Special focus on labour rights 26 March 20143 Prof. Christine Kaufmann Spring Term 2014 Establishment of the ILO (1/3) The Treaty of Versailles Motivation for establishing the ILO Humanitarian considerations Interdependence of social peace and world peace Prevent social dumping with international labour standards Establishment of a permanent institution to define internationally applicable labour standards Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 2 1
Establishment of the ILO (2/3) Constitution of the ILO Establishment of a permanent int. organisation ( statutes ) Institutional framework for enacting labour standards Tripartite approach for the int. labour conference: 1 workers representative 1 employers representative 2 government representatives Delegation of a member state Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 3 Establishment of the ILO (3/3) Contd.: Constitution of the ILO Philadelphia-Declaration 1944 Legal nature Labour is not a commodity Meaning of Art. II d: Mainstreaming Means of the ILO Standard setting Technical cooperation Research Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 4 2
Fundamental Conventions of the ILO Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour (No. 29 and 105) Freedom of association, right to organise and collective bargaining (No. 87 and 98) Elimination of discrimination, equal remuneration (No. 100 and 111) Abolition of child labour (No. 138 and 182) Implementation of the conventions Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 5 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 1998 (1/2) Challenges for the ILO Fundamental conventions not broadly ratified Tripartite structure prohibits reservations Reach universal consensus Concentrate on process-oriented vs. outcome oriented rights Leave details to states Pragmatic approach: Non binding document, voluntary Enforcement mechanism Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 6 3
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 1998 (2/2) Content Core labour standards: Reference to the fundamental conventions Competitive advantage of developing countries must not be diminished Implementation Annual reports by member states which have not yet ratified all the fundamental conventions Comprehensive study about one of the core labour rights published by the International Labour Office each year. Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 7 ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization 2008 Defines the role of the ILO much more in line with the Philadelphia Declaration noting... that that the violation of fundamental principles and rights at work cannot be invoked or otherwise used as a legitimate comparative advantage and that labour standards should not be used for protectionist trade purposes. Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 8 4
Case study: Nestlé s Cocoa Supply Chain in Ivory Coast (1/2) Child labour on cocoa farms is widespread Civil war in 2010/11, political instability Poverty: 46% poor, 24% live in extreme poverty Major economic importance of cocoa production for the country Widespread criticism about child labour on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 9 Case study: Nestlé s Cocoa Supply Chain in Ivory Coast (2/2) Plans for legislation in the US Draft bill on child labour in Chocolate production 2000 Harkin-Engel Protocol 2001: Industry agreement Adoption of UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines Nestlé develops Cocoa plan Nestlé gives mandate to Fair Labor Association (FLA) to assess situation Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 10 5
FLA s mandate Mapping of stakeholders in Nestlé s cocoa supply chain What interests are at stake? Governmental and non-governmental stakeholders Mapping of Nestlé s cocoa supply chain in Ivory Coast Who is involved in the production? Who are the actors? Organised and unorganised, informal actors Assessment of the associated risks in Nestlé s cocoa supply chain What risks occur in the production process with focus on children? How are can these risks be traced and monitored? Relevant in this context: Guiding Principles No. 17 and 18. Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 11 FLA s findings: General observations Variety of stakeholders Highly complex supply chain Gap analysis Internal risk management Labor risk assessment Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 12 6
FLA s findings: Stakeholder mapping Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 13 FLA s findings: Highly complex supply chain Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 14 7
Example: Chocolate as a gift for University students University of Zurich concludes contract with producer in Belgium Major Dutch supplier buys Cacao at NYMEX Belgian Producer buys cacao from Dutch supplier Chocolate is produced in Belgium, delivered to University of Zurich Manager of cacao plant in Ivory Coast employs six year old children under slave-like conditions German owner of the plant sells cacao at New York Mercantile Exchange Owner pays manager, who continues to hire child-slaves Is the University of Zurich responsible for the human rights violations in Ivory Coast? The Belgian producer? The Dutch supplier? The German owner? Which country is responsible for protecting human rights at the plant in Ivory Coast? What are the criteria? Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 15 Resources Nestlé s cocoa plan: http://www.nestlecocoaplan.com/ Nesté s external website: http://www.nestle.com/media/newsandfeatures/pages/flareport-cocoa.aspx Fair Labor Association http://www.fairlabor.org/sites/default/files/documents/reports/co coa-report-final_0.pdf Human Rights Special Focus on Labour Rights Prof. Christine Kaufmann, Spring Term 2014 Page 16 8