ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to assess to what extent self-regulation within the CSR framework contributes to improving workers’ rights worldwide. The first part of the chapter focuses on the corporate codes of conduct. The purpose of this part is to assess, through the prism of three generations of codes, if self-regulation is sufficient to ensure the effective enforcement of labour rights. The author fills the gap in existing research by providing a comprehensive explanation for the shortcomings of this instrument. Research indicates that there is a lack of involvement of social partners in the decision-making process leading to the adoption of codes of conduct. Once adopted, they impose lower standards than the public regulatory frameworks. They are more selective in their choice of labour rights. There are also many difficulties in implementing, monitoring and enforcing a corporate code of conduct. These tools mainly address marketing aims and respond to the unfavourable publicity produced by the media about the inconsistency of certain corporate policies with international labour standards. The author concludes by discussing how codes of conduct could be transformed to more effectively address workers’ rights. The second part of the chapter relates to transnational company agreements, NGOs’ social accountability standards, ISO standards, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and the Global Reporting Initiative, which are critically analysed using a logical-linguistic, historical and comparative legal methods. The research shows some evidence of a limited impact of CSR instruments on labour rights and proves that CSR tools can be perceived only as additional value to law.
