congress submission to external relations · galway platform . congress was among the 23 of...
TRANSCRIPT
Congress Submission to Review of Ireland’s Foreign Policy and
External Relations
Congress welcomes the process of public consultation as part of a review
of Ireland’s Foreign Policy and External Relations, launched by the
Tanaiste late in 2013.
In launching the review, he stated:
“Our foreign policy is a statement of who we are as a people. It is the
means by which we promote our values and pursue our interests
abroad. Through it, we pursue economic prosperity and promote peace
and security in Ireland and the wider world.”
And that:
“This review is an opportunity to reflect on how we can continue to serve
the interests of the Irish people, contributing to their security, prosperity
and wellbeing, and the promotion of our values, through an active
international engagement”.
Given the tight time scale involved, Congress has had limited
opportunities to consult widely with trade union members but offers this
brief submission based on our international work and having consulted
with our Global Solidarity Committee.
Galway Platform
Congress was among the 23 of Ireland’s leading human rights groups
brought together by The Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway to
adopt a common vision for human rights in Irish Foreign Policy. Launched
in January 2014, the Galway Platform on Human Rights in Irish Foreign
Policy sets out the basic human rights standards and practices by which
Ireland should be held to account in its dealings with other countries, as
well as in its activities at EU and UN levels.
The Galway Platform contains 47 specific observations and proposals to
government in the context of the current consultation on a review of Irish
Foreign Policy being undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade. These are realistic and measured recommendations intended to
ensure that Ireland holds true to the human rights commitments that it
has freely entered into.
The protection of human rights is integral to Ireland’s foreign policy and
Ireland now has the opportunity to significantly enhance its capacity to
promote and protect human rights worldwide as well as at home. The
recommendations also emphasise the need for human rights to be
mainstreamed across every aspect of foreign policy. We are putting the
Galway Platform recommendations to government so that Ireland can be
an international champion of human rights to make us proud.
Policy Coherence
Dealing with the issue of how our foreign policy and economic diplomacy
can support Irish economic development and growth, and the how a
commitment to international development and human rights could be
better reflected across Ireland’s foreign policy, gets to the heart of the
need to address the issue of policy coherence. Congress has been to the
fore in highlighting these sometimes competing objectives, including in
the following instances.
Most recently, in our contribution to the recent public discourse as to
whether trade missions were suitable contexts to raise issues of human
rights, we pointed out that we welcomed such delegations and the
important role they can play in job creation and possible recovery here.
However, statements that “it was not an appropriate forum to raise
human rights concerns” were very disappointing from a human rights
perspective but also a failure to recognise the fact that the Ministerial
Declaration adopted at the first Ministerial Conference of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) (Singapore, 9-13 December 1996) stated that:
"We renew our commitment to the observance of internationally
recognised core labour standards."
The fourth Ministerial Conference (Doha, 9-14 November 2001)
reaffirmed this commitment. These standards were further upheld in the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work, adopted by the 174 member countries of
the ILO in June 1998 and in the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair
Globalisation, adopted unanimously by the ILO in 2008.
There have been many reports of serious and widespread human right
violations in all three countries visited by the Irish delegation and we
pointed out that the delegation could have used the opportunity
presented by the visit to draw the attention of the authorities in Qatar,
UAE and Saudi Arabia to their obligation to observe and respect core
labour standards and to suggest that they request that the ILO intensify
its work with the Governments concerned and provide a report to the
WTO General Council on the occasion of their next trade policy review.
Also, as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a degree
of leadership from Government on such issues might have been expected.
We concluded by saying that one of Ireland’s greatest assets is our
universal reputation for solidarity with the world’s poorest and most
vulnerable. In this regard, our development aid policy has been officially
defined as a “practical expression of our values as a nation”. Trade
missions are greatly facilitated by this ‘reputational capital’. Sadly, this
capital is undermined when our representatives signally fail to
acknowledge human rights abuses and to stand up for our values as a
nation.
