SIDE EVENT TO THE 8th SESSION ON THE UN TREATY ON BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Trade Union Rights in the Treaty and the Role of Trade Unions for its Effective Implementation
In many countries, trade unionists face repressions and are unlawfully prevented from representing workers' interests: Freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining as well as the right to strike are in many cases denied to workers and trade unionists all over the world. According to the ITUC Global Rights Index 2022, in seventy-four per cent of all countries worldwide workers are excluded from the right to establish and join a trade union. The right to collective bargaining was denied in seventy-nine per cent of countries. In eighty-seven per cent of countries, the right to strike was not guaranteed. Arbitrary arrest and detentions, physical violence and restrictions on access to justice are part of the daily struggles of workers and trade unionists in the majority of countries worldwide.
Supply chain laws as the German Supply Chain Act and the French loi de vigilance regulating the transnational activities of companies with regard to their human rights and environmental impact can help to protect trade union and workers’ rights. At the same time, trade unions play a crucial role in the effective implementation of these laws. Against this background, the second revised draft for an international legally binding instrument on business and human rights (“UN Treaty”), does not yet acknowledge the role of trade unions and their rights appropriately.
At the occasion of the 8th session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group to elaborate such a treaty (OEIGWG), we want to focus on the struggles of trade unions. In a second step, we want to discuss with governmental and trade union representatives, which role trade unions and their rights play in the German Supply Chain Act and its implementation, and how trade unions rights should be included in the future UN-Treaty.
Please register via email with europe(at)globalpolicy.org until October 24th 2022 and include the information on whether we should help you with the registration to access to the UN Palais des Nations.
PROGRAMME
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I. Welcome and Introduction |
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Romy Siegert Trade Union Officer in Division of Global Trade Union Policy, IG Metall |
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II. Trade union work and trade union rights violations |
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Kemal Özkan Assistant General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union (tbc) |
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III. The German supply chain law and the role of trade Unions for its effective implementation |
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Claudia Rahman Head of Division of Global Trade Union Policy, IG Metall |
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IV. Demands by trade unions to include trade union rights in the treaty |
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Ruwan Subhasinghe Legal Director at the International Transport Workers' Federation (tbc) |
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V. Reactions by governmental representative (tbc) |
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VI. Discussion with the participants |
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VII. Closing remarks |
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Jan Leidecker Director Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Office Geneva |
Refreshments will be served. This event will be in English only.
