1. Basic ideas of CSR

CSR means the following: “For a business enterprise to fulfill its accountability to each stakeholder, to demonstrate its raison d’etre as a public institution in its practices of protecting human rights, conserving the environment, securing employment, guaranteeing the quality of working conditions and the working environment, contributing to the community, and contributing to cultural activities, based on rules of conduct specific to each of these areas, and to contribute to the formation of rules for social justice.”

This basic idea of CSR is directly linked to corporate management itself and in particular to the relations between a corporation and its stakeholders. The specific contents of CSR cannot be decided unilaterally by corporate management, but should be established through a dialogue with each stakeholder.

2. Emphasis on the areas of employment, labor and human rights

Trade unions should actively encourage corporations to clarify CSR in the areas of employment and labor issues.

In particular, trade unions should emphasize, as a matter of course, the prohibition and prevention of social discrimination and various forms of harassment, as well as equal treatment going beyond differences in forms of employment and work arrangements, and a balancing of working, family and community life.

* International standards in the areas of employment and labor issues include the following:

(1) ILO core labor standards
a. Basic labor rights (freedom of association, right to organize, right to collective bargaining)
b. Prohibition of forced labor
c. Prohibition of child labor
d. Equal pay for work of equal value
(2) OECD Guideline for Multinational Corporations
(3) Corporate Rules of Conduct developed by ICFTU/APRO
- Basic items in the areas of employment and labor issues (See the table in the Appendix.)

3. The importance of labor-management consultations

CSR on issues in the areas of employment and labor should be preceded by labor-management consultations.

The criteria for evaluating corporate practice on CSR from the standpoint of trade unions should rest not only on the declared intent of the corporation, but on whether it pledges to hold dialogue with the union or labor-management talks in implementing its declaration, and whether the corporation has created a follow-up mechanism.

4. The importance of social and policy approaches