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Workers Saving their Factories and Saving their Jobs: Using an expropriation law to ensure economic rights are protected

When businesses close and jobs disappear, individuals, families and communities risk falling into poverty. In Argentina’s recent economic downturn, many businesses have closed or gone bankrupt.

Workers in Argentina have tried to prevent job losses by refusing to stop working when their employers’ businesses go bankrupt.

Strategy for addressing child labor, sexual abuse and trafficking in the entertainment industry

Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) has worked to end child labor and trafficking in the circus industry. There is a serious problem of trafficking of young girls between Nepal and India (both countries are on the Tier 2 Watch list in U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report). The girls are trafficked for the purposes of slavery, including sexual slavery and prostitution.

Due to the socio – political situation in Nepal, coupled with illiteracy and ignorance, a large number of children (especially girls) are trafficked into India. Within India, the unorganized sectors like the entertainment industry, circuses, agriculture, brothels, etc., play a willing host to these victims, as a lot of industrial laws are not applicable in these sectors. There is little or no significant effort on the part of the government to prevent these practices. Thus, a pro-active initiative by the civil society sector was imperative in the prevention of abuse and exploitation in these sectors. The initiative was to involve the forces within the industry and ensure legal compliance and human rights' based approach for prevention of a social evil.

Recording traditional ecological knowledge to protect indigenous rights

The Science and Human Rights Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) created an online searchable database of traditional ecological knowledge to prevent private companies from patenting that knowledge. The Traditional Ecological Knowledge Prior Art Database (T.E.K.*P.A.D.) is located at http://ip.aaas.org/tekpad. 

Providing companies with a plan for a practical HIV policy that reduces the cost of the treatment for all employees

Project M.O.M. Sunshine in Cameroon aims to convince companies to provide medical, psychological and nutritional support to employees living with HIV/AIDS. Their main tactic is to present the company with a plan for a practical HIV policy that reduces the cost of the treatment and that benefits the company’s public image. In particular, the project negotiates with insurance companies dependent on company contracts to improve insurance policies with regard to workers with HIV, and making them more affordable to companies.   

Filing a civil tort action against a multi-national organization for human rights abuses that occurred as a result of a business

A group of Burmese laborers who were forced to work on a pipeline project in Myanmar successfully filed suit against two co-venturers in the pipeline project, Unocal and Total.  They claim that the two transnational corporations knew and profited from the fact that the military of Myanmar was using violence and intimidation to relocate villages, enslave farmers, commit rape and other tortu

Developing international monitoring and labelling coalitions

The Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) is developing international monitoring and labelling coaltions through an umbrella organization for the Fair Trade movement, a federation of 17 national Fair Trade initiatives.  It sets criteria and standards for labeling and certification such as price minimums, pre-paid requirements and other guidelines.  In addition, it mana

Leveraging shareholder power to press corporations to adopt socially and environmentally responsible policies and practices

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) uses their position as shareholders to file shareholder resolutions and to meet with top management to press corporations to adopt socially and environmentally responsible policies and practices, including the adoption of comprehensive, transparent, verifiable human rights policies based on international human rights standards.

Using a code of conduct to protect labor rights in the garment industry

The Netherlands-based Clean Clothes Campaign, a consortium of European trade unions and human rights and development organizations, drafted a code of conduct regarding labor rights specifically related to the garment industry that it is promoting to the business community.

Certifying companies based on an internationally recognizable standard to improve labor conditions

Social Accountability International (SAI) has developed a set of voluntary corporate social responsibility standards called SA 8000.  SA 8000 includes a code of conduct for labor conditions, based on established international standards, and a verification system to ensure compliance.  In order for a company to receive SA 8000 certification, it must pass monitoring inspections by SAI-c

Independent monitoring to verify and oversee effective compliance with codes of conduct

The Independent Monitoring Group in El Salvador (IMGES) was able to organize independent local human rights groups to monitor working conditions and labor rights violations in one of The Gap’s maquiladora factories.  Members of IMGES include the Human Rights Institute of the University of Central America, Tutela Legal (Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of San Salvador), and the Labour Studies Centre (CENTRA).