CSR - Workplace [Archived]

Issues

• Human Resources: the key task here is convincing business that improving the working environment will have a positive knock-on effect on profits. Issues that need to be addressed include recruitment practices, training ("life-long learning"), discrimination and career development.
• Health and Safety: this is an area that has a long history within the EU of being governed by legislation. Its inclusion in the CSR area is the result of an increase in the outsourcing of work by companies to sub-contractors and growing public awareness that companies do not have a legal responsibility to ensure that their sub-contractors observe health and safety standards.  The Commission has presented a package of directives on the protection of workers from certain physical agents. While the directives on protection from noise, vibrations and electromagnetic fields have already been passed, a draft directive on the protection of workers from potentially harmful optical radiation, under consideration since 1992, will be voted by Parliament in second reading on 6 September 2005. Businesses cirticise that the directive would apply to natural sources of optical radiation, i.e. sunlight, which "can obviously not be regulated".
• Restructuring: the issue here is getting companies to take active measures to alleviate the effects of their restructuring decisions. The Commission sees a case for presenting what it terms "res ponsible restructuring" as making good business sense.

Positions

Whilst the Commission was keen to emphasise in its CSR green paper that it "does not wish to pre-judge the outcome of that debate by making concrete proposals for action," it has made several suggestions of ways to use awards in support of CSR in the workplace.

• The publication of a list of the best European employers each year as a reward for companies that through the attitudes and actions of the management seek to become better workplaces. This is based on a scheme set up in the UK that announces the 50 best companies to work for each year.
• The creation of the Breaking Barriers award that recognises corporations that exemplify the goal of promoting opportunities for persons with disabilities as employees and consumers as part of the European Day on Handicap (3 December 2001).
• The creation of an award for gender equality or a European label to be awarded annually to businesses that have developed good practice to promote gender equality has already been agreed within the Framework Strategy on Gender Equality (2001-2005).
• The Commission is looking at introducing a European award for progressive companies in order to give higher priority to lifelong learning as a basic component of the European social model. This is a product of the European Social Agenda proposed at Lisbon.

External Links

Non-assigned links

• European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions:Towards a sustainable corporate social responsibility(March 2003)
• European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions:Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace(March 2003)
• Commission:Green paper: Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social Responsibility(18 July 2001)
• Nice European Council:Conclusions: Annex I: European Social Agenda(7-9 December 2000)
• Commission / DG Employment and Social Affairs:Commission continues fight against occupational diseases
• Commission / DG Employment and Social Affairs:Community strategy on health and safety at work 2002-2006 [FR] [FR] [DE]
• European Agency for Safety and Health at Work:Website
• ILO:Employment
• ILO:Business and Social Initiatives Database
• OECD:Corporate Responsibility
• ISUPE:Corporate social responsability : rediscovering missions of general interest(following publication of Commission green paper) (26 September 2001)
• Business Impact:Workforce
• Business for Social Responsibility:Workplace
• CSR Europe:Education, training and lifelong learning
• Great Places to Work UK:Sunday Times 50 Best Companies to Work For
• International Business Leaders Forum:Health Promotion
• Investors in People:What does the Standard mean to employees?
• Ethical Trading Inititive (ETI):ETI Base Code
• Clean Clothes:Clean Clothes Campaign
• The Apparel Industry Partnership:Workplace Code of Conduct
• SA 8000 Standard:Home Page
• The Labour Economics Gateway:Research Centres
• The National Institute for working-life and the Swedish trade unions in cooperation (SALTSA) :Website
• ETUC:Website
• Workers right consortium:Model Code of Conduct
• ICFTU:Health, Safety and Environment
• Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour (AK):Memorandum on Life-Long Learning(11 September 2001)