Trade unions welcome ASEAN guidelines on CSR, call for strong enforcement mechanism

The ASEAN Services Employees Trade Union Council (ASETUC), a network of trade union federations in the ASEAN region, organized the ASETUC Regional Workshop to promote ASEAN Guidelines for CSR on Labour. Some 30 trade unionists met to discuss how to create more awareness about the guidelines among the trade unions active in the region, and how to promote their implementation among employers. 

The participants in the workshop regretted the non-binding nature of the guidelines and the weak incentive for implementation. They also deplored the non-assignment of responsibilities for the actors and the weaknesses of the text on some issues such as wages and social security.

Thomas Thomas, chief executive of the ASEAN CSR Network, also pointed out the necessity to “incorporate [the] quest for economic expansion with principles of corporate social responsibility – responding not just to the need for more profits but also ensuring that all the people of ASEAN benefit, by taking into account the well-being of people and the environment”.

Despite their limitations, the guidelines remain a useful tool for trade unions to improve working conditions in the region. Members of the ASETUC aim to work with governments and together develop national action plans to implement the guidelines and harmonize the labour laws of the Member States.

In that respect, the guidelines promote equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth through a people-centred approach. Moreover, they demonstrate a clear collective positioning of governments regarding labour issues in a region where efforts still need to be done to secure workers’ rights and freedom of association. The guidelines are intended to benefit all the stakeholders related to labour: not only the private sector but also governments, employers’ organisations, and trade unions from the ASEAN Economic Community.