Over the first four years of its existence, the Global Compact has made significant progress in terms of outputs, but is threatened by its participants’ poor performance in rule-compliance. It has managed to secure small but reasonable funding, and improved in the fields of guidance to participants, inclusiveness, and transparency. It has proved to be adaptable to challenges, as the introduction of the integrity measures and the addition of a tenth principle (on anti-corruption) indicate. However, the lack of any enforcement of its rules that persisted until June 2004 appears to have been a model deficiency. Up until the introduction of the integrity measures in that month, the voluntary nature of Kofi Annan’s initiative seems to have been over-stretched, as poor outcomes suggest. While it has gained hundreds of new participants and now consists of nearly 1,700, most of these participants failed to fulfil their obligations of (1) integrating the principles into business operations, (2) publicly advocating the Compact, and (3) annually reporting on progress. At least 1015 participants did not submit the required “communication on progress” (COP). Although this paper recognises the achievements of some participants as well as indirect outcomes amongst participants (such as strengthening champions of reform within companies), these successes do not make up for the huge reporting gap. Conceivably, all participants that did not submit COPs might have acted upon the principles nonetheless; but even were this so in all cases, the reporting gap posed at the very least a threat to the initiative’s transparency and integrity. However, it is more likely that the reporting gap represents an actual implementation gap – a gap that poses a much greater danger to the Global Compact’s credibility and long-term viability. The Philippine Global Compact network was established in September 2001; its 137 members make it the third-largest of the 44 networks (after France and Spain). Its dynamics reveal some of the root causes behind the participants’ poor performance in reporting. The network’s inception was spearheaded by the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO); the initiative soon gained the support of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [...]
Contents
1 The analytical framework
1.1 The issue area: labour standards in the textile and garment industry
1.2 New modes of global governance
1.2.1 Private-public modes of governance
1.2.2 Private modes of governance
1.3 Norms and norm compliance
1.4 Research design
1.4.1 Determinants of outputs
1.4.2 Determinants of outcomes
2 The Global Compact
2.1 Origins
2.2 Structure
2.2.1 Rules
2.2.2 Actors
2.2.3 Mechanisms of engagement
2.2.4 Governance
2.3 Progress and Development
2.4 Analysis I: outputs
2.5 Analysis II: outcomes
3 Corporate Social Responsibility
3.1 Overview
3.2 Norm entrepreneurs
3.2.1 The Clean Clothes Campaign
3.2.2 The Worker Rights Consortium
3.3 Norm following I: industry self-regulation
3.3.1 Corporate codes of conduct
3.3.2 Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production
3.4 Norm-following II: co-regulation
3.4.1 The Fair Labor Association
3.4.2 The Ethical Trading Initiative
3.4.3 Social Accountability 8000
3.5 Conclusion
4 The Philippine Background
4.1 Political system and political culture
4.2 Socio-economic background
4.3 Economic structure
4.3.1 Structure of the textile and garments industry
4.4 Labour issues
4.4.1 Labour law
4.4.2 Working conditions
4.4.3 Industrial relations
4.5 National CSR initiatives
5 The Global Compact in the Philippines
5.1 Origins
5.2 Structure
5.2.1 Actors
5.2.2 Mechanisms of engagement
5.2.3 Governance
5.3 Progress and development
5.4 Output analysis
5.5 Conclusion
6 Case studies
6.1 CS Garment
6.1.1 Commitment to CSR
6.1.2 Outcomes of the Global Compact
6.2 Indo Phil Group of Companies
6.2.1 Commitment to CSR
6.2.2 Outcomes of the Global Compact
6.3 Yarn Ventures Resources
6.3.1 Commitment to CSR
6.3.2 Outcomes of the Global Compact
6.4 YKK Philippines
6.4.1 Commitment to CSR
6.4.2 Outcomes of the Global Compact
6.5 Conclusion
7 Outcomes
7.1 Outcomes of the Global Compact
7.2 Outcomes of other CSR initiatives
7.3 Conclusion
8 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper explores the extent to which the Global Compact and its Philippine network have generated outputs and outcomes leading to the adherence of fundamental labor principles among textile and garment companies in the Philippines, while evaluating the relative weight of the Global Compact compared to other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) instruments.