Likewise, following the launch of the new policy for international
development, “One World, One Future”, we pointed to similar policy
tensions. Congress, while welcoming the reference to decent work - the
new policy states that Ireland "strives to ensure economic
development compatible with our commitment to decent work and
gender equality” - and the overall goal of sustainable development and
inclusive economic growth, noted our regret as to the absence of any
such references in the “Africa Strategy” which the new policy commits to
further implementation. This omission appears to be inconsistent with the
“Whole of Government” and coherence policy espoused in “One World,
One Future”. One could draw the conclusion that Ireland’s trade interests
are now to trump our human rights commitments.
We hope that this is not in fact the case and that the current review of
our foreign policy will reiterate such a stance and perhaps begin to
develop policies and mechanisms to ensure the integration of our trade
and human rights concerns in future trade delegation visits.
We support the Dóchas proposal that Ireland should vigorously promote
policy coherence as an important lens and mechanism by which Ireland
can bring focus, rigour and fairness across policy areas, and to its foreign
policy and external relations overall. Ireland should identify incoherent
positions and practices across Government, and set out how it will
remedy them, if it is to achieve a dynamic balance between its global
interests in sustainable development with enhanced human rights, peace
and security, and narrow trade or investment interests.
Irish Aid and Decent Work
It is our view that Irish Aid is quite rightly recognised as a world leader in
delivering a high quality aid programme which delivers clear results for
the world’s poorest people. Ireland has taken a leadership role in the fight
against global hunger; in responding to humanitarian emergencies and
developing strong systems of accountability. Irish Aid has also indicated
the need to adapt to emerging challenges such as rising food and energy
prices, climate change and the global economic crisis and we broadly
agree with the new policy – One World One Future – launched in 2013.
Congress particularly welcomes the reference to decent work and the
overall goal of sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.
Congress is very pleased with the engagement of Irish Aid in the whole
decent work agenda. Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in
their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that is productive
and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection
for families, better prospects for personal development and social
integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and
participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of
opportunity and treatment for all women and men.
Decent work is the key to poverty reduction and trade unions focus on a
strategy for fair development, built on four main goals:
- To enable workers to build democratic and accountable unions,
states and institutions
- To secure equality and social justice through the trade union
movement
- To support vulnerable workers to help to improve their working
lives
- To ensure that international trade and investment promote
decent work
While Decent Work was not specifically included in the Millennium
Development Goals, the UN General Assembly resolution of 2005 stated
that:
“We strongly support fair globalization and resolve to make the
goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all,
including for women and young people, a central objective of our
relevant national and international policies as well as our national
development strategies, including poverty reduction strategies, as
part of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
We believe that economic growth without workers’ rights, social
protection and a voice in decision making does not amount to
development. Trade Unions have an important role to play in international
development. We have made the case in previous submissions that any
post MDG framework beyond 2015 includes a very specific goal of Decent
Work for all and we were very pleased when Minister of State, Joe
Costello, T.D., agreed when speaking on a number of occasions, he said:
“Decent Work must be a stand-alone Goal in any Post 2015
Development Agenda”
It is our belief that decent work can make a huge contribution towards
tackling the problems the world faces - inequality in countries and
between countries; insecurity; and the failure to build on democratic
progress to build a world free of dictatorship and oppression.
Other welcome Irish Aid initiatives in support of decent work include:
Support for Congress development education programme - an
important mechanism for engaging trade unions and their members
in development discussions;
Co-financing of our trade union capacity building programme with
the Lesotho Congress of Democratic Trade Unions;
Funding of the ITUC coordinated project on building an independent
trade union movement in Burma/Myanmar
The continued engagement with the ILO including the partnership
programme which aims:
"to contribute to the realisation of Decent Work for All, with a
focus in a number of selected countries, by promoting and
supporting women's entrepreneurship, working to improve
employment opportunities for people with disabilities and
implementing action against forced and child labour."
Decent Work – under attack
We would like to use this submission to draw your attention to increasing
attacks on the whole decent work agenda internationally.
