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NEWSLETTER 15, JUNE 2002
German Roundtable on Codes of Conduct
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As already briefly mentioned in the last CCC newsletter
the German Roundtable on Codes of Conduct with four representatives
each from government, business, unions, and NGOs started
to operate in January 2001. Its aim is "to find out
how procedures of monitoring and verification which are
effective and acceptable to all parties concerned should
be shaped and how unions/workers' representatives and NGOs
can be adequately involved." The experiences from pilot
projects and other Roundtable initiatives are supposed to
lead to recommendations on the introduction, monitoring,
and verification of voluntary codes of conduct.
Members of the German Roundtable are: (a) government -
Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development,
Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs;
(b) business -- German Federation of Employers' Association,
German Foreign Trade Association (AVE), Otto Versand, and
BASF; (c) unions -- IG Metall, IG Bergbau, Chemie und Energie,
North-South Network of DGB, Friedrich Ebert Foundation,
and (d) NGOs -- CCC, FIAN, Transfair, and VENRO.
After the founding meeting in January 2001, and a meeting
in March with briefings on experiences with code of conduct
initiatives so far (such as ETI, CCC, SAI, WRC and the FLA)
the German Roundtable met in July to discuss its program
up to the end of 2002. A follow-up program to run after
2002 is a possibility.
At the July meeting it was left open if in addition to
the evaluation of pilot projects already under way (such
as those being carried out by AVE in India or those organized
by the CCC) the Roundtable would embark on pilots of its
own. This question will be discussed in more detail by a
commission composed of AVE, the Associations of the Textile
and Garment industries, the Metal Workers' Union and the
CCC.
In addition to discussion on pilot projects, the German
Roundtable also started a series of consultations with government,
parliamentarians and governmental bodies such as the OECD,
the ILO, the consumer ministry and the enquete commission
on globalisation of the German Bundestag. This commission
was created after the 1998 parliamentary elections in order
to discuss the impacts of globalisation and governmental
options for steps to tke in response to this impact.
It remains to be seen if these efforts will also lead
to concerted efforts in strengthening government regulation
of MNC labor practices in general.
On June 25 the German Roundtable will host a public discussion
in Berlin on "Global social responsibility of companies
- between voluntary commitment and law regulation."
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