Het Nederlandse Nationaal Contact Punt (NCP) heeft op 11 februari 2020 de Eindverklaring in de melding van UNI Global Union tegen het in Nederland gevestigde VEON gepubliceerd.

De melding betreft vakbondsvrijheid bij Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd. in Bangladesh. De Eerste Evaluatie (ontvankelijk) is op 6 februari 2018 gepubliceerd. VEON heeft het aanbod van het NCP om een dialoog te faciliteren tussen partijen over de punten van de melding niet geaccepteerd. De Eindverklaring beschrijft het proces en de stappen die het NCP heeft gezet, evenals de conclusies en aanbevelingen van het NCP.

De Eindverklaring van deze melding is alleen in het Engels beschikbaar.

Een NCP heeft twee kerntaken:

  • Bedrijven bekend maken met de OESO-richtlijnen en de toepassing ervan bevorderen;
  • Behandelen van meldingen van personen, maatschappelijke organisaties en bedrijven die een meningsverschil hebben over de toepassing van de Richtlijnen.

The NCP’s recommendations and conclusions

The NCP regrets that the efforts of the parties have not led to a dialogue facilitated by the NCP, in order to resolve the issues
raised in the specific instance. In this context, the NCP recommends:

  • that VEON draws up policies and measures to promote and facilitate freedom of association throughout the company and
    with its subsidiaries and daughter companies as well as business relations in line with the OECD Guidelines, Chapter V, art. 1 under a, and b.;
  • that VEON considers to address its international obligations regarding freedom of association and collective bargaining, for instance by entering into dialogue and negotiations with trade union parties at international level.
  • that VEON uses its leverage on its daughter company Banglalink, in line with the responsibility of the company under
    the OECD Guidelines, to promote consultation and cooperation between the employer and the workers and their representatives on matters of mutual concern within Banglalink
  •  That VEON uses its leverage on its daughter company Banglalink to ensure that Banglalink will respect its employees’
    decision on trade union membership, will refrain from any interference with the registration of the local union and will
    enter into constructive social dialogue with it, taking into account the scope and possible constraints of national law, in
    the understanding that according to the OECD Guidelines ‘enterprises should seek ways to honour the principles and
    standards of the Guidelines to the fullest extent which does not place them in violation of domestic law’ (Concepts and
    Principles, art.2).
  • That VEON uses its leverage on its daughter company Banglalink to promote the establishment of the required Worker Participation Council within Banglalink, based on the applicable national legislation which among other things
    requires holding elections, as a way to enhance formalized dialogue with the workers in the company, as long as there does not (yet) exist a registered union, while taking into account the comments by the Committee of Experts of the ILO to not use a too narrow definition of a worker, so as to not directly or indirectly avoid the company’s obligations in this regard; The NCP hereby refers to the OECD Guidelines Commentary that stipulates, in line with ILO Recommendations, that consultative arrangements between workers and employers should not substitute for the workers’ right to bargain over terms and conditions of employment.

The NCP concludes that, based on the information available to the NCP, neither VEON nor Banglalink has yet taken appropriate action regarding the issues above, also when taking into account the possible limitations of national Bangladesh Labour law.

Based on all information available to the NCP and the positions of both parties the NCP concludes that VEON, a Netherlands based international enterprise, is not acting in line with what can be expected from it under the OECD Guidelines.
The NCP regrets the fact that VEON until now has not been willing to enter into dialogue with the complaining party on the matters raised in the specific instance in the framework of the NCP procedure.

The NCP takes the view that a dialogue facilitated by the NCP between VEON and the notifying party would have been of great
benefit in resolving the issues raised in this specific instance, and regrets that it has not been possible to enter into such dialogue.