In relation to the Post 2015 Development Framework to replace the
Millennium Development Goals, the "Report of the High-Level Panel of
Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda” stated the
following on this topic:
"The ILO’s concept of “decent work” recognizes and respects
the rights of workers, ensures adequate social protection and
social dialogue, and sets a high standard toward which every
country should strive. However, it has become clear that there
can be middle ground for some developing countries, where
“good jobs” – those which are secure and fairly paid – are a
significant step towards inclusive and sustainable economic
development. The conditions of labour markets across
countries differ so much. There is no ‘one size fits all’
approach – good jobs and decent jobs will both be needed in
the next development agenda." (pp. 46-47)
The report thus proposes watering down the ILO's decent work agenda, in
this case by borrowing the nebulous "good jobs" concept introduced by
the World Bank's "World Development Report 2013" as "middle ground
for some developing countries". We hope Ireland won’t support such
language and watering down of internationally agreed concepts of decent
work and any opportunity you have to raise this would also be most
appreciated.
We would also like to alert you to the serious situation faced by the
International Labour Organisation. The Employers’ Group in the
Committee on Application of Standards precipitated a crisis by challenging
the independence of the long-established and authoritative Committee of
Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
(CEACR), a group of highly qualified persons, vetted and appointed
through the tripartite Governing Body of the ILO.
Since June 2012, there have been a number of discussions in the ILO
Governing Body, ‘informal discussions’ with Experts and tripartite
consultations. The Swiss Government facilitated, to no avail, an attempt
to reach a consensus on a way forward.
To date, the Employers have not fundamentally altered their position. The
Employers simply refuse to defer to the observations of the Experts, while
at the same time refusing to avail themselves of the judicial means
available under the ILO constitution to challenge those observations,
which creates great instability for the entire ILO supervisory system.
While not binding, as only the International Court of Justice can issue a
legally binding interpretation of a Convention under the ILO Constitution,
the work of the supervisory system, particularly the ILO Committee of
Experts, is recognised as having persuasive validity and should stand in
the absence of higher authority.
Instead, they continue to insist that the Experts’ reports state clearly that
they have not been approved by the tripartite constituents. This is part of
their effort to put the political bodies, rather than independent experts, in
charge of interpreting the conventions. The Employers do not find that the
existing, detailed statement of the Experts’ mandate already found in the
reports is sufficiently clear and thus want a “clarification”, “Statement of
Truth”, or “disclaimer” which defines to the Employers’ Group satisfaction
the mandate of the Committee of Experts and the legal status of their
opinions.
The effective cornerstone of the ILO for many decades, its Supervisory
System, is under threat. The ILO was founded by governments with the
foresight to provide a unique and tripartite forum where labour matters
and concerns could be discussed in a mature and respectful context and
balances between diverging interests sought. Without it, workers are left
without this important recourse to justice and fairness.
Congress urges you to make your support for the ILO and its Supervisory
System known in all relevant international fora as an expression of our
continued support for multilateralism and our values as a country.
Climate change
Congress works actively with the ITUC in positioning the labour
movement in the climate agenda internationally – on the need for a fair,
ambitious and binding agreement in the UNFCCC, on emission reduction
targets and differentiated responsibilities, on financing climate policies,
among others – and on developing a comprehensive strategy for a “just
transition” for workers and communities to ensure we all are part of a
sustainable, low-carbon economy and benefit from decent and green jobs.
Climate change is real, is increasing in impact and will result in greater
devastation, displacement, job loss and social despair if we don’t act.
Science cannot be clearer, but despite this nations again put self-interest
and short-termist behaviour first at the Warsaw climate talks in November
2013. Congress is of the view that we cannot go to Lima with such low
ambition. Trade unions worldwide will step up our efforts and mobilise to
ensure working people demand climate action with investment in
greening all industries to drive sustainable jobs supported by Just
Transition measures – a critical strategy for ensuring workers are fully
involved in the transformation needed to save our climate.
Also at the recent session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable
Development Goals that focused on environmental issues, Trade Unions
discussed with governments the best way forward in the two related
international processes (the SDGs discussions and the Climate Change
negotiations), in order for one process not to hinder the other. The time
frame for decision making is difficult and due to this and other reasons,
the majority of governments expressed the convenience to mainstream
the issue in the Sustainable Development Goals and to discuss a global
goal in the Climate Convention. The most vulnerable countries reminded
that mainstreaming is fundamental. Targets for emissions reduction and
funds for adaptation policies paid by the contaminators are essential to
build just societies. Trade unions hope that governments will respond to
the climate challenge with the necessary ambition and responsibility in
both processes.
