Corporate social responsibility meets traditional supervision of fundamental labour rights*

The International Labour Organisation's 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work prioritised four core labour standards' principles and led to a burst of new ratifications of the international treaties that are the subject of those principles. Ten years on there are important identified gaps in state implementation of the ratified Conventions that are the subject of the four principles. These gaps leave important holes in public policy and legislation. In a number of important substantive areas, these gaps have the effect of leaving it to private actors to figure out what would amount to fulfilling the norms of fundamental labour principle inspired codes of conduct. Inescapably left on their own to figure out approaches, corporate social responsibility (CSR)-respecting enterprises are subject to criticism levelled on the basis of interpretations of these principles given by civil society organisations and labour rights' campaigners. This chapter details this situation. The first part provides the necessary background information. The second part gives concrete examples of how this governance gap raises challenges to implementing CSR initiatives. The third part suggests that, considering the arguable origins of CSR in neo-liberal deregulatory fervour, social dialogue and reform by non-compliant state actors is the only sustainable solution.

The very basis of our existence*

This chapter focuses on the neglected environmental dimension of sustainable development. It argues that ecological sustainable development as the new law is not only supported by normative necessity but also has a legal basis in the law of the European Union. The political and bureaucratic will to carry through the necessary practical implementation is, however, lacking. This does not affect the validity of the legal basis or that of the obligations flowing from the legal basis. Rather, it indicates a need to keep repeating the message until it gets through. The chapter outlines the legal basis and its implications for the prioritisation between the three dimensions in EU law. It concludes with some reflections on the possible contribution of labour to the necessary transition to sustainable societies.

An afterword*

This chapter reviews the various contributions made to this volume and interventions offered at the conference held at the British Academy in May 2009. Reflecting on how theory has been and could be put into practice, it recognises that current trends towards globalisation and the recent economic crisis have forced us ‘to be cognisant of growing (and unsustainable) inequality between and within countries’. We now need to envisage policies to counter this and seize the opportunity to ensure participation in the debates which could shape such policies. A better realisation of labour standards could ‘play an important role in diminishing the social consequences of the crisis and in building a better socio-economic system to avoid or face future crises’, so that it is ultimately sustainable.

Development, the movement of persons and labour law*

This chapter argues that rethinking the boundaries of labour law must include considering a broad range of public policy measures that not only intersect with labour law, but shape it. In particular, trade liberalisation and restrictions to the movement of persons influence our understandings of how labour is meant to be regulated. The chapter offers a brief historical framing and a discussion of some of the contemporary empirical literature, to capture employment effects of an asymmetrical liberalisation that has fundamentally called into question the embedded liberal compromise made by industrialised market economies. It argues that efforts to rethink the boundaries of labour law must engage with trade law and immigration law. In the process, it challenges the binary between trade versus aid. It suggests that it is neither acceptable nor strategically wise to resist the movement of persons for work and its development implications; rather it is time to focus carefully on the terms of that movement. Support for a notion of ‘reasonable labour market access for migrant workers’ must be accompanied by a ‘decent work complement’, which might take the form of a ‘reverse’ social clause.

Comparative institutional advantage in the context of development*

This chapter discusses how the theory of comparative institutional advantage might be applied in the context of development. In so doing, it draws on the work of Hall and Soskice on Varieties of Capitalism (2001) and the author's own work on Labour Laws and Global Trade (2005), which argued that nations prosper in a globalised economy, not by becoming more similar in their labour laws, but by building their institutional advantages on a floor of fundamental human rights. The chapter develops this argument in the context of national responses to economic crisis. It considers the issue of comparative advantage in trade, questioning assumptions relating to the sources of such advantage, and proposing innovative regulatory means of addressing current shortcomings. It advocates positive interaction of local, national, regional, and international measures which empower workers' voices.

