Corporate Social Responsibility Through Ethical Labour Practices

Corporate social responsibility measures are generally viewed to be outward instead of inward gestures. They are usually geared towards helping the environments and marginalized sectors of society, but it is often forgotten that internal measures are equally important. Let’s discuss one of the internal areas of CSR, which is often neglected, Ethical Labor Practices. Corporations are intent on implementing external CSR policies that improve their corporate image, examining the internal operations of the organization from a CSR perspective is often overlooked. In the worst case scenarios, the cost of CSR activities is offset with low salaries or unethical labor practices. A happy and contented workforce is the backbone of any business.

Taking care of employees and making sure that ethical labor standards are met goes a long way in ensuring efficient operations and long-term profitability. CSR is one of the business world’s means of upholding human rights, including labor rights through the union of consumer power and socially responsible business leadership. The implementation of corporate social activity usually takes the form of codes of conduct initiated by corporate management. These codes of conduct embody commitments made by managements to uphold ethical labor standards that will benefit the organization’s workers. Over the years, the needs and concerns of workers have changed dramatically. In addition to the provision of basic human needs, Ethical Labor Practices are now based ultimately on human dignity and respect for human life.

Business codes of conduct must evolve, taking into account changing circumstances and our more self-aware society. Under the watchful eye of civil organizations, businesses are under pressure to provide their workers with more than just the bare necessities and must now provide a high quality employment environment. Moreover, these codes of conduct must be; measurable, verifiable, and create a legal responsibility on the part of the organization. The new generation of codes of practice have become multi-stakeholder rather than shareholders centric. This means that groups including; shareholders, trade unions, human rights advocates, socio-civic groups, community development organizations, and NGOs all have a stake in formulating a code of conduct which upholds Ethical Labor Practices.

The most significant features of these codes include; monitoring, verification, certification of suppliers, enforcement mechanisms, and transparency. Businesses now have avenues through which to advance workers rights through voluntary self-regulation. The union of civil society vigilance, consumer buying power, and socially responsible business leadership all create a new framework for protecting labor rights and ultimately human rights. In summary, we discussed how businesses through corporate social activity, can enforce and uphold ethical labor standards. By implementing codes of conduct which are multi-stakeholder, the strive for better labor practices and improved labor standards is addressed, leading to a brighter future for human rights overall. Now, here are the five key points. One, a happy and contented workforce is the backbone of any business.

Two CSR is one of the business world’s means of upholding human rights, including labor rights through the union of consumer power and socially responsible business leadership. Three, the implementation of corporate social activity usually takes the form of codes of conduct initiated by corporate management. Four, the new generation of codes of practice have become multi-stakeholder rather than shareholders centric. Five, businesses now have avenues through which to advance workers rights through voluntary self-regulation.