CCC participates in seminar on internationally-binding
legislation and litigation for the enforcement of labor
rights
More then 30 people from Europe, Asia, and the U.S., gathered
in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, in late June for a
seminar organized by the International Restructuring Education
Network Europe (IRENE) and the CCC to discuss the legal
possibilities for holding multinational corporations (MNCs)
responsible for labor rights in their operations outside
the countries where they are based.
Representatives from organizations within the CCC network,
as well as NGOs and lawyers involved in transnational litigation
against MNCs met to discuss the legal tools that can be
used to achieve compliance with basic labor standards; the
usefulness of litigation; the value of lobbying for the
development and enforcement of binding legislation that
guarantees workers' rights; and the role of campaigning
to support such strategies.
Litigation Against MNCs:
Perspectives from MNC Host Countries
Venny Damanik, Lawyer, Garteks union, Indonesia
During the IRENE/CCC legal seminar,
Indonesian attorney Venny Damanik, who works for the
Garteks garment workers union, made the point that
Western MNCs are better at complying with labor legislation
than other companies in Indonesia and key challenges
come from Taiwanese and Korean companies who have
bad labor practices.
She believes that opportunities for
litigation in Indonesia against MNCs are limited because
the government as a way of encouraging investment
protects most of the supply chain companies. Also,
existing Indonesian legislation is limited.
Unions face particular problems,
Damanik noted. Unions have very limited knowledge
of international law and have difficulty accessing
international legislation. It is very hard to collect
proof from members about violations and even when
these clearly exist, workers often give up because
of the length of time it takes to resolve court cases.
There is also confusion about court jurisdiction.
It is more common in Indonesia for
legal action to be taken against the union or the
workers rather than the companies, Damanik said. The
workers become the criminal for forming a union. Also,
companies fire unionized workers before their length
of employment qualifies them for severance pay. Unions
face other problems when companies file for bankruptcy
once workers get organized. In this way companies
avoid implementing the minimum wage and as a consequence
the workers have to re-organize all over again. Support
from Europe for lobbying for legislation on these
local company practices is needed in Indonesia to
protect the workers, according to Damanik.
|
Development of CCC Legal Work
A discussion on the feasibility of legal initiatives to
regulate corporations and related issues has been underway
for several years within the CCC network. For example, the
CCC's International Forum on Clean Clothes (including a
session of the Permanent People's Tribunal) held in Brussels
in 1998 examined legal possibilities for compelling corporate
responsibility in relation to workers rights. In 1999, the
CCC's St. Malo European Forum recognized that legal initiatives
were one of the four axis of CCC work, as did the legal
seminars organized by CCC coalition-member IRENE, held in
Warwick, UK in 2000 and Bad Boll, Germany in 2001.
For over a year a working group, set up at the CCC's International
Strategy Conference in Barcelona 2001, has been more actively
considering the scope for legal action in relation to the
campaign's goal. Group members participated in the preparation
of this seminar.
There have been many developments that relate to the broad
topic of legal initiatives. This includes campaigns for
governments to become "ethical consumers," and
proposals discussed in various parliaments for laws to hold
MNCs responsible for labor conditions when operating abroad.
During the Mulheim seminar presentations and workshops
were geared toward increasing knowledge of litigation possibilities
and regulation, and the important challenge of building
alliances. Participants heard more about campaigning and
coalition building in relation to litigation from those
who have been involved in such "transnational"
cases.
Considerations Relating to Transnational Lawsuits
Transnational litigation against MNCs for human rights
abuses appears to be in its early stages, said Joris Oldenziel
of the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations
(SOMO). Though the possibilities for pursuing legal action
against MNCs for rights violations in their home countries
under existing national and international law appear to
be limited or under-explored, some cases have taken place.
The bulk of this litigation has taken place in the UK and
the US. Reporting on SOMO research carried out on these
cases in early 2001, Oldenziel highlighted key concerns
in relation to such cases.
Aims of such cases could include securing compensation
for victims or advancing the development of international
law, noted Oldenziel, but there are also serious risks involved,
including the safety of the victims or plaintiffs, financial
costs, or establishing "bad" law. Drawing upon
interviews with NGOs, trade unions and lawyers from the
US, Europe and Australia involved in transnational cases
to hold multinational companies responsible for their role
in labor rights violations, the SOMO research outlined a
number of issues that those interested in such a strategy
should consider, such as who can file the lawsuit? Where
can such lawsuits be filed and what possible legal bases
are there for such cases? Organizations and individuals
will have to consider the investment of time and resources
associated with such legal initiatives, finding those with
legal expertise who are willing to take up such a case,
what their role will be in the time-consuming task of gathering
the necessary information, and in putting together a broad-based
coalition to support the initiative with campaigning and
fundraising.
