Training

International Labour Standards and Corporate Social Responsibility: Understanding workers’ rights in the framework of due diligence

This five-day course aims to strengthen the capacity of participants to understand the principles of international labour standards as they relate to company operations (including due diligence related to labour rights) and how those principles can be most effectively implemented in company operations.

Deadline for application is 24 September 2018
For more information and to apply online

Companies are under increasing pressure, stemming from stakeholder expectations, reporting requirements, conditions for tendering, new legislation etc., to conduct due diligence on human rights issues in their own operations and with business partners in their supply chains. Labour rights have become a critical component and basic pillar of any due diligence process.

However, proper due diligence on labour issues starts with a good understanding of what is expected of companies concerning respect for workers' rights. This course aims to strengthen the capacity of participants to understand the principles of the ILO International labour Standards (ILS) as they relate to company operations and due diligence related to labour rights and how these principles can be most effectively implemented in company operations along their supply chains.

Drawing on the experience of the ILO Helpdesk for Business, sessions will provide participants with opportunities to discuss and debate some of the complex issues companies face when putting principles into practice, e.g. what to do when national law is not consistent with ILS; how to balance competing rights; what to do when the government is not fulfilling its duty to protect.

Target Audience

This course is designed for professionals (in companies, consulting firms or CSR and sustainability initiatives) seeking to align operations, including supply chains, with ILS principles or dealing on a daily basis with challenges related to respecting workers' rights. Managers of companies supplying to brands which are facing many, and often conflicting, demands may find this course particularly useful. In addition, this course is of interest to trade unions, civil society organizations and government officials dealing with national CSR policies and/or national action plans on business and human rights. The course will provide a platform for dialogue and knowledge exchange as well as a forum for interaction and networking with professionals who work on a regular basis on the intersection of human rights, Decent Work, CSR and sustainable development.

Objectives

The course overall objective is to strengthen the capacity of participants to understand the principles of ILS as they relate to company operations and the implications for CSR and sustainability policies and practices geared towards decent work and sustainable development. At the end of the course, participants will:

• be familiar with ILO’s core labour standards (child labour, forced labour, non-discrimination, and freedom of association and collective bargaining), their function and formulation as well as implementation and other relevant ILO tools relevant from a CSR and sustainability perspective;

• be able to analyse international instruments and frameworks on CSR referencing International Labour Standards;

• understand the different roles of governments, the private sector, and employers’ and workers’ organizations could play in the development and implementation of CSR and sustainability policies and practices; be updated on company practices, selected from a variety of geographical, sectoral and operational contexts;

•  be able to describe the entire due diligence cycle with specific emphasis on labour rights related issues;

• be able to better advise and serve their institutions, organizations or enterprises in the area of ILS and Decent Work and in their daily operations.