Human_Right_Violation_of_Multinational_Corporations

=__**Human Right Violation of Multinational Corporation**__= Leaders of Multinational Corporations

Labors of Multinational Corporations

Context:
With advanced communication, transportation, and technology, the world is narrowing down by itself and the globalization is inevitable. Today, there are rich Asians traveling Europe every summer and there are American college students taking gap year for wandering around the world, somewhere exotic place in India or Brazil. In 17th century, it took almost a year to move from England to India; in 19th century, it took three months to cross the continental railway from Boston to San Francisco; today, it takes no longer than 24 hours to fly from Shanghai to Montevideo, which is an antipodal of Seoul.

The same phenomenon takes place in the world of the business. Until 16th century, nobody could imagine to enterprise in another country. It was 1495 when the business of one country started to settle in another country: Spaniards constructed massive plantation in Bahama Islands. With the slavery and support from the court of Madrid, Spaniards became the superpower of the era by extracting natural resources. Today, Suzhou of China is an attractive city for the world's companies, ranging from Samsung, a large, conglomerate, and multinational corporation, to Lattron, my father's small company which only produces and sells thermostats, because of cheap labor and government's support.

However, this history is optimistic only from the entrepreneur's view; from labor, nope. Spanish planters were extremely harsh to Arawaks of Bahama islands, as it is stated in //A People's History of the United State//s by Howard Zinn (p.5): //...In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead...By the year 1515...perhaps fifty thousand Indians left...By 1550...five hundred...1650...none...// Of course, the case of today is not as extreme as Spaniards who decimated the whole tribe. However, multinational corporation's compulsive natural exploitation along with the government's support on the corporation's side encroaches on the human rights of the indigenous people. In developing countries, labors are harshly abused, with the working conditions like what were given to the workers of the United States and Britain in early 19th century. This is happening world-widely. From Burma to India to Ghana to Brazil to China to Vietnam, with various forms. Yet, people have less opportunity to encounter such issues through media, because media are owned by multinational corporation. Then, it should be by the United Nations who take responsibility to protect the human rights of the people from the multinational corporation.

Common Violations:
1. Improper Wage Payment - Payment Deferrence - Payment lower than minimum wages

2. Violent, Illegal Oppression - Unreasonable Layoff - Attempt to dissolute labor union - Attempt to dissolute strikes

3. Forced Relocation and Resettlement - Government's use of police and army - Improper compensation reimbursement

4. Polluting Environment - Contaminating rivers, sea, lakes - Related to animal extinction - Deforestation - Soil erosion

5. Working conditions not meeting international and national standards - Safety - Excessive working hours - General health care insurance regarding/regardless of the accident related to the working - Corporal Punishment

6. Employment of Temporary Worker - Layoff of temporary worker after the contract expires - Purposeful employment of temporary worker to lower expenditure

7. Monopolistic Behavior - Practice of Dumping - Merging&Purchase of shares of another company in same industry (Horizontal Merging)

8. Sexual Abuse - Rape - Sexual harrasement - Sexual discrimination

9. Racial Discrimination - Lower wages - Discriminatory statement

Case Study:
A. Royal Dutch Shell's oilfield in Nigeria

B. Unocal in Burma, whose government dispatched army during the project

C. Chile's Allende Regime vs American Multinational Corporations

In 1970, Salvador Allende Gossens was elected as the president of Chile. This shocked the world because Allende was the first to be the socialist president through democratic means. With his campaign, La via chilena al socialismo, Allende nationalized key industry, nationalized lands, and increased budgets on social welfare. This threatened multinational corporations because they had to give up their privilege in making profits through monopolizing Chile's key industry, real-estates, and selling more private products. Thus, multinational corporations in Chile fundamentally opposed the regime's policy. Among Allende's many policies, there was a policy to supply milk to children in free, which needed an assistance from multinational corporations who produced commercial milk. But when the government asked Nestle, a Switzerland beverage corporation, to sell powdered milk for poor children, Nestle rejected. Moreover, multinational corporations in Chile manipulated market prices, thus inflating the currency, to intimidate Allende regime. In the end, coup de'tat, probably supported by CIA of United States, subverted Allende regime and military regime governed Chile until 1990.

D. POSCO in India (current situation)

In 2005, Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) of South Korea agreed with Orissa State of India to contruct iron manufacture plant. POSCO determined to invest 12 billion dollars on this project, an unprecedented size of foreign direct investment that not only a Korean company has ever maken overseas but also India has ever recieved from the foreign company. The Orissa State government promised to provide 600 million tons of iron sources, allowing POSCO to use iron ore for next 30 years.

However, local villagers protested against the POSCO's project, asserting that it will forcefully remove the local residents and pollute the environment, which go against the Forest Right Act. The local police suppressed the protestors so severly in June 2010 that more than a hundred people were wounded, including two of them severly wounded. It is known that the police used the guns during the oppression.

As mentioned above, Orissa government also agreed to provide POSCO iron sources. In other words, POSCO was granted a right to monopolize and exploit a given iron ore. This drawed criticisms from the local companies of the steel industry, arguing that such a government's decision was not fair. In July 2009, Indian High Court decided that Orissa government reexamine the application of other companies for the iron ore.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) highly denounce the Orissa government and Indian Central government for their negligence of the human rights of the villagers and of ruthless oppression committed by the police. Currently, they are pretty effective in delivering the villager's opinions to the government. Land acquisition by the Orissa government for POSCO has been paused, in an effort to try to negotiate with the villagers on the case of the matter. These NGOs include not only national organizations like Posco Pratirodha Sangram Smiti (PPSS) and United Action Committee (UAC), but also the international organizations like Amnesty International and Korean House of International Solidarity (KHIS).

E. Samsung overseas (current situation)

Industry-Based Voluntary Guidelines:
1. Ethical Trading Initiative (Retail&Consumer Products Sectors)* 2. Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (Extractive Sectors)* 3. Equator Principles (Financial Sectors)* 4. Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (Information Technology, Electronics and Telecommunications Sectors)*

Regulations of International Community regarding Multinational Corporations:
1. OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (1976)* 2. ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (1977)* 3. UN 10 Principles of Global Compact (2000)[|*] 4. UN Draft Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational and Other Business Enterprises with regard to Human Rights (2003)[|*]