Finally at European level, the ETUC has made the case that Europe needs
to increase its ambitions and climate protection goals in concert with a
Sustainable New Deal. The recently launched European Commission 2030
framework for EU climate change and energy policies - a new package
which sets new climate and energy objectives for 2030, is positive in that
greenhouse gas emission reductions and renewable energy targets are
binding, giving a longer term perspective to economic and social
stakeholders. However, in relation to the ambition of the 2050 roadmap
short-term rather than long-term vision prevails. The ETUC pursues
corporate responsibility and social dialogue on sustainable development
issues within the EU.
Congress would like to see real leadership on this issue from Ireland.
Once again it is not only the right thing to do but also in our interests.
Country specific engagement
Congress has had a long series of engagement with the Department on
country specific issues in relation to serious violations of workers’ and
human rights. Amongst these countries and our concerns are:
1.Palestine
Congress has had a long standing engagement with you on the issue of
Palestine since the visit of a Congress delegation to the region in 2007.
The delegations recommendations were unanimously supported by the
Congress Executive Council and included support for the Palestine Civil
Society call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions on Israeli goods and
services. We would like to reiterate our concerns about developments in
Palestine, including:
Our concerns at the continued expansion of Israeli
settlements in the West Bank which mark a dramatic
escalation- an escalation that represents a further impediment
to achieving the EU’s stated commitment to a two state
solution. We welcomed your call in October 2011, when you
stated that you would “support any move at EU level to
exclude settlement products from entry to the EU”. However,
since that time there has been little evidence of concrete
actions from the Irish government to support those
statements, despite the dramatic increase in settlement
expansion in the West Bank. By contrast, other EU member
states, such as the UK, Denmark, and most recently the
Netherlands have already taken significant action by
introducing labelling guidelines for settlement products. While
the most effective and impactful action would be to ban goods
from settlements, introducing labelling would be an important
first step in the right direction. It is our understanding that to
date, Ireland has not yet proposed taking any national action
on settlement trade, and has not formally proposed
introducing an EU-wide import ban at the EU Foreign Affairs
Council. By making statements on a settlement trade ban
while not taking any concrete actions, Ireland is in danger of
undermining our position as a credible and respected voice on
this issue. Given the worsening situation on the ground, we
hope that Ireland is using its position to raise these matters
within the EU Foreign Affairs Council.
The destruction by Israel of the basis for the two-state
solution is now further underlined by the World Bank in its
new report on economic conditions in the 61% of the West
Bank designated as “Area C”, the area under full Israeli
administrative and security control (World Bank Report No.
AUS2922: West Bank and Gaza. Area C and the Future of the
Palestinian Economy, October 2013).
The disastrous economic consequences of deliberate Israeli
actions in Area C highlighted in this report have been further
impressed on us by the Palestinian General Federation of
Trade Unions (PGFTU) who, during a recent visit to Dublin,
urged us to draw your attention to the findings of the report.
We are sure you will agree that it is scandalous that Israel is
denying Palestinians access to their own land in Area C and
throttling Palestinian economic development by so doing. As
a result Palestinians have been forced to rely on large
amounts of international support. In our view it is imperative
that the EU use its economic power to force Israel to end its
economic strangulation of the West Bank and we urge you to
seek such action at EU level.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza by Israel, termed “collective
punishment” by the UN, and the installation of a wall aimed at
blocking tunnels between Gaza and Egypt - through which a
reported 60% of the economy in the Gaza Strip depends - has
added to the economic desperation of most Palestinians. Only
around 35% of Gaza’s industry is able to function while the
number of exit permits approved by Israel is only 1% of the
number from 2000. Throughout 2010, as in previous years,
many Palestinians were detained during attempts to work
illegally in Israel, fined and deported.
Due to the political strife in Gaza between Hamas and Fatah,
with each side describing any union activity as politically-
motivated, any normal daily exercise of freedom of
association or collective bargaining is extremely difficult.
Discrimination hinders organising of women workers: Women
workers receive some 60% of the wages of their male
counterparts, and wages are the lowest in sectors that are
predominantly female, such as agriculture and services.
