Madam, - Well done to John Downes (Agenda, September 19th) for raising the important issue of respect for workers' rights along the supply chains of our major retail outlets. We receive calls for international solidarity from trade union colleagues struggling for decent working conditions around the globe each day. Therefore, as we approach the busy shopping season, it is indeed timely for us to question where and in what conditions the items we all buy are manufactured.
Allow me to have one small quibble with the analysis, however. The article concentrated on the role of companies and the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as if it were the only possible solution. All of the companies interviewed claimed to some degree to have an ethical sourcing policy. We in the trade union movement have been around for long enough to realise that it would not be the cleverest strategy to depend on the good intentions of companies (and some are genuinely working hard at CSR) to protect workers' rights in the global economy. CSR is no substitute for old-fashioned regulation and trade union activity.
Unfortunately, we have a global economy that is leading to a race to the bottom in terms of respect for labour standards. Organising an independent trade union is increasingly dangerous in many countries, with Colombia being perhaps the worst example. We don't have to look further than the industrial relations section of this newspaper to see that this race to the bottom is not confined to developing countries.
The only solution is to have enforceable international labour standards in the global economy, not to rely on the good intentions of corporations. Only then will people be able to organise independent trade unions and bargain collectively with their employers to ensure decent working conditions for everyone and to "trade themselves out of poverty". - Yours, etc,
DAVID JOYCE, Congress Global Solidarity, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Parnell Square, Dublin 1.