Monitoring International Labor Standards Summary of Domestic Forums (2003) / Chapter Skim
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5 Nongovernmental Organizations
5 Nongovernmental Organizations
Pages 41-62
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From page 41... ...
Mila Rosenthal represented the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights; Carol Pier, Human Rights Watch; Bipul Chattopadhyay, Consumer Unity & Trust Society; David S chilling, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility; Tom Hayden, the Campaign for the Abolition of Sweatshops and Child Labor; Garrett Brown, Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network; Stephen Coats, U.S./Labor Education in the Americas Project; Dennis Smith, Commission for the Verification of Corporate Codes of Conduct; May Wong and Aewha Kim, Asia Monitor Resource Center; and Pharis I Harvey, International Labor Rights Fund.
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From page 42... ...
Ms. Rosenthal stated that there are many difficulties associated with monitoring the core labor standards, and these have been set forth in the numerous papers that the committee has received.
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From page 43... ...
Rosenthal pointed out that there are significant regional differences that would necessitate careful analysis of labor issues in the north, south, and mountainous areas of the country, and it's not clear how these different perspectives could be combined into an overall rating of Vietnam. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the database is not a worthwhile project, one that has the potential to assist everyone seeking better compliance with core labor standards around the world.
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From page 44... ...
The methodology of HRW is fairly simple and matches that used to investigate human rights abusespersonal interviews and written documentation. HRW endeavors to interview as many interested parties as possible, including current and former workers, government officials, company and trade union representatives, local NGO personnel, local labor activists, and officials of international institutions.
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From page 45... ...
In addition, most informal economy work takes place in private homes, and thus the workers are inaccessible. The investigation of the banana industry in Ecuador was spurred by reports of child labor and widespread labor rights abuses.
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From page 46... ...
Mr. Chattopadhyay contends that child labor is not only a phenomenon of the developing world; there are numerous studies showing its existence among industrialized nations as well, although its causes tend to be far different.
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From page 47... ...
To this end, the ICCR's Global Corporate Accountability Program attempts to get companies to adopt codes of conduct for their supply chain, pay a living wage, and adopt human rights policies based on the ILO's core labor standards. Growing public awareness of the labor rights issue in recent years has occurred because of consumer and student campaigns, press reports,
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From page 48... ...
But there remains a great deal of work to be done; labor rights violations are occurring at this very moment, and this fact should spur action on a number of fronts. First, corporate codes of conduct need to be strengthened, in particular through the addition of ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on freedom of association and collective bargaining.
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From page 49... ...
LIGN FOR THE ABOLITION OF SWEATSHOPS AND CHILD LABOR Tom Hayden, presenter gn for the Abolition of Sweatshops and Child Labor is a , coalition of religious, labor, student, human rights, civil compliance slipp process. In addition, in general seek n pass a test but a society to enforce out deficiencies i the role of gover Rev.
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From page 50... ...
Many, if not all, of these reform movements were resisted by business organizations on the basis that a reliance on free market forces alone was the best remedy for social and economic ills; government intervention would not just fail to solve the problems at hand, it was claimed, but would exacerbate them. For example, one assertion of those groups opposed to ILS is that the enforcement of the ILO's core labor standards will interfere with the free functioning of the labor market, resulting in lower aggregate welfare among those least able to afford it, that is, those in the developing world.
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From page 51... ...
MAQUILADORA HEALTH AND SAFETY SUPPORT NETWORK Garrett Brown, presenter The Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network is a volunteer network of 400 occupational health and safety professionals who have placed their names on a resource list to provide information, technical assistance, and onsite instruction regarding workplace hazards in the 3,000 "maquiladora" (foreign-owned assembly) plants along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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From page 52... ...
They must dedicate adequate resources to health and safety issues, adopt the most forward-thinking health and safety standards and monitoring practices, and nurture the health and safety infrastructure where they operate. As for governments, they must update regulations, devote resources to enforcement, muster the political will to act, and adopt an upward harmonization platform for negotiating trade and investment agreements.
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From page 53... ...
Mr. Coats noted that there is a dearth of surveys and written documentation on labor standards in Latin America.
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From page 54... ...
To get a broad picture of a country's labor law and practice, US/LEAP reviews the U.S. State Department's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and ILO publications, and consults with the labor attaches in the U.S.
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From page 55... ...
Local trade unions rarely have the capacity (financial and otherwise) to provide detailed and consistent information, and labor lawyers are few and far between.
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From page 56... ...
It was formed in 1997 by a group of professionals active in Guatemalan civil society with expertise in the areas of law, business administration, sociology, communication, education, and religion. COVERCO employs monitors to regularly document working conditions, inspect working environments, interview workers and management, and conduct financial audits.
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From page 57... ...
These include securing follow-through on remediation plans; ensuring that workers and factory management understand their rights and responsibilities under international labor standards; and maintaining independence from the firms when monitors charge for an auditing service. It is clear from the experience of COVERCO and from discussions with many other institutions involved in monitoring compliance with codes of conduct that a number of things must occur before global compliance with ILS will dramatically improve.
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From page 58... ...
is a nonprofit organization based in Hong Kong and focuses on labor issues in the region. Its main goal is to support democratic and independent trade unions in Asia.
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From page 59... ...
Thus, a system must be established to pay for monitoring compliance that does not result in serious financial harm to factories. Third, because auditors often lack proper training in labor relations and labor rights, they are likely to fail to recognize violations of core labor standards.
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From page 60... ...
60 SUMMARY OF DOMESTIC FORUMS ASIA MONITOR RESOURCE CENTER Aewha Kim, presenter In conducting its monitoring and research, the AMRC tries to gather information from all parties that have a stake in how workplaces are managed. Although secondary sources are at times adequate, the AMRC nonetheless places greater weight on interviews with factory workers.
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From page 61... ...
was founded in 1986 by a coalition of human rights, labor, policy-making, academic, and religious organizations to fight for the rights of workers in international trade through monitoring the enforcement of labor clauses in trade agreements. Through the years, the ILRF has become instrumental in stimulating solutions to the issues and problems of worker rights and labor standards around the world.
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From page 62... ...
These efforts and the more recent rise of codes of conduct and NGO activist and monitoring groups have a common theme an attempt to substitute for, or move beyond, the authority of national governments to enforce labor standards. The global economy lacks a coherent and permanent governance structure sufficient to address the issues being created by commercial forces that do not recognize political boundaries.
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