Listen to Isabelle Schömann, elected Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. (ETUC).
Frankly Speaking has invited Isabelle Schömann, elected Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, representing 45 million members in 39 countries. Isabelle has been playing a leading role in proposals around corporate transparency and due diligence in Europe and is a member of the standard setting board at the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group. Previously, she was principal advisor to the Regulatory Scrutiny Board of the European Commission and senior researcher at the European Trade Union Institute.
Isabelle shares her insights on:
“It is our core business: You empower workers to exercise their basic rights at the workplace, which includes the freedom of associations, the freedom of expression. For us this is the vehicle to empower them to also make use of their democratic rights outside the business when they can elect responsible politicians and engage in the development of their communities.”
Is it really is possible for companies to "do the right thing"?
There's very little pressure being applied to companies by investors looking at how they're actually behaving and treating human rights as a core business priority. This needs to change.
Investors shouldn't just take companies' word for what they're doing; they should investigate what the companies are actually doing regarding human rights.