§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the Government are giving to initiatives to raise public awareness in developing countries on codes of conduct on labour standards. [153127]
§ Clare ShortThe Government strongly support the ILO's core labour standards, and are actively seeking to raise awareness of voluntary codes of conduct based on these, for the working of business in developing countries. In particular, the Government set up and fund the Ethical Trading Initiative, which is an independent organisation with a tripartite membership of trade unions, nongovernmental organisations and companies which seek to implement and monitor a "base code" of labour standards in the supply chains of corporate members. The ethical trading initiative does this by working closely with local organisations in developing countries and by working to raise awareness of labour standards and the "base code" among employers and employees.
The Government also work closely with other industry organisations such as the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum whose members are committed to corporate social responsibility issues including labour standards, and work in part to raise awareness of these issues in developing countries.