13/08/2020
Migration News Renewing Call for Role of Business in Preventing Labour Rights Abuses
Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Lawyers Beyond Borders (LBB)
Network, Cross Regional Centre for Migrants and Refugees
(CCRM), South Asia Trade Union Council (SARTUC), and
Solidarity Center (SC) have been making appeals since last
June.
On 01 June and 09 July, they had called for introducing justice
mechanism as part of a global campaign to address the
situation of migrant workers who have been repatriated without
their due wages and benefits.
They made the two appeals on the governments and UN
agencies to take immediate action to establish a transitional
justice mechanism addressing wage-related grievances, claims
and labor disputes of repatriated workers who have lost their
jobs as a result of the pandemic.
“While the massive challenges businesses have to face in
these unprecedented times have been evident, workers
consequently face even more barriers. We also understand
that the private sector has a vital role to play in this campaign
to ensure its success. Now more than ever, businesses must
fulfill their legal obligation to promote and protect the labour
and human rights of their workers.”
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
which were unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights
Council 2011, made clear both the duty of states and the
responsibilities of companies to respect human rights.
Manila based MFA referred to the Principle 13 that noted the
responsibility to respect human rights and requires that
business enterprises to: (a) Avoid causing or contributing to
adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and
address such impacts when they occur;
(b) Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts
that are directly linked to their operations, products or services
by their business relationships, even if they have not
contributed to those impacts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly deeply affected
businesses, many of whom had to permanently or temporarily
close down, reduce the scale of their operations, or
significantly cut their workforce. With the pandemic continuing
to unfold, it has become increasingly difficult for employers to
predict what the final impact on their struggling businesses will
be. Entire sectors such as tourism, entertainment and aviation
sector are at risk of being entirely wiped out if the current
situation continues.
According to concept note delivered by MFA, while businesses
face massive challenges of unprecedented scale, workers face
even more challenges. The International Labour Organization
has predicted that the equivalent of 195 million full-time jobs
will be lost in the second quarter of 2020. Workers in the
informal economy, day laborers, migrants, temporary workers,
and those without social security coverage are amongst those
who are most severely affected.
https://www.migrationnewsbd.com/news/view/32349/49/Renewing-Call-for-Role-of-Business-in-Preventing-Labour-Rights-Abuses
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