One of the press releases cited from 2010 discussed abuse and exploitations of workers. The editor who was cite checking the article made a note to exclude the press release as not relevant to the subject of my article. Now, a legitimate reason for excluding the release could be that the press release calls for the State (and not the Saudi employer) to take action for the women’s brutalization. Since the release once again focuses on State behavior, I could see how some would question the fit. However, that was not the focus of the editor’s comment. Instead, the editor wrote the following: “Please clarify: this incident involves labor laws that foster abuse and exploitation rather than corporate human rights abuses.” Unfortunately, this view – that labor law abuses and business and human rights abuses are separate issues – is actually pretty common. It’s also incredibly inaccurate.
Because of the globalized landscape in which corporations currently exist, businesses have taken on more prominent roles as both protectors and perpetrators of human rights. Labor standards are an inextricable part of that conversation. Although, clearly, unfair labor laws are one important piece of the puzzle, another important piece is businesses practice with regard to labor issues (either with or without laws that require fair labor practices). Moreover, many of the labor conventions that have been adopted by the ILO (such as the abolition of Child Labor) are also similar to, embodied in, or addressed by, various human rights related conventions under international law (such as Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which discusses protection of children from economic exploitation). Within the context of treaties, labor issues exist under the larger umbrella of human rights. Businesses are made up of workers, and these workers’ human rights must be taken into account with every decision made by the corporations. Because these workers and their human rights must be considered, it follows that labor issues can frequently be classified as business and human rights issues. When looking at labor issues and workers’ rights, it only makes sense to consider them as largely inseparable. There needs to be growing awareness of this field.
