Nike has taken the unusual step of publicly disagreeing with the
American Chamber of Commerce – of which it is a member – over its
opposition to proposed labour legislation in China.
The multinational’s decision to criticize publicly AmCham’s views
highlights what some see as the growing problem of relatively
conservative business associations taking a more sceptical line on
corporate responsibility than many of their member companies.
Nike says it ‘repudiates’ what it sees as attempts by AmCham to derail
the Chinese government’s efforts to improve factory workplace
standards, which take the form of a draft labour contract law that
could come into force next year.
AmCham is campaigning against the measure on the grounds
that it will ‘reduce employment opportunities for Chinese workers’ and
‘negatively impact on China’s … appeal as a destination for foreign
investment’.
Hannah Jones, Nike’s corporate responsibility vice-president, said the
company was concerned not just that AmCham’s response opposed its own
views, but that it did not appear to have been made after proper
consultation. She added that it made commercial sense for Nike to
support progressive law changes in China as ‘improving factory
conditions and strengthening the legal protections for workers in our
factory supply chain is … core to our business values.’
There have recently been signs of tension between industry bodies and
leading companies in the CSR field. Two examples of this include
AmCham’s campaigning against proposals for United Nations ‘norms’ on
multinationals’ behaviour, even though these were backed by some
leading companies, and the Confederation of British Industries’ key
role in the ditching of UK government plans for an operating and
financial review reporting regime, which many businesses had supported.
In both cases companies privately admitted to unease about the position
taken by their representative bodies, although they failed to make
their opposition public.
Neil Kearney, general secretary of the International Textile, Garment
and Leather Workers’ Federation, which works closely with Nike on CSR,
said more businesses should follow the company’s example and ‘distance
themselves from the position of their industry associations’ when
necessary.
John Elkington, chair of the SustainAbility consultancy, said some
should go even further and resign from such bodies. ‘When leading
companies began addressing these issues, the deeply entrenched
conservatism of industry federations forced them to set up alternative
organizations, like the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development,’ he told EP.
‘Almost without exception, however, they also remained as members of
those old institutions. Now that the issues are becoming
mission-critical, growing numbers will reconsider their position, up to
and including publicly resigning their memberships. This will be
extremely tough for companies, but it’s the only way we are going to
make real progress.’
