WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1491/97 by Carlos ROBLES PIQUER to the Commission. Alleged crimes of a multinational
Date: 1997-04-30
Institutions: European Parliament, ROBLES PIQUER
Subjects: International Labour Organisation, developing countries, economic development, equal treatment, female worker, generalised preferences, sanction (EU), social development, tariff preference













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91997E1491

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1491/97 by Carlos ROBLES PIQUER to the Commission. Alleged crimes of a multinational  


Official Journal C 045 , 10/02/1998 P. 0041 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1491/97 by Carlos Robles Piquer (PPE) to the Commission (30 April 1997)Subject: Alleged crimes of a multinationalClothing and footwear multinationals have been accused of coldly exploiting the poverty of underdeveloped countries on more than one occasion.The case of Nike, the well-known manufacturer of trainers, has also been mentioned in this connection on more than one occasion. The New York Times article signed by Bob Herbert (reprinted in the International Herald Tribune, Paris, on 1 April 1997) under the headline 'Making billions on the backs of hungry women' reveals a shocking situation where wages are a pittance, and describes in detail the consequences which can arise from the relocation of certain industries.Assuming that the information on which the article is based is accurate (and it should be possible to verify it), does the Commission consider that action should be taken on humanitarian grounds to ensure that products manufactured by Nike are boycotted immediately and effectively so as to prevent these slave traders of the twentieth century from profiting from the internal market created by the European Community?Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan on behalf of the Commission (6 June 1997)The question from the Honourable Member falls into the more general area of the linkage of trade and labour standards. The Commission has published a communication on this subject in which it explicitly supported theneed to promote fundamental labour standards, such as the prohibition of forced labour, abolition of child exploitation, trade union freedom and absence of sex discrimination. To the Commission, however, the way forward is not that of commercial sanctions, particularly on individual businesses, which would run counter to the desired objective, for this must also rely on economic and social development in the countries concerned.Hence the Commission's preference for a policy of encouraging compliance with social standards through incentives rather than coercive measures. This is the background to the provisions of the generalized scheme of tariff preferences under which additional preferences may be granted from 1998 onwards to countries which actually apply International Labour Organization conventions relating to certain of the fundamental labour standards referred to above. The Community scheme also provides, however, that tariff preferences may be temporarily withdrawn from countries in which, following a thorough investigation, it has been confirmed that slavery (and forced labour in particular) is actually practised. And this was recently proposed by the Commission and decided upon by the Council (EC/552/97 ((OJ L 85, 27.3.1997. ))) with regard to Myanmar (Burma). Even in these cases, however, the investigative procedure, with all the guarantees that must accompany it, takes place in such a way that its objective is still to encourage the countries concerned to remedy the situation on the ground rather than to punish them.