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Photo:  Deutsche Bundesregierung

UNI warns companies that world is growing increasingly intolerant of irresponsible business conduct

A new public opinion poll commissioned by the International Trade Union Confederation ahead of the G7 finds that just one in five people in western economies agree that corporations can be trusted with their global workforce.

The poll released on the eve of the G7 summit in Germany comes amid growing political concern that multinational companies and international organisations notably FIFA are ignoring agreements and breaking the rules.

UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “Seven years after the global financial crisis people continue to have little trust in big business. The latest ITUC poll is a global vote of no confidence.

From the Rana Plaza tragedy, through the FIFA debacle, the Qatar stadium construction crisis to escalating CEO pay, tax evasion and falling real wages: all point to an irresponsible business world.

It is a good thing that Angela Merkel has given supply chain justice and promotion of responsible business conduct such a prominent place at the G7 summit in Germany.

There are solutions that work. The Bangladesh Accord with global business and global unions working together has delivered results. Global framework agreements between a company and global unions provide an important human rights pillar in the new global context.

The time has come for the G7 to lift the bar to ensure responsible business conduct.”

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said the G7 could play a critical role in strengthening the rule of law.

"G7 nations have laws that guarantee fundamental rights for workers in their own countries. They can guarantee equal treatment for workers in other countries where companies based in G7 countries operate, by extending the same rule of law beyond their boundaries."

With the rise of global supply chains, accounting for three quarters of global trade, large corporations are employing workers around the globe in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey - but often indirectly through a chain of contractors.

"Citizens have made a plea to G7 leaders not to trust corporations to look after the world's workforce. They don't trust them to pay them a decent wage, they don't trust them to respect their rights and they don't trust them to take safety seriously," said Sharan Burrow.

"The vast majority believing these corporations can't be trusted to look after their workers because they will prioritise profits over the interests of people, including the safety of their employees. This breakdown in trust places the onus back on governments to cooperate to hold these global giants to account for their workers," said John Evans, General Secretary, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD.

Headline findings from ITUC poll on trust in companies and supply chains:

* 55 % of respondents in France, Germany, the UK and the US believe most global companies can't be trusted to look after their workers and tougher laws are needed;
* 80 % of respondent in Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey believe that most employers prioritise profits over safety of their workers;
* More than three quarters (78%) of people in Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey believe that business should pay all their workers a decent minimum wage - no matter where they are.