3 November, 2005

By Ingeborg Wick

Published jointly by:
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and SÜDWIND Institut für Ökonomie und Ökumene.
Bonn / Siegburg 2005.

DIN A 5 booklet, 140 pages.

Available online
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Hard copy: 5 EURO plus postage and money transfer costs.

Preface to the 4th revised edition

Since the first publication of “Workers’ tool or PR ploy?” in March 2001, the international debate on codes of conduct has gained further momentum. This debate reflects a growing worldwide movement questioning the social impact of globalisation. According to the ILO World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation which published its findings in early 2004, globalisation has denied the vast majority of women and men decent jobs and a better future for their children. Since the beginning of the 90s, a whole range of new instruments aimed at the improvement workers’ rights, such as codes of conduct, international framework agreements and world works councils, have been developed. They were initiated by trade unions and civil society organisations as a supplement, and not an alternative, to government regulation. However, more and more businesses and governments promote the concept of voluntary “Corporate Social Responsibility” as an alternative to binding labour legislation. Yet, to counter further social polarisation, both public and private regulation will be necessary, and care should be taken to make them complement each other in practice. This publication is centred on the profiles of five prominent code verification initiatives. During the past months, they have shown converging tendencies, despite their varied differences. The common ground is currently being explored in a “Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers’ Rights” including the Clean Clothes Campaign aimed at strengthening the coordination and cooperation between these initiatives. Further harmonisation of code of conduct efforts will be needed to fully exploit the potential of this tool for the benefit of workers.

The first, second and third editions of this booklet have been translated into several languages and were used for worker education programmes in different countries. May the fourth revised edition also serve this purpose, and contribute to turning codes of conduct into useful tools in the hands of workers.

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung & SÜDWIND Institut für Ökonomie und Ökumene