25 May, 2011OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies are updated and improved to be extended to suppliers and for better protection of precarious workers.
GLOBAL: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) adopted updated and improved Guidelines for Multinational Companies on May 25 with significant improvements on their application to suppliers and for the protection of precariously employed workers.
In its statement on the updated Guidelines, the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD welcomes these and other positive developments and considers them to "significantly increase the relevance of the Guidelines and their potential to raise the standard of responsible business conduct in a global context".
The Guidelines are recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises operating in or from adhering countries. They provide principles and standards for responsible business conduct in areas such as employment and industrial relations, human rights and environment. Trade unions are able to bring forward complaints to the OECD in the event that a multinational company fails to uphold responsible practices as described by the Guidelines.
The revised Guidelines seek to improve the role and functioning of the National Contact Points (NCPs) and an enhanced role for the OECD in implementing the Guidelines.
The improvements to the Guidelines are the result of active negotiations by trade unions through the TUAC.
The International Metalworkers' Federation joins with TUAC in now calling on adhering governments to implement these new commitments and upgrade their National Contact Points and promote the Guidelines.
The TUAC statement on the updated Guidelines can be found here:
http://www.tuac.org/en/public/e-docs/00/00/08/EA/document_news.phtml