Aker International Framework - Research Paper Example

International Human Resource Management: Assignment Table of Contents Part I 2 Introduction 2 Aker International Framework 2 Anglo – American Business and Aker 6 Conclusion 8 Part II 10 Introduction 10 BP 11 Conclusion 15 References 16 Bibliography 18 Part I Introduction It has been rightly observed by the leaders of the business fraternity that the word ‘change’ is the only constant thing in the present industry of today. The terms of the trade have experienced major shifts all across the globe thanks to the massive improvements in the fields of information technology and communication process. The increasing effects of globalization have made the world much smaller place to live in the end customers are having increasing reach today. The flow of information across the industry is at it all time high. The level of transparency has increased in almost all of the industries. With the boom in the flow of information, the nature and the regulations have also observed sea changes. Various international understandings and accords have influenced the working of the industry. Such understandings have essentially focused upon the facts like better employment opportunities for the workers along with better pays and better living standards. Increased vigilance in the industry along with the greater emphasis upon the undertaken reforms has led the workers to safeguard their interests by greater extent. And such measures are all the more felt in the core industries like oil and gas and construction where it involves considerable proportion of the manual and physical labour. Aker International Framework The international framework agreement that have been initiated by the Aker ASA in direct collaboration with IMF and Fellesforbundet, has been regarded as the major document that has phenomenal influence to develop the working relations with in the companies. The framework is binding to all such companies that are part of the Aker ASA led group. The companies in which majority of the shares are in the hands of the Aker ASA have to follow the framework. The most important thing in this aspect of Aker International Framework has been that the document is based upon the realisations of all the major parties that are concerned with the employee relations and the health and safety standards at the work place. The guidelines essentially take into account Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also the International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work along with the OECD guidelines on multinational corporations. The framework calls for the following important considerations: Freedom of Associations and Collective Bargaining – The Aker International Framework essentially provides the workers with the right of participating in the unions and the associations. It clearly states that the organisation should maintain neutrality and positive attitude towards the organizing of trade unions. The framework also maintains that the workers are free to choose their unions and the collective bargaining initiative should be aligned with the ILO conventions. Discrimination – According to the Aker International Framework, there should prevail equality within the organisation. The equality should be in terms of both opportunities as well as treatment to the employees. The various differences like that of gender, religion, nationality, ethnic and cultural original should not be at al considered and the ILO convention in this regard should be considered supreme. The agreement also wishes to ensure respect towards the personal lives of the employees and vows to fight back the differences that erupts because of intolerance. Forced Labour – The Aker International Framework Agreement has very strong stance regarding the forced labour in any of its forms. As it follows the ILO conventions, the agreement prohibits any form of forced labour, either slave or penal labour. Also the agreement has very clear standing stating that the employees are not required to either deposit any amount of fund or papers for getting employment with the companies. The only exception in this regard would be because of security reasons that too only if required by national and regional authorities. Child Labour – Child labour in any of the forms are prohibited. According to the norms of ILO, only a person aged above 15 years are allowed for the job. For the purpose of the hazardous jobs, the age is 18 years. It is clearly maintained that if this regulations are violated that the incumbents would either be provided with educational facilities or with immediate payments. Health & Safety – The Aker framework also calls for elaborate health management system to be in place and ensures that all the employees are within the health schemes. Safe and healthy working environment has been a prime guideline for the Aker international framework. In order to maintain industry best standards, the companies should also have a common program with the trade unions and their representatives. Living Wages – It has been observed that the living wages of the companies primarily depend upon the regulations placed by national governments in which the companies operate from time to time. Yet, according to the conventions taken at the Aker International Framework, the companies are bound to provide the employees certain minimum wages that are essential to sustain a healthy living. Also, as per the norms of the agreement, the companies should precisely inform the employees about all the deductions of their salary (preferably in writing). Employment Conditions – The Aker international framework has well defined employment conditions in place. The agreement vows to treat all the three categories namely the permanent staff, part-time employee and the hired – in with utmost fair and integrity. As per the norms of the agreement, the undermining jobs and the hazardous jobs should only be allocated to the permanent staffs. And even if such works are allotted to the part - time or the hired – in employees, they should be provided with the adequate training to handle such jobs along with the requisite compensation. Working Hours – The Aker framework maintains that the working hours should be a balance between the work life and the life outside work. The particular hours of working should ideally be governed by the national regulations of the countries. Also, the agreement has strict guidelines regarding the overtime payments (at the premium rate) which the employee is liable to get if he works extra. The framework also maintains that the overtime should not be made a daily affair. HIV / AIDS – The Aker International Framework complies with the ILO standards of various measures with respect to the prevention of HIV AIDS. Environmental Issues – The framework is thoroughly dedicated towards the challenges faced by the environment and promises to take every possible measure to have due regards toward the solution of such threats. Skills Training – As per the initiated framework, the companies should provide the employees every opportunity to learn the newer and the latest methodologies. The training and development should essentially be a continuous process and the representatives of the employees should be inducted in the designing and the training programs. The above discussion clearly brings in to the picture the attributes of the Aker International framework. There is little doubt that such general guidelines would attract all the companies across the globe towards implementing such human resource friendly measures within the companies. In order to implement the measures in the best of the spirit, the company ensures that the agreements are translated in to the local languages of the employees so that they can understand their rights. The monitoring of the measures are entrusted upon the various stake holding parties like the trade unions, the local authorities, representatives from the health and safety departments so that there lies no flaws. Also, the parties agree to provide the trade union leaders (the representatives of the workers) to provide with the access of resources that are necessary to implement the agreed measures. Anglo – American Business and Aker The provisions of Aker Foundation have been gaining increasing importance in the industry all across the globe. But the fact is that yet the applications are yet not fully materialized in all the major companies of England, the United States and all other major economies. In the United Kingdom and other nations of Europe, the formation of European Union has been a major step forward in ensuring minimum work standards for the workers of the core industries. The various legislative outputs in the various nations of Europe like that of Article 119 of Treaty of Rome (regarding equal pay irrespective of gender) or the Equal Treatment Directive of 1976 holds supreme importance. Similarly, for the purpose of family rights, Pregnant Workers Directive of 1992 and the Directive on Parental Leave of 1996 have been of great help. The other important regulations and directives to ensure standard working hours and working environment in the European nations included Directive on Acquired Rights, Directive on proof of Employment Relationship and Working Time directive. The other important laws that have been significant in the United Kingdom include Equal Pay Act 1970, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Employer Rights Act 1996 and Working Time Regulations Act 1998. Among the other theories that are prevalent in the industries of the United States and the United Kingdom, voluntary systems or voluntarist theory holds crucial. It calls for involvement of the employees over the participation. In Germany and few other countries, Works Council as per the Works Constitution Act holds significance in place of Aker Provisions. It has been observed that in the developing nations, it is the culture and socio-economic back ground that are important. In the present context, the various definitions of multinational, international, global and transnational as prescribed by Barlett and Ghosal is important. The important international bodies like that of OECD (Organisation for Economic Cultural Development), ILO (International Labour Organisation) and IMF have had various provisions regarding the agreement of Aker International Framework. OECD had published a handbook with detailed provisions which had been in line with the agreement (Government of Norway, 2009). It has been observed that the agreement in between the Aker Foundation and IFA reflects upon the “commitment to respect basic human and trade union rights in the community, acknowledging the fundamental principals of human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the OECD guidelines on Multinational Companies” (Gardner, n.d.). From the above statement, the intentions of the international bodies can be assessed. ILO has already been an important part for the purpose of designing the Aker International Framework. Conclusion The companies are increasingly accepting the employability norms as undertaken by the