Uni/ISS Global Agreement on Union Organizing Rights

Posted to the IUF website 24-Jun-2008

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Uni and the transnational services ISS Group have signed a global agreement establishing concrete organizing rights for unions in the company, which employs some 440,000 workers worldwide in cleaning, catering, property services and security. The agreement moves beyond general affirmations of the company's commitment to respect international labour rights standards by establishing mechanisms to enable employees to actively exercise their rights to union membership and to facilitate union access to workers for recruitment. Among the specific provisions are: guaranteed union access to workers, at the workplace or through other agreed mechanisms; company commitment to union recognition through the most expeditious procedure under national law; company commitment to written assurances to employees of their right to join a union in the context of union organizing activity should unions so request; and annual company financial contributions to a fund to monitor and enforce standards in jointly agreed markets.

Beyond providing for twice-yearly meetings between global management and union representatives, the agreement establishes an enforcement mechanism for mediation/arbitration, including binding arbitration, should a dispute arise in the process of implementation the global agreement.