Litigation Against MNCs: Perspectives
from MNC Host Countries
Engin Sedat Kaya, Disk/Tekstil Iscileri Sendikasi union,
Turkey
During the IRENE/CCC legal seminar
Engin Sedat Kaya, of Disk/Tekstil Iscileri Sendikasi
trade union talked about the large number of companies
in the garment sector in Turkey working as sub-contractors
for MNCs and in addition, the hundreds more who are
willing to produce for MNCs if required. This highlights
the potential risk of bringing litigation against
MNCs as they have so many alternative sub-contracting
companies to choose from and will relocate, either
elsewhere in Turkey or to another country.
Also, even when violations are exposed
in sub-contracting companies, Kaya said, the MNC will
say, "Yes, you are right, I agree with you. Labor
rights have been violated at this subcontractor. These
are also violations of my code of conduct. Because
of this, we will no longer work with this subcontractor"
and move on to another company, where it is highly
possible workers will face the same violations. In
this situation the subcontractor is seen as "the
enemy" by the workers and the parent company
"the protector of labor rights". The reality
is often different as MNCs are aware of these violations
but will only admit that they exist when they are
exposed thus avoiding responsibility.
The irony is that as a result of
action taken to improve labor rights, Kaya said, the
workers become the loser since they lose their jobs.
This is a serious problem in Turkey where 4 million
people are unemployed. People's primary concern is
to get work - any work.
The union - which organizes in the
garment and textile sectors - is very concerned with
maintaining jobs provided by MNCs but feels that litigation
at the international level is still possible. The
aim of such action would be to ensure that MNCs and
their sub-contractors comply with existing national
legislation and recognized ILO standards. Action should
then be launched at all the MNC production centers
around the world or at least, all the sub-contractors
in a selected country.
The union is going to launch an organizing
campaign in Turkey and will be looking at taking legal
action for violations at the national level that could
be used in an international context. But the main
priority remains maintaining the current level of
employment provided by the MNCs through these sub-contractors.
|
Courtroom Experiences
US attorney Natacha Thys, of the International Labor Rights
Fund (ILRF), spoke about the cases her organization is involved
in that could set a precedent that companies can be held
accountable if they engage, even indirectly, in human rights
violations. Thys explained the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA)
is the legislation being used as the basis for some of these
legal claims. This law gives US courts jurisdiction to hear
cases of human rights abuses and violations of customary
international law (prohibitions against torture, slavery)
occurring anywhere in the world as long as the US courts
have jurisdiction over the company.
Richard Meeran, a solicitor with Leigh Day & Co., spoke
about three UK cases litigated over the last seven years
that have developed English law with respect to access to
justice for overseas victims of MNCs and multinational accountability.
All three cases are compensation claims brought against
the parent company of the multinational in its home courts
in England. Meeran spoke about a number of legal issues
associated with such cases.
Nikki Bas of Sweatshop Watch, a US coalition that campaigns
against labor rights violations in the garment industry,
has been involved in a lawsuit to hold multinational companies
responsible for sweatshop conditions on the US island territory
of Saipan. She spoke about their experiences throughout
this lengthy (3.5 year) legal battle. [This case was recently
successfully settled - see box]. The basis of the lawsuit
was misleading advertising in conjunction with two others,
which are class action lawsuits brought by former and current
Saipan garment workers. Sweatshop Watch initiated the court
case because other efforts had failed to stem rights violations
in Saipan garment factories, including a union organizing
drive and legislative efforts by the US Congress.
A full conference report, with more details on contributions
from these and other seminar participants is available at
the CCC website
<http://www.cleanclothes.org/legal/02-06-irene.htm
> or from the CCC International Secretariat.
Feedback from conference participants was very positive,
with many people remarking that they were pleased to receive
so much new information. The need to consult with legal
experts in MNC host countries was recognized, and participants
felt that the seminar had given them a better understanding
of what sort of questions they needed to pose to local legal
advisors.
The CCC International Secretariat will continue to coordinate
the exchange of information among those who would like to
continue to work on these issues. Please send the Secretariat
any relevant information for wider distribution.