Aker International Framework. The companies especially that cater to the core industries have been increasingly feeling the importance of having fair policies towards the employees. The truth is if the employer can provide best of the working conditions, it can easily attract the best of the talents from the industry. The other important aspect of the frame work is that those guidelines have been designed with consultation with the International Monetary Fund and the International Labour Organisation. Consequently, the tie-ups with the international bodies have considerably increased the acceptance of those. The frame work has been made mandatory for the companies that operate under the brand name of Aker. If any accusation arises regarding the non-fulfillment of the prescribed norms, there also has the provision of complaints through proper channel. According to the complaint resolution mechanism, as the first step, the complaint should be presented to the management of the local site. If it is not resolved, it can be sent to the regional president of the country. If still the complainer is not happy, he can refer it to the Chairman and CEO through Chief Shop Steward of the group. The process does not end here, as it can also be presented before the monitoring group which includes representatives from all the pressure groups. Such elaborate measures to ensure the employment conditions and the employability terms can really be beneficial for any company that takes into account such measures. Part II Introduction It has been duly observed that almost all of the major oil and gas producing corporations are increasingly trying to follow the Aker International Frame work. The major companies include the likes of BP, Shell and the Exxon-Mobil. The matter of the fact is that though the companies are might not have started to follow the exact guidelines of the international agreement, yet the deadlock has been broken and the procedure has commenced. Also, one should agree to the fact that there are also many measures to be incorporated with the employment conditions of such companies to get aligned itself with the Aker International Frame work. BP, the giant oil and natural gas producing corporation is one such company. BP Established in the year of 1909, more than 100 years from now as the Anglo Persian Oil Company, the multinational corporation is the largest company of the United Kingdom. It is presumed to be the 4th largest company of the world. This London Stock Exchange listed company within the top private sector companies in the segments of energy producing companies all across the globe and also it is one of the six super majors engaged in the fields of the oil, natural gas and petroleum products. BP, which was known as British Petroleum has a glorious past of products and performance and also the company experienced number of acquisitions and mergers. It was in the year 1998 that BP was merged with Amoco (which was the product of Standard Oil of Indiana) as the last merger and was named as BP in the year of 2000 (BP, n.d.). The gasoline of the company has one of the largest market-share in the United States only after that of the Shell and Chevron. The oil and natural gas major have been well focused towards the employment conditions and the relationship with the employees. The company has been initiating various measures toward the environmental challenges. The analysis of the efforts that the oil major BP has undertaken, if compared with that of the Aker International Framework, puts the information forward that the company needs to emphasise much more to align itself with those guidelines. Such comparison with the Aker International Frame work Agreement with that of the procedures followed by BP and the requisite measures can be as follows: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining – Within the oil and natural gas major, BP one can surely find the independence of forming unions and the rights of the union in terms of collective bargaining, but the company also has lot of untraveled path in this regard. BP has been topping the list of worst corporations with respect to human rights every now and then (twice in the last 10 years i.e. in 2000 and 2005) (Mokhiber & Weissmen, 2001). And, therefore the company should initiate appropriate measures to improve the areas. In fact as per the International Labour Organisation conventions, the company should provide every possibility and opportunity to the trade unions to assess and criticize the company. Discrimination – The fourth largest company of the world has to really work hard to ensure that there are no such discriminations within the processes of the company. The company has been rocked previously with the charges of the racial discrimination. In fact, even the top officials of this one of the largest private oil major has agreed with the fact that the company has a past of being involved with certain racial discriminating measures. The company should keep no stones unturned to be in line with the Aker International Framework Agreement and ILO conventions (Business Wire, 2005). Forced Labour & Child Labour – BP categorically has revealed that the company is committed in eliminating all forms of forced labour as well as compulsory labour. The company also ensures the world that it has no support for the child labour. The company travels a few extra miles to even prohibit any of the employees of the company that has more than 100,000 employees in more than 100 countries, to hire any under-age employee, who can be classified as child labour. The