Corporate Responsibility and Labour Rights

Chapter 1

Introduction

Rhys Jenkins, Ruth Pearson and Gill Seyfang

THE RISE OF VOLUNTARY CODES OF CONDUCT

Since the early 1990s there has been a spectacular growth of voluntary corporate codes of conduct dealing with labour conditions. This has been part of a more general shift away from state regulation of transnational corporations (TNCs) towards an emphasis on corporate self-regulation in the areas of labour and environmental standards and human rights. Instead of the social and environmental impacts of big business being seen as a matter primarily for governments to deal with, they are now regarded as matters of corporate responsibility for ...