Shared Prosperity: The Investor Case for Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

This report was originally shared by the Global Unions’ Committee on Workers’ Capital (CWC). SHARE is home to the CWC networked secretariat. 

When workers come together in a trade union, they can effect meaningful changes in their compensation and working conditions, bringing valuable benefits to themselves and their companies and contributing to broader societal goals of economic growth, income and wealth equality, equity and inclusion. These benefits and contributions are of interest to investors, and a new research report outlines how they can meet their responsibilities to protect workers’ fundamental labour rights.

In Shared Prosperity, the latest report from our peers at the Global Unions’ Committee on Workers’ Capital (CWC), explore why investors should implement respect for fundamental labour rights across their portfolios.

The report outlines how the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) establish investors’ responsibilities to uphold human rights, including fundamental labour rights.

Featuring groundbreaking new research, the report explains how upholding trade union rights is an opportunity for investors to mitigate systemic social risks, such as inequality.

Through research and case studies, it demonstrates that trade unions are associated with many benefits at the company level that, taken together, constitute a business case for labour rights. These include mitigating material risks through supporting human rights due diligence; better health and safety performance; improved training and skills development; increased productivity; and a workplace that is more diverse, more equitable and more inclusive.

Institutional investors, especially those who steward wealth on behalf of workers, have a responsibility to advocate for and protect workers’ rights to collective bargaining, freedom of association, and safe and productive workplaces. In Shared Prosperity, learn more about the tangible steps that can be taken to progress this mission.