CODES OF CONDUCT ARE NOT THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THE LOCAL LABOUR MOVEMENT IN ASIA
(Asian Labour Update, n. 9 - August-October 1996)
Codes of conduct are only one instrument to protect the rights of workers based on the rights enumerated in the ILO conventions regarding workers' rights. Large transnational companies like Nike and Reebok advertise that they have adopted these codes, and stress the existence of these codes of conduct to consumers in the North who are conscious about how the goods they buy are being made.
However, companies often fail to stress their implementation to their subcontractors in Asia or effectively monitor their implementation. As a result, workers in these factories are generally not familiar with codes of conduct and can not rely on them to improve their working conditions. Many believe that in reality, they exist only in the eyes of the transnational company headquarters and public relations department.
Most workers and trade unionists are more familiar and try to improve labour rights protection at the national level. This might include focusing on the passage or better implementation of national laws like the labour code, social security laws, minimum wage laws etc.
There are also mechanisms at the international level to protect workers' rights including conventions to stop child labour, prohibit forced labour, ensure freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Local groups may be less able to effect the workings of these international mechanisms, but use them to fight for protection at the local level.
These different mechanisms to protect and improve labour rights - corporate codes of conduct, governmental labour regulations and international conventions all can work together to protect the rights of workers. We must recognise that providing greater protection to workers can be achieved through efforts from different levels, including private initiatives like codes of conduct and governmental measures like improved national laws. Though alone they may not rectify the problems, codes of conduct may provide a tool workers can utilize to improve national labour laws and improve working conditions at the plant level.
Moreover, codes of conduct can be used by union organisers even in a subcontractor's factory to promote their rights. Codes of conduct can be used in the work place to influence management to comply with the enumerated rights. They can also be used to establish some rights not guaranteed under national law, like collective bargaining. However, in several countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh and China, grass roots groups and independent trade unions are not existent or deeply involved in the ongoing process and development of codes of conduct necessary for a successful campaign to promote their implementation.
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