Security issues, legislative discrimination and cultural issues
deter more women from entering the labour force. Women
make up less than 15% of employees in the Palestinian labour
market according to the Palestine General Federation of Trade
Unions (PGFTU), and most of them are unorganised.
Some 22,000 Palestinians work in Israeli settlements in
construction, agriculture, manufacturing and service
industries with another estimated 10,000 working informally.
In 2010 it was reported that the Palestinian Authorities (PA)
announced a ban prohibiting Palestinians from working in
West Bank settlements as part of a wider campaign that
included a national boycott of settlements. However, the
Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) stated
that they would not stop workers from working in settlements
until the PA could provide alternative employment.
Palestinians working in these areas were employed under
Jordanian labour law until 2007 when a court ruled that Israeli
law applied equally to both Israeli and Palestinian workers,
thus affording Palestinians the same conditions. However, the
law is not often enforced, is poorly monitored and in the event
of abuse, it is very difficult for Palestinian workers to obtain
redress and take a case to court. In many instances
employers continue to pay Palestinian workers less than the
Israeli minimum wage, and they work in poor health and
safety conditions. While the legal minimum wage in Israel is
approximately USD 5.50 an hour, Palestinians in settlements
earn USD 2 an hour or less. Increasingly children are also
found working in settlements, often in construction with poor
safety conditions and no insurance.
We urge you to continue Ireland’s active engagement in finding a solution
to the ongoing denial of the fundamental human rights of Palestinians and
to ensure a principled approach, including implementation of UN
resolutions and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice,
regarding Palestine. Ireland should consider a bold approach on the issue,
perhaps along the lines suggested by Mustafa Barghouti on a recent visit
here when he said:
“We are hoping there will be more [support] in the future.
Recognition of the Palestinian state could become a very important
step that Ireland can take without having to wait for others. This
would be a strong contribution to the peace process if the goal is a
two-state solution.”
He wants more from Ireland. “We want a clear mechanism of
banning settlement products in Europe in general – not just
labelling them, but banning them. These products represent a
violation of international law.”
2. Myanmar/Burma:
Myanmar/Burma is at the beginning of a long path towards the
establishment of democracy and human rights. The EU must use its
leverage to encourage the additional steps it has identified, including the
unconditional release of remaining political prisoners and the end of
armed conflict with ethnic groups, over the coming years.
We continue to be alarmed by the on-going human rights violations in
Burma, including the rights of workers, which continue at alarming levels.
Forced labour remains a serious problem despite recent legal reforms and
few of those persons responsible for exacting forced labour have faced
criminal sanction. While a new law on trade unions was enacted and
entered into force in March 2012, of the several unions which are
supported by the international trade union Movement and the ITUC
affiliate FTUB, continue to experience problems registering with the
authorities.
We strongly believe that the EU and member states must require those
doing business in Burma to uphold human rights standards. Thus, in light
of the country’s still high level of corruption and poor record on human rights, we
propose binding requirements to assess and remedy any negative human
rights impact from investments; public reporting; and the creation of
effective complaints and dispute-settlement instruments, among others,
which are absolutely necessary to ensure that any new trade and
investment do not contribute to the country’s problems. These measures
are set down in the international trade union proposal on Business and
Human Rights in Burma. I would urge you to continue to seek that they
are applied as part of the engagement and constant review that the
Council has decided to undertake.
Congress greatly appreciates the ongoing support of Irish Aid for the ITIC
coordinated project to strengthen the voice of trade unions and workers
on the job and in society in order to both improve conditions for members
and workers broadly and to be effective in shaping public policy at the
local, national and international levels. Independent trade unions have
been unable to operate in Burma for decades. Today, a new legal
framework is finally in place which allows for the registration and
operation of trade unions. However, as there has been no practice of
industrial relations in the lifetime of most workers, there is an obvious
and significant need for capacity building as to organizing, collective
bargaining, membership representation, union administration, legal
support and public advocacy on issues pertaining to human and trade
union rights. The expected outcome will be the development of a strong,
cohesive and effective trade union movement where none has been
permitted to legally exist. This in turn will improve the social and
economic position of working people in Burma and contribute to a more
broadly-shared, equitable national economic development.
