Business And Society: Employees And The Corporation

Chapter

17

Employees and the Corporation

Business and Society POST, LAWRENCE, WEBER

 Article

23:

– Right to work, choice of employment, just and favorable conditions, protection against unemployment – Right to equal work for equal pay – Just and favorable remuneration – Right to form and to join trade unions

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 ARTICLE

24

– Right to rest and leisure  ARTICLE

25

– Right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being for himself and his family – Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance

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 Freedom

of association  Abolition of forced labor  Equality  Elimination of Child Labor

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International Standards 

The company shall comply with national and other applicable law, other requirements to which the company subscribes, and this standard. When [these standards] address the same issue, that provision that is



International instruments – ILO conventions on  forced

and bonded labor  right to collective bargaining  equal pay for equal work  workers’ representatives  minimum age and recommendation  vocational rehabilitation and employment of Sumber : Waddock disabled persons

Key definitions Child: person <15 unless local minimum age stipulates a higher age for work or mandatory schooling. If local age is set at 14 (ILO Convention 138), the lower age applies.  Young worker: any worker over age of child and younger than 18  Child labor: any work by Sumber : Waddock 

Sweatshops 

Workplaces where workers are subject to extreme exploitation, including no living wage or benefits, poor working conditions, and arbitrary discipline.

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Calculating a Living Wage 1. Establish the local cost of basic food basket for 2100 calories per day 2. Determine share of local household income spent on food. Divide into 1 to get total budget multiplier 3. Multiply food by spending = total per person budget for living expenses 4. Multiply by half the average Sumber : Waddock

Figure 17-1

Rights and duties of employees and employers Employee rights/Employer duties

Employee duties/Employer rights

• Right to organize and bargain

• No drug or alcohol abuse

• Safe and healthy workplace

• No actions that would endanger others

• Privacy •To treat others with respect and • Discipline fairly and justly applied without harassment of any kind • To blow the whistle

• Honesty; appropriate disclosure

• Equal employment opportunity

•Loyalty and commitment

• To be treated with respect for fundamental human rights

• Respect for employer’s property and intellectual capital

Restrictions on employment-at-will An employer may not fire a worker: • Because of race, gender, religion, national origin, age, or disability. • If this would constitute a violation of public policy, as determined by the courts. • If, in doing so, it would violate the Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act (WARN). • Simply because the individual was involved in a union organizing drive, or other union activity. • If this would violate an implied contract, such as a verbal promise, or basic rules of “fair dealing”.

Occasions for drug testing at work • Pre-employment screening • Some firms test all job applicants or selected applicants before hire. • Random testing of employees • In many companies, workers in particular job categories or levels are eligible for screening at any time. • Testing for cause • This test may be given when an employee is believed to be impaired by drugs and unfit for work.

Figure 17-2a

Pros of employee drug testing • Business cooperation with U.S. “War on Drugs” campaign. • Improves employee productivity • Promotes safety in the workplace • Decreases employee theft and absenteeism • Reduces health and insurance costs

Figure 17-2b

Cons of employee drug testing • Invades an employee’s privacy • Violates an employee’s right to due process • May be unrelated to job performance • May be used as a method of employee discrimination • Lowers employee morale • Conflicts with company values of honest and trust • May yield unreliable test results • Ignores effects of prescription drugs, alcohol, and over-the-counter drugs • Drug use an insignificant problem for some companies

Conditions for whistle-blowing

• The unreported act would do serious and considerable harm to the public. • Once such an act has been identified, the employee has reported the act to his or her immediate supervisor and has made their moral concern known. • If the immediate supervisor does nothing, the employee has tried other internal pathways for reporting the problem.