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Human rights business dilemma on ‘working hours’ released by Maplecroft on joint UN Global Compact forum

07/04/2011

Working hours dilemma

A new in-depth examination, broaching business dilemmas that can arise from working hours for the employees of multinational companies throughout their operations and supply chains, has been released by Maplecroft on the Human Rights and Business Dilemmas Forum.

The Human Rights and Business Dilemmas Forum is produced jointly by the United Nations Global Compact and Maplecroft, and is funded by the GE Foundation. It aims to enhance our collective understanding of human rights themes and to stimulate discussion about the dilemmas responsible multi-national companies may face in their efforts to respect and support human rights when operating in emerging economies.

The Working Hours Dilemma offers companies detailed analysis, case studies and an extensive bank of resources from Maplecroft, the UN and other internationally recognised bodies.

Dilemma – Working Hours

“How does a company ensure it respects relevant international standards and national laws relating to working hours within its supply chain when workers are either compelled, have no choice, or operate in a context which makes them accept excessive working hours? Workers, including migrant workers, for example, may be compelled to work longer hours in order to earn a living wage or maximise their income. This could also occur in a county where the culture expects long working hours or where the government does not restrict working hour limits or does not effectively enforce the law. ”

Working hours brings up a number of issues and diverging viewpoints in relation to how long employees should work in an average week, including overtime. There is also a distinct lack of consensus for overtime. Different stakeholders have different views. The ILO, for example, take the strictest approach, advocating a 40 hour week with overtime only being allowed in exceptional circumstances. However, national law throughout the world generally advocates a 40-48 hour week. The dilemma for a responsible business, is how to address these divergent views in countries where laws are either nonexistent or compliance is weak.

The challenge for a multinational company (MNC) is that it must remain competitive. To do this it must keep costs down while meeting tight production targets. Tough competition in many western and consumer driven markets may put businesses under pressure to further reduce already low prices. In order to maintain competitiveness, supply contracts from retailers will often stipulate tight production timelines that the supplier must adhere to. Tight timelines often mean that suppliers are left in a position where their employees must work beyond the acceptable working hours stipulated by the ILO or national legislation to meet production targets.

See full dilemma and case studies

For more information contact dilemmasforum@maplecroft.com or alternatively visit
http://human-rights.unglobalcompact.org/

Register for trial access to see examples of Maplecroft's indices, interactive maps, scorecards, briefings and in-depth reports.

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