3. Colombia
As you are no doubt aware, the violence in Colombia directed at trade
unionists and human rights defenders, continues unabated despite
international campaigns and promises of change from the Santos
government.
The peace negotiations, on-going since October 2012, are at a crucial
juncture and it is important that they continue to receive support and
attention from the international community, not only to end the conflict
and achieve a just peace for all Colombian people but to ensure that
during the process, activists are not living in constant danger of being
killed or imprisoned for their work. Former Congress President and UNITE
Regional Secretary, Jimmy Kelly was part of a Workers Uniting delegation
to Colombia in July 2013 and met trade union and civil society activists,
and travelled around Colombia to familiarise themselves with conditions
on the ground. Despite initial optimism that the peace process would
reach a successful conclusion, events over the summer led to an
escalation of tensions and violence and conflicting messages about the
will for peace. In March, Jimmy (along with fellow Executive Council
members Patricia McKeown and Brian Campfield) will be joining a
delegation of Northern Ireland civil society representatives to Washington
DC, in a bid to raise awareness of the issues in the United States. They
are hoping to meet members of Congress to examine how we may work
together to increase international pressure to keep all parties to the
Colombian peace talks at the table while supporting Colombian civil
society in its objectives for the process. Congress supports their call to
the Minister for Foreign Affairs seeking any assistance possible in making
contact with members of Congress in that regard. We also reiterate our
request that you issue a statement of support for the peace process from
the Dáil. International support for the Colombian Peace Process is an
important dimension to supporting the efforts of those involved in the
negotiations and it is hoped that the Irish Government can use its
influence in any way possible to progress this important initiative.
As you are also aware, we have had an ongoing correspondence on the
EU Colombia-Peru Free Trade Agreement. Trade Unions here in Ireland
and across the EU were very disappointed when the European Parliament
endorsed the EU/Colombian Free Trade Agreement in December 2012.
We salute those MEPs who voted to delay the agreement and repeat our
opposition to a trade deal which has not adequately addressed the
continuing violence and harassment of trade unionists and human rights
defenders, and lacks measures to ensure compliance with international
labour rights. At the request of the EP’s committee both governments
presented Roadmaps on human rights and environmental protection,
without any consultation with local trade union confederations.
In Colombia, one of the most dangerous countries in the world for trade
unionists, CUT-CGT-CTC have not been invited to discuss the proposal.
Participation has also been lacking in Peru. The text refers to a “National
Agreement” (Acuerdo Nacional) in which many trade unions like CUT and
CATP and civil society organisations were not involved, while it also
mentions the existence of an ECOSOC that has never been set up. In
general, the two roadmaps do not address essential concerns and
concrete and binding measures regarding:
freedom of association and collective bargaining, including for
temporary workers;
an effective labour inspection system;
the implementation ILO obligations in terms of social dialogue;
an end to impunity for violence against trade unionists in Colombia,
and measures to bring solutions to the social conflicts, particularly
with indigenous communities as in Peru;
the protection of the environment in full consultation with the trade
unions and remedies to the damage caused to indigenous
communities;
The need for binding and measurable commitments agreed upon
with the social partners.
The international trade union movement is of the view that the
endorsement of the deal by the EP shows a disregard to the appalling
human rights record in Colombia and continued labour violations in Peru
and damages the EU’s reputation as a leading force in the promotion of
human rights and basic freedoms. It's unacceptable to conclude a trade
agreement when the human rights situation remains so dangerous. The
Colombian government is desperate to show its commitment to protecting
human rights defenders and prosecute perpetrators, but we have yet to
see serious changes on the ground.
The Free Trade Agreement will come into effect after it has been endorsed
by each Member State national government. Once again we reiterate that
our trade relations should never be at the expense of human rights and
we hope there will be a frank debate on the issues involved before the
Dáil votes on the agreement. A refusal to endorse the Agreement would
in our view help to incentivise the Colombian Government to ensure there
is no impunity for those who murder trade unionists, human rights
activists, teachers and others in Colombia.
