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Report by the Chair on the Activities of the NCPs Every year, the National Contact Points (NCPs) of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises ("the Guidelines") meet to review their experiences in performing and promoting the implementation of the Guidelines. They also engage in consultations with the Business Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC), and with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), notably OECD Watch, to seek their input on how to further enhance the effectiveness of the Guidelines. Additionally, a back-to-back roundtable with practitioners is organised to assist NCPs in better understanding the emerging issues and policy developments relevant to the Guidelines. This year, at the invitation of OECD Ministers and the G8,1 this event consisted of a high-level conference on "Employment and Industrial Relations: Promoting Responsible Business Conduct in a Globalising Economy" jointly organised with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on 23-24 June 2008.
Acknowledgements The National Contact Points, the OECD Investment Committee and Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee, and the ILO wish to thank all of those who actively contributed to the OECD-ILO Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility held in Paris on 23-24 June 2008 in conjunction with the eighth annual meeting of the National Contact Points, and more particularly...
Key Findings from the OECD-ILO Conference Jointly organised by OECD and ILO, this conference was devoted to the theme of "Employment and Industrial Relations: Promoting Responsible Business Conduct in a Globalising Economy". Discussions focused on wider dissemination of good corporate labour practices and better understanding and use of the OECD and ILO instruments. This chapter provides a summary of these discussions.
Corporate Responsibility Practices in the Area of Employment and Industrial Relations This paper seeks to identify how companies manage labour issues in light of the principles and standards for responsible business conduct as promoted by the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, in particular its Chapter IV "Employment and Industrial Relations". The analysis covers a range of labour issues: equal opportunities, health and safety, job security and training, trade unions and other internationally recognised labour standards such as child labour, forced labour and freedom of association within owned operations and the supply chain. This paper also includes allegations by civil society stakeholders of breaches of internationally recognised core labour standards, both in the company and the supply chain, and international standards on working hours and health and safety to assess how companies are managing labour issues globally.
The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Wages and Working Conditions Foreign direct investment (FDI) by OECD-based multinational enterprises (MNEs) in developing and emerging economies has increased dramatically over the past two decades. While generally perceived as beneficial for local development, it has also raised concerns about unfair competition and the protection of workers’ rights in host countries. This paper documents the recent increase in FDI and assesses its effects on wages and working conditions for workers of foreign affiliates of MNEs and those of their independent supplier firms. The evidence suggests that MNEs tend to provide better pay than their domestic counterparts, especially when they operate in developing and emerging economies. The positive impact on wages also appears to spread to the employees of domestic firms that serve as suppliers of MNEs or recruit managers with prior experience in foreign firms, but these spillover effects are small. MNEs also provide more training than domestic firms, but it is unclear whether this reflects a causal impact of foreign ownership.
Development and Decent Work This note looks at how business endeavours can contribute to the promotion of decent work and explains the value of the ILO MNE Declaration for companies, governments and workers’ and employers’ organisations seeking to put in place a policy framework that maximises the linkages between FDI and the process of sustainable economic, social and environmental development. It was prepared for the presentation by Mr. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Director, ILO Employment Sector, at the OECD-ILO Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility.
Overview of Selected Initiatives and Instruments Relevant to Corporate Social Responsibility This report provides an overview of the unique status and characteristics of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy and the UN Global Compact. These instruments complement privately-developed corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and are key expressions of the broader systems of public and private governance from which the private initiatives emerge.
Appendices
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