect and promote existing standards.”

Global Compact





UNI Global Union has set itself a goal of signing 50 multinational global agreements by it November 2010 Congress. With over 30 already signed, UNI is confident it will reach its goal. UNI Global Union is committed to global agreements as a source of benefit to all stakeholders, from the workers to investors. UNI has expertise in negotiating agreements with companies of all size and diversity. UNI has a proven track record having re-negotiated with companies to upgrade or enhance the original agreement. Many negotiations between multinational companies and UNI are in progress right now.



A copy of the UN Global Compact ‘Labour Principles- A Guide for Business’ can be found here:

http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/the_labour_principles_a_guide_for_business.pdf