Big unions and big business*

This chapter investigates how international framework agreements (IFAs) could assist in securing economic, social, and environmental development objectives. At issue is whether ‘big unions’ and ‘big business’ can secure change, not only at the global level where agreements are easily reached in the abstract, but also at the local level such that development-oriented reforms are actually implemented in practice. It is argued that IFAs, by their very nature, have this potential. They can forge important intersections between the global and the local spheres of deliberation. In so doing, they may give opportunities to workers to identify local issues of economic, social, and environmental concern, and participate in decisions relating to their employer's responses to such concerns. Although there are obstacles that must be overcome, IFAs may well have an impact on development and its sustainability.

Gender, equality and capabilities*

This chapter considers the relationship between women's equality, care work, and sustainable development, and develops a conceptual framework that can be used to understand this complex relationship. The chapter is organized as follows. The second section briefly reviews the relationship between sustainable development, which includes the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) ‘Decent Work’ Agenda, and women's equality. It answers the question on what basis or dimension women's equality should be measured. Instead of assessing a range of potential answers, it focuses on Amartya Sen's notion of substantive freedom and his capabilities approach. The third section argues that women's equality, and especially the relationship between women's equality and responsibility for care work, illustrates both the promise of, and the limitations to, Sen's capabilities approach. The fourth section sketches some of the salient differences between paid and unpaid care work in the North and the South, which also considers the capacity of the ILO 2009 report, ‘Decent Work for Domestic Workers’, to respond to these differences. Drawing upon feminist scholars, the fifth section argues that, supplemented by a theory of choice, deliberative mechanisms, and a social theory of power, the capabilities approach can be a useful tool for conceptualising women's equality and for recognising the significance of socially necessary care work. The chapter concludes by suggesting that a robust capabilities approach designed to address gender inequality and to incorporate care work illuminates the limitations in the current approaches of antidiscrimination law for addressing women's inequality.

Corporate social responsibility*

The potential role of corporations through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in sustainable development is significant for workers and trade unions because sustainable development is widely considered to include recognition of the needs and relevance of labour. CSR might thus be considered to provide an open door for a more participatory role for workers and their representatives, and for achieving better and stronger labour standards. However, this chapter argues that CSR is unlikely to bring about sustainability in this way and is in fact more likely to exclude labour participation. It addresses the links that can be made between CSR and labour rights. It highlights the limitations of CSR, explains why its promises are likely to be unfulfilled, and argues that an alternative approach is required. Workers and trade unions need to collaborate with other social movements to establish a countervailing power to that enjoyed by large corporations. A stronger accountability regime is also required that will ensure real responsibility of corporations for their actions.

Child labour*

This chapter explores the responsibility of corporations regarding child labour. This exploration is done at two levels. First, selected regulatory regimes are reviewed to ascertain the corporate responsibility outlined therein. Under international law generally, the responsibility in relation to human/labour rights was traditionally and primarily conceived with reference to states. This state-focal nature, though, seems to be undergoing a change in recent years. For example, more importance is now being given to states' duty to ensure that non-state actors within their respective jurisdictions comply with the goal of eliminating child labour. In addition to this indirect approach, responsibility for child labour is also being directly imposed on corporations. Second, at a normative level, the notion of responsibility is analysed with reference to the idea of being ‘responsive’ to the state of child labour. ‘Responsiveness’ is contrasted with ‘responsibility’ in that the former focuses more on strategy and action rather than outlining what duties corporations have on a given issue.

Some remarks on the economics of child labour*

The responsibility for child labour is often cast as resting with (exploitative) employers. This creates a demand for legislation that bars employers from employing children. However, a careful look at household survey data suggests that the majority of employers are parents and, when not, parents have volunteered the child for work. This chapter focuses on the majority case of children working to help the family survive. It briefly discusses the role of legislation in curbing child labour, while arguing that it is not a substitute for efforts directed at creating income-generating opportunities amongst the poor and improving their access to education. Even when legislation is effective in lowering the incidence of child labour, it remains relevant to consider where children removed from the labour market go, which is why so much of the emphasis in the contemporary development literature is on education.