The Hindu Business Line : Unions to seek CSR rating of cos

If trade unions working in the finance sector of the SAARC member countries have their way, corporates in the SAARC region would be required to take corporate social responsibility (CSR) more seriously.

CSR initiatives

Corporates may, in the coming days, run the risk of obtaining a lower credit rating for their debt instruments if they were to be casual about CSR initiatives. As part of its attempt to promote CSR among corporates, the South Asian Finance Sector Union Council (SAFSUC) has decided to approach credit rating agencies to include CSR as a factor for deciding the credit rating of corporate debt instruments. A decision to this effect was made at the first meeting of SAFSUC that concluded here today. Representatives from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal along with delegates from India attended the meeting.

SAFSUC, which represents trade unions working in the finance sector of the SAARC member countries, was set up in December 2004 by Switzerland-headquartered Union Network International (UNI), a global union federation having more than 15 million members.

SAFSUC is generally seen as a trade union response to SAARC Finance, whose main objective is to promote co-operation among central bank and finance ministers in SAARC member countries. "At our two-day meeting, we discussed the role of trade unions in promoting CSR. We feel that CSR should not be voluntary, but forced on companies. This has been a neglected area. CSR should be given importance and for this purpose we will approach credit rating agencies to include CSR as a factor in the rating process," Mr Milind Nadkarni, President, UNI-Indian Liaison Council told newspersons here today.

Work conditions

Meanwhile, the UNI-Indian Liaison Council plans to take up a project to study the work conditions in call centres.

More Stories on : Society & Development | Trade & Labour Unions | Credit Rating

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