- Evaluation of the Global Compact's global and national network operations.
- Assessment of norm compliance and corporate policy changes in the textile and garment sector.
- Comparative analysis of different CSR modes, including industry self-regulation and co-regulation.
- Examination of the Philippine political and economic context in relation to CSR.
- Case studies of Philippine garment and textile companies' engagement with global standards.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 The issue area: labour standards in the textile and garment industry
Labour standards are defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) through its conventions, and are implemented and enforced by the states that ratified them. In 1998, the ILO issued the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which, based on eight conventions, comprise the most crucial labour rules:
• “Freedom of association
• the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining,
• the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour,
• the effective abolition of child labour, and
• the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation” (ILO 2004:91).
Implementation and enforcement of these fundamental rights have often been poor, and have deteriorated as globalisation accelerated (See ibid:93). When transnational corporations (TNCs), especially those in labour-intensive sectors, began to move their production facilities to low-cost countries, they contributed significantly to the macro-economic growth of many developing, especially East Asian, countries. However, in order to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), developing countries entered an “incentive competition”, offering corporations income tax holidays, lowering regulations, environmental protection and labour standards (See ibid: 80). A typical phenomenon of incentive competition is the sprawling of export processing zones (EPZs), in which companies produce exclusively for export, are freed from tariffs, and often face less rigorous regulation.
Summary of Chapters
1 The analytical framework: Introduces the core concepts of norms and norm compliance while outlining the research design and methodology for assessing global governance initiatives.
2 The Global Compact: Provides an overview of the origins, structure, rules, and governance of the Global Compact on a global scale, while analyzing its outputs and outcomes.
3 Corporate Social Responsibility: Reviews various CSR actors, networks, and tools relevant to the textile and garment industry, including industry self-regulation and co-regulation models.
4 The Philippine Background: Offers profiles of the political, social, and economic landscape of the Philippines to contextualize the environment for CSR and labor standards.
5 The Global Compact in the Philippines: Describes the evolution, structure, and outputs of the Philippine national network of the Global Compact.
6 Case studies: Examines four specific textile and garment companies in the Philippines to illustrate their commitment to CSR and the outcomes of their Global Compact engagement.
7 Outcomes: Evaluates the broader outcomes of the Global Compact in the Philippines and compares them with other international and national CSR initiatives.
8 Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings of the paper, reflecting on the marginal impact of the Global Compact in the Philippines and the factors influencing corporate behavior.
Keywords
Global Compact, Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Philippines, Textile Industry, Garment Industry, Labor Standards, Global Governance, Norm Compliance, Export Processing Zones, Multinational Corporations, Policy Change, Self-Regulation, Co-Regulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
This work evaluates the performance of the Global Compact, specifically its Philippine national network, in promoting the recognition and implementation of labor standards among local textile and garment companies.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The study covers global governance, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), labor standards as defined by the ILO, and the effectiveness of different normative mechanisms like codes of conduct and co-regulatory partnerships.
What is the primary objective of the research?
The research aims to determine the extent to which the Global Compact has generated concrete outputs and outcomes leading to the adherence of fundamental labor rights in the Philippine garment and textile industry.
Which methodology is applied in this study?
The paper follows an empirical-inductive approach, utilizing literature review, document analysis, 15 expert interviews, and an electronic survey conducted among Philippine garment and textile producers.
What does the main part of the paper address?
The main body is divided into a theoretical framework, an analysis of the Global Compact and CSR instruments at the global level, a context analysis of the Philippines, and detailed case studies of companies like CS Garment and YKK Philippines.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Global Compact, CSR, Philippines, labor standards, global governance, norm compliance, and textile/garment sector.
How is the Philippine network of the Global Compact described?
The network is described as having achieved success in attracting signatories but suffering from a 'latent' status, with most members remaining inactive and reporting compliance being extremely low.
What conclusions does the author draw regarding the Global Compact?
The author concludes that the Global Compact's direct impact on corporate policy changes in the Philippines has been negligible, often serving only as moral support for companies that already had CSR policies in place.
- Quote paper
- Patrick Bolte (Author), 2004, The Global Compact, Corporate Social Responsibility and Textile and Garment Companies in the Philippines, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/40302