employees are also requested by the management of BP to stay alert in any of such accusation with respect to the child labour or forced labour practices and if there occurs any, should be reported to the concerned executive. In this regard, it can be said that the company has identified itself with the Aker International Framework Agreement (BP, n.d.). Health & Safety – As the company claims through it annual reports and websites, health and safety of the employees especially those working on the sites are of the supreme priority to the management. Yet, there have been a few allegations regarding the processes that the company follows as accidents have been happening. In order to have the best of the working conditions as per the industry standards, the company could generate a plan in consultation with the employees as well as trade unions and all other stake holding groups. Living Wages – As it has been stated within the framework of Aker International Agreement that the living wages are determined by the national governments and the companies operating in such countries should essentially abide by the requirement to pay such wages. The management of the company, i.e. BP admits the essentiality of paying at least living wage and maintains that the company pays much higher to such wage. Matter of the fact is that sometimes the government enacted living wages could be too lest to sustain healthy living and in such cases the company itself should initiate every possible to provide the required level of wages. The ultimate objective of the company should not be only to adhere the government regulations but also to keep the employee force satisfied. Employment Conditions – BP has repeatedly emphasized upon the employment conditions and maintained it to be one of the prime strategies of the company. Yet, there are a few areas to work upon and the company should take every possible measure to follow the initiatives of the Aker International Framework Agreement. Working Hours – The working hours of the company are in line with that of the prescribed working hours of the international agreements. BP has been following the mechanism of compressed working week (the staffs used to get additional holiday in every fortnight for working additional hours). But as the affect of the ongoing financial slowdown the company has done away with the idea. Therefore, it has to be noted that the company have to pay extra to its employees as and when they are required to work extra. HIV / AIDS – BP is found to be committed towards the HIV AIDS and has taken number of measures to ensure that the disease is not wide spread. According to certain sources, 20% of the employees of the BP in Africa are already infected with this killing disease and the figure might rise to 30 % in the near future. The company has developed a dedicated policy in this regard understanding the seriousness of the disease but is often bogged down by the ethical and moral dilemmas. The four principles in this regard have been that of confidentiality, non-disclosure, tolerance and non-discrimination (Global Business Coalition, 2002). Environmental Issues – The handling of the environmental matters have not been the very best by the company. Often and again, the company has made the headline and that too for all the wrong reasons regarding environmental factors. Recently, BP has announced that it would invest more than $ 8 billion over a period of ten years for the purpose of research and development of alternative sources of energy. The oil major should initiate extra measures on constant basis to fight the environmental issues. Skills and Training – As per the Aker International Framework, the company must provide the employees with every possible training and development initiatives. BP adheres to the policy and trains the workforce in regular intervals to align them with the latest technologies. Conclusion Aker International Framework Agreement that has been agreed in the year of 2008 and is expected to expire in October 2010; has been a great step forward towards the minimum benefits of the employees in the high risk profession. The Aker group of companies has already agreed to adhere with the rules. The agreement is also supported by the international bodies like that of ILO and IMF. The trend has been that many other companies of the same industry and also many companies from other industries are also trying to implement such policies. BP, the fourth largest company has implemented few of the agreed considerations but also it should strive hard to have total implementation and it cannot be denied that much of the work is still left. References BP, No Date. Our History. About BP. [Online] Available at: http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=10&contentId=7036819 [Accessed 30 January 2010]. BP, No Date. Employees. Live Assets. [Online] Available at: http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/C/coc_en_employees.pdf [Accessed 30 January 2010]. Business Wire, 2005. British Petroleum Hit with Race Discrimination Lawsuit: DAG Petroleum. Find Articles. [Online] Available at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_Nov_28/ai_n15880139/ [Accessed 30 January 2010]. Global, Business Coalition, 2002. HIV/AIDS Profile. BP. [Online] Available at: http://gbcimpact.org/itcs_node/9/501/member_profiles/386 [Accessed 30 January 2010]. Government of Norway, 2009. 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[Online] Available at: http://www.sustainlabour.org/files/IFAs/IFA_Aker.pdf [Accessed 30 January 2010]. Read More