The impact of facing a human rights legal action along with the degraded reputation of the company can disturb the business propositions immensely. TOPLOP has to take care that the faults of one manufacturing site do not hamper the business operations in other nations as the legal issues will be very damaging to the company and the possible termination of business operations also becomes a high possibility. The need for devising a human rights charter that sets rules and regulations regarding the equality of workers, payment of minimum wage and strict actions for sexual harassments must be ensured.
Objectives of the charter
Leuprecht(2017) opined that development of any form of charter includes the creation of certain objectives that will be fulfilled once the legal binding has been finalised and implemented. In the case of TOPLOP, the need for defining certain aspects and setting ground rules has become the primal need. Considering the situation that the company is facing currently, the charter to be implemented will fulfil the following objectives:
❖ Ensuring that the workplace is equipped with the best machinery and the proper spacious working environment so that the necessary works are completed without any forms of injury to the workers.
❖ Making sure that the health and safety standards are at par with the global standards so that any shortcomings can be fulfilled by the organisation to ensure better safety conditions at work.
❖ Eradicating the use of child labour in the factories and considering criminal charges against the offender if they undertake any such practice.
❖ Making sure that the safety of women from sexual harassment is supported by extreme legal and criminal charges against the subcontractors or any employee so that the women can work peacefully and deliver a productive result.
❖ Making sure that the minimum wages are provided to the employees by deciding a standard pay rate since the minimum wage rate in countries will differ.
Considering the above objectives will be specific enough to make sure that the manufacturing site in India is highly supervised and the strict implementation of the charter rules are to be mandated to each of the personnel. This will help in curbing the illegal practices to a great extent and can prevent the tarnishing of the reputation of the company. Smith (2018) opined that managing business operations overseas includes a great deal of care to be taken for maintaining the interests of employees so that they are provided all the benefits as per the human right standards. The importance of the charter will be realised after the successful fulfilment of all the mentioned objectives. The need for intervention by TOPLOP on a regular basis is a must so that it can be ensured if all the standards are being met.
Policies incorporated in the charter to protect human rights
According to Deckeret al. (2015), human rights protection is a high necessity in today’s work environment considering the various legal implications and rights to workers which make strategy development and planning as per the law. Considering the various issues faced by the Indian manufacturing unit, it can be deduced that the concentration of strict rules and steps to protect human rights of employees is a major necessity. The need for incorporating and identifying the policies is mandatory since these will look to fulfil the selected objectives.
The major policies that are to be included in the charter are as follows:
➢ Recognising equal rights before the law that is to be done without any form of discrimination
➢ Providing equal protection to the women against any form of harassment
➢ Delivering protection from degrading treatment
➢ Initiating freedom of expression and providing privacy and reputation
➢ Protection of families and the children
➢ Fair and clear hearing of the accused personnel
➢ Implementing criminal and legal charges if employers or employees indulge in any more sexual harassment at work
➢ Strict laws and punishment to be delivered if child labour practices are encouraged.
➢ Engaging health and safety rules for the employees so that proper machinery and tools are implemented and checked regularly so that no accidents occur.
As per the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, it is the employer’s duty to make sure that the employee health and safety concerns are met and the regular reporting to necessary authorities to deliver records of any mishaps, accidents or injuries (Legislation.gov.uk, 2018). Considering these legal factors, it can be denoted that TOPLOP must ensure that the subcontractors in the Indian unit deliver monthly reports about any form of mishaps or injuries so that proper action can be taken at the earliest. It is clear that the out-dated machinery used by the Indian manufacturing unit is faulty and can cause severe damage in future. The Charter policy regarding health and safety will ensure that the issues are met, and the implementation of new machinery is proposed. Even though the health and safety standards in India must have cleared the faulty machinery, the charter will ensure that the standards will be set by the parent company and the
The Equality Act 2010 provides the basis which determines all the necessary actions that can be taken by the company in case the employers or employees conduct any form of inequality. Forms of discrimination and harassments related to age, sex or disability will be strictly punishable. The various legal rights delivered to the employees must be fulfilled as per the legislation to avoid any legal hassles (Legislation.gov.uk, 2018). The fact that the women workers in the Indian manufacturing unit of TOPLOP face sexual harassment and conduct child labour suggests that the company implement rigid policies. Making sexual harassment and child labour practices punishable will help in removing the practices. Equal pay practices are also highlighted by the charter policies and a standard will be set that can make sure the employees are paid as per the international standards.
The implication of the Human Rights Act 1998 will also bear importance in the charter policy’s strengthening. As per this act, the employees have direct authority to conduct legal proceedings against their employers if any unlawful activities take place. The various courts within the UK can hear legal proceedings for the suffering person (Legislation.gov.uk. (2018). Making the policies such that the accused can be charged severely under this legislation will help the charter fulfil its objective to cater to the human rights issues of the employees in the Indian manufacturing unit.
However, a keynote that is to be kept in mind is the fact that TOPLOP needs to make sure that all the legal actions and punishments are designed and approved so that they meet the legislative laws of the concerned nations. The laws in the UK will not apply to an Indian resident in India. Thus, the policy must ensure that the legal actions are based on the standards of the Indian law.
Implications
of any breach
As perFrey (2015), the necessity for designing and developing policies and charters to enhance the rights of employees and focus on making the business legally intact is a necessary step for every organisation. The designed set of policies in the charter by TOPLOP look to highlight the problem scenario carefully and the various laws that supervise the actions make it a necessary step to curb such immoral practices. The fact that the differences in the legal decision making are diverse for both UK and India makes it a hurdle, but the implications of any breach will be directly levied on the employers. It is known that the manufacturing unit in India is performing below standards of that of the rest of the world and the cases of sexual harassment and child labour issues make it much more deplorable.
The regulations and rules will be implied on both employers and employees so that no individual can consider conducting such an offence. The policy rules in the charter will provide safety to all employees and especially women so that the issues of sexual harassment are properly reported and the necessary culprits are liable to fines or punishments as decided by the governing company. They can be terminated from their respective jobs as well. The practices of child labour will also result in criminal cases being levied on the accused. These strict actions of the policies will help the company restore its reputation and help in creating a better work environment for the employees as well. Better wage structure will uplift living standards too.
References
Decker, M.R., Crago, A.L., Chu, S.K., Sherman, S.G., Seshu, M.S., Buthelezi, K., Dhaliwal, M. and Beyrer, C., (2015). Human rights violations against sex workers: burden and effect on HIV. The Lancet, 385(9963), pp.186-199.
Frey, B.A., (2015). The legal and ethical responsibilities of transnational corporations in the protection of international human rights. Minn. J. Global Trade, 6(2), pp.150-153.
Legislation.gov.uk. (2018). Equality Act 2010. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents.
Legislation.gov.uk. (2018). Health and Safety at Work etc.Act 1974. [online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents.
Legislation.gov.uk. (2018). Human Rights Act 1998. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/contents.
Leuprecht, P., (2017). Innovations in the European system of human rights protection: is enlargement compatible with reinforcement. Transnat’l L. & Contemp. Probs., 8(1), pp. 310-313.
Smith, R., (2018). International Human Rights Law.Oxford University Press.
Sullivan, R. and Robinson, M. eds., (2017). Business and human rights: dilemmas and solutions. Routledge.