corporate social responsibility friend or foe?

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Friend or Foe?

AGENDA

1. An introduction to Bill McClory.

2. Trade Unions in the UK.

3. About the CWU.

4. Negotiating Agenda in BT.

5. CSR - UNI perspective.

- BT’s approach.

- CWU approach.

6. Discussion.

INTRODUCTION TO BILL McCLORY

1. Senior Officer of CWU TelecomsResponsible for CWU members in:

- BT Global Services Division- Computacenter- Hewlett Packard

2. Member of BT’s European Works Council3. Trustee of BT Pension Scheme (BTPS

- Assets of £35 billion including £1.9 billion invested in Japan- 77,000 members and 275,000 pensioners.

4. UNI representative DU Social Dialogue Telecoms Sector.- President of Work Organisation Working Group which includes CSR.

Trade Unions in the UKTrade Union Membership in UK – 2004

• 17.2% of private sector employees were Union members.• More women employees in Trade Union

membership than men.• Membership rates were highest among black employees compared to white employees.

• Women’s Union membership stepped ahead of men’s for the first time.

• There are now about 26,000 more women employees in membership than men (3,269,000 women, 3,243,000 men).

• Total Union membership appears to have held steady at 6.5 million members.

• Less than one in five (17.2%) private sector employees were Union members in 2004. Private sector Union density slipped by 1.0 percentage point.

• Membership rates are highest among black or black British employees (32.5%) compared with white employees (29.0%).

• Unionisation peaks among employees with degree or other higher education attainments.

• About one in 10 workers with less than a year’s service are in a Union.

• The overall influence of collective bargaining is much wider than Union membership. Nearly half (48.4%) if employees are in a workplace with a Union presence.

• Members earned on average £11.38 an hour in Autumn 2004, or 17.1% higher than non-members at £9.72 an hour.

ABOUT THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION

• Membership Total 226,780

Telecoms 75,990

• Recognition in over 30 Telecoms Companies.

• 6th largest in British Trades Union Congress.

Negotiating Agenda in BT

STRATEGY

- Transformation from Telecoms Company to ICT Company.

- Growth Strategy.

- Off-shoring.

- Disposals/Outsourcing.

- Regulation.

Direct Members Issues

• Employment Security.

• Training/Reskilling.

• Work/Life Balance.

• Pensions.

• Age Discrimination.

Corporate Social Responsibility

A CWU/UNI Europa Telecoms Perspective

UNI and Corporate Social Responsibility

WHAT IS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?

• No universally agreed definition

• Different perceptions:

- desirable goal

- substitute roles of Governments and Trade Unions

- public relations

• Even some doubt whether CSR is the right term to use


• DEFINITIONS

• It is not about “doing good”, it is not even about being seen to be doing good, it is about recognising a Company’s responsibility to all its stakeholder groups and acting in their best interests.

• Corporate social responsibility is the overall relationship of the corporation with all of its stakeholders. These include customers, employees, communities, owners/investors, government, suppliers and competitors. Through effective CSR practices,

• organisations will: achieve a balance between economic, environmental and social imperatives; address stakeholder’s expectations, demands, and influences; sustain shareholder value.

• CSR is a “concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis”.


CSR is:

• Voluntary• International• Company driven• An alternative to regulation?


CSR is not:

• Corporate Governance• Binding• An end in itself


CSR

THE CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES

CAN TRADES UNIONS USE CSR TO ADVANTAGE

OR

SHOULD IT BE IGNORED?


Unions need to take action

WorldCom MCI

Enron

Parmalat

Global Crossing


Essential Elements

Transparency

Labour standards, union rights and workers rights

Social and environmental concerns are integrated into the business operations eg. procurement

Independent verification of CSR performance

There is interaction with the stakeholders;


Global Framework Agreements

Telefónica

OTE

Carrefour

ISS

H&M


Global Framework Agreements

Give workers rights

Labour standards

Respect of workers

Social dialogue

Sustainable development

Respect for the environment


ILO Declaration on Multinationals

Child labour and Forced labour

Freedom of association

Collective bargaining

Non-discrimination and equal opportunity

Hours of work, Wages and Equal remuneration

Health and safety

Job security and Training

Disciplinary practice

http://www.ilo.org


UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT

The Ten Principles

Human Rights - Businesses should:• support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.• make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Labour standards - Businesses should:• uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining• the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour.• the effective abolition of child labour• the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.


Environment - Businesses should:• support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges• undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility• encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly

technologies

Anti-corruption - Businesses should • work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery


OECD Corporate Governance Guidelines

The rights of shareholders and key ownership functions

The equitable treatment of shareholders

The role of stakeholders in corporate governance

Disclosure and transparency

The responsibilities of the board

http://www.oecd.org/daf/corporate-affairs/


Other Issues That Need to Be Considered

Socially responsible investment (SRI)

UNI and Corporate Social ResponsibilityEuropean Telecommunications

Network Association (ETNO)

- 41 member companies- 34 European countries- Employing 1 million plus employees- Total turnover €190 billions


ETNO SUSTAINABILITY CHARTER

- 17 signatories (originally 25):BT, Cesky Telecom, CYTA, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, KPN, Maltacom, MATAV, Portugal Telecom, Slovak Telecom, Swisscom, TDC, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telekom Austria, Telenor and TeliaSonera

- Original charter signed in 1996

- Includes: - awareness `- regulatory compliance

- accountability - employee relations - procurement - research & development - co-operation


• Adheres to Global reporting initiative• Promotes principles of global impact• Reports every 2 years (2004 report being prepared)

UNI and Corporate Social ResponsibilityUNI EUROPA TELECOM OBJECTIVES

• Agree joint statement with ETNO• More specific reference to:

- Workers Rights

- Human Rights

- Transparency

- Monitoring, implementation

- Regular performance assessment


REMEMBER!!

• CSR is not a substitute for or an alternative to strong, free Trades Unions and collective bargaining

• It might, however, assist Trades Unions in achieving their goals


CSR in BT

1. “Corporate social responsibility is an essential part of BT’s overall strategy, whereas corporate social responsibility tends to focus on the social side.” – BT STATEMENT


2. “Corporate responsibility includes things like the way we govern ourselves – and governance is a big issue for businesses, particularly after Enron and Shell and so on. So “corporate responsibility” captures the wider sense of all the risks and opportunities in the way we run our business. It goes into all aspects of our strategy, policies, practices, behaviour, values, supplier management – you name it. It covers the whole gamut of all the things BT does.” – BT STATEMENT


3. “Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be defined as business’s contribution to the long-term well-being of society. It’s all of those things that we do over and above our legal requirements; all the voluntary things we do to try to be a responsible and caring business.” – BT STATEMENT


BT’S CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAMME

1. EDUCATION

2. BID SUPPORT

3. DIGITAL INCLUSION

4. ENVIRONMENT

5. BUSINESS GAME

6. BUSINESS CASE

7. INTERNATIONAL


• CSR is not a substitute for or an alternative to strong, free Trades Unions and collective bargaining

• It might, however, assist Trades Unions in achieving their goals

DISCUSSION

corporate social responsibility friend or foe?

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