4. Cambodia
Congress is appalled by the recent the violence perpetrated by members
of the police and armed forces against striking garment workers in
Colombia. In a dispute about a new minimum wage increase, one that fell
far below a living wage, Workers decided to withhold their labour on 24
December, as is their fundamental right under international law and the
Cambodian Labour Code, to campaign for a higher minimum wage.
Instead of negotiating with workers, the government decided to resort to
violence and intimidation. Heavily armed police and soldiers have
repeatedly mobilized in early January to quash the protests, leading to
violent and bloody clashes. Four workers were killed and 39 injured. 23
workers were arrested. Legal summonses have been issued for union
leaders.
Congress has called on the government to immediately release all
arrested workers, to ensure the provision of medical treatment for the
injured and to return to the bargaining table, with the representatives of
workers and employers, to reach an agreement on a just minimum wage
for the textile and garment industry. We encourage the Irish Government
to also raise this issue and seek immediate action to restore industrial and
social peace based on respect for fundamental human rights.
Human Rights and Business in Ireland
Finally, our commitment to human rights in the international arena would
be greatly enhanced by actions here at home. These should include:
1. Ireland has not adequately addressed its responsibilities outlined in
the United Nations Framework and Guiding Principles on
business and human rights. The framework emphasises a State’s
duty to protect human rights, a corporate responsibility to respect
human rights and the need to provide remedies where violations by
business entities occur. The Government has yet to issue a
comprehensive policy document on business and human rights and
should immediately initiate such a process.
2. OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
The revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are
a key global treaty that can potentially hold big business to
account for its impacts on workers and the environment. While
they are definitely a step forward for workers and their unions,
they have many limitations. Despite these improvements, the
biggest criticism of the guidelines is the fact that they are
effectively unenforceable. However, under the Guidelines, each
signatory government is required to set up a National Contact Point
(NCP) – a government body hearing complaints and generally
promoting the Guidelines. Out of the 40 or so signatory
governments, barely a handful have functioning NCPs (the UK NCP
is generally regarded as one of the best). The Irish NCP appears to
be little more than a bullet point in the job description of an
overworked civil servant in the Department of Jobs Enterprise and
Innovation. Up to now, it has received 4 cases – none from trade
unions - hardly surprising given the lack of promotion and
knowledge of the guidelines. The Government should greatly
enhance the NCP to play an effective role in promoting the
guidelines and encouraging their use.
3. Legislate for collective bargaining rights
‘Collective bargaining’ describes the process whereby working
people negotiate as a single group through their trade union, with
their employer, to establish the conditions under which they work.
Ireland is one of just three EU member states where workers do not
enjoy the right to collective bargaining. Every human rights
convention recognises workers’ right to unionise and take action to
protect their interests.
The Universal Declaration on Human Rights sets out
fundamental human rights and recognises ‘The right to join
trade unions and the right to collective bargaining’ (Article
23.4).
The European Convention on Human Rights specifies
trade union membership as an important political right
essential to democracy: “Everyone has the right to freedom of
peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others,
including the right to form and join trade unions for the
protection of his interests.” (Article 11)
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
Union, recognises the right to fair and just working conditions
(article 31) protection from unjustified dismissal (article 30) a
guarantee of timely information and consultation (article 27)
and to the right of collective bargaining and collective action
including the right to strike (article 28).
The Programme for Government makes the following
commitment:
“We will reform the current law on employees’ right to
engage in collective bargaining (the Industrial Relations
(Amendment) Act 2001), so as to ensure compliance by the
State with recent judgments of the European Court of Human
Rights.”
The Government without further delay should amend the law to
provide:
1) Genuine protection for employees from dismissal and other
forms of reprisals such as victimisation, from less favourable
treatment and other unfair labour practices
2) A duty on employers to have in place ‘adequate
arrangements’ for collective bargaining including the
obligation to respect their employees’ choice to collectively
bargaining through their trade union
Conclusion
In this submission, we have deliberately proposed a human rights-based
approach to foreign policy and the vigorous, systematic adoption of policy
coherence to guide Irish foreign policy. Such an approach is not only the
right thing to do but will also cements Ireland’s international profile, and
crucially advance our long-term strategic interests. For it is only in a
stable and prosperous world where people’s fundamental human rights
are respected, will a small country like our own thrive.
DJ February 2014