Amnesty International: Staff on strike!!!!

Employees at Amnesty International do have problems in matters of employment law. They defend rights but they also need protection. This makes labour law quite interesting. I guess all of us desire individual justice.

But i was also impressed to see that A.I plans to establish a regional hub in Nairobi. Follow the link and read this captivating story.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/animosity-international-staff-on-strike-in-amnesty-offices-across-the-globe-8317303.html

Lamu Port: What of future generations?

Sign: Lamu port project

Travelled to Lamu a while back, doing investment work. Dont ask for details, its classified.

However i was amazed by magnitude of the projects the government hopes to undertake. The 'gold' rush is on, people running to purchase property and the inhabitants of Lamu eager to sell and earn monies they never dreamt of.

In all this i wondered, are we thinking of future generations?

Do we have a balanced approach to investments in Lamu?

Section of the ground cleared for the port

Police Go Slow: Does our Constitution allow??

There are reports that the Kenya police will start a go-slow next week. They are dissatisfied with their current wages. The labour market is just becoming more and more interesting. The more reason why we should move towards a balanced approach to labour relations in the public and private sectors.

I hope the matter is resolved by the government soon. Among all the strikes we have had this year, teachers and doctors, a strike by the police would be dissastrous.

Cant help but think, who is advising the government on labour relations??

Righting the Balance!!!!Social Justice

'Women and men without jobs or livelihoods really don’t care if their economies grow at 3, 5 or 10 per cent a year, if such growth leaves them behind and without protection. They do care whether their leaders and their societies promote policies to provide jobs and justice, bread and dignity, and freedom to voice their needs, their hopes and their dreams...'

See the book by -Juan Somavia at: http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/forthcoming-publications/WCMS_185369/lang--en/index.htm

Why balance?

Now this is why we should balance. This week business men are being killed in Kisumu County (my condolences).

I then asked, why investors while they are contributing to job creation and improved welfare for families and communities?

An answer started developing...it is not just about profits, since investors run their enterprises within a society or community. Therefore, the issues affecting the society (famine, insecurity, elections, school, water, environment, transport, Internet, church, floods ... the list is endless) equally affect the investor.

An investor cannot dare take an 'i don't care' attitude. What affects society, affects your business.

As an investor i have come to learn and appreciate -the balance. That is why i respect and uphold the dignity of the people working in my enterprice, my customers and general members of the community.

Convinced?

The balance!

Businesses should learn how to balance between the rights of corporations and human rights so that we can secure a safe and stable future for future generations. But ... why balance?

What profits?

Its not just about profits, but clean profits....

Fascinating examples on stewardship from Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2012/09/18/david-green-the-biblical-billionaire-backing-the-evangelical-movement/

Peace, Security and Business

Peace and Security provide a good environment for investments, growth and increased social transformation. Africa must therefore invest in ensuring peace and security so as to attract and retain investments.

Lamu Investment

Vision 2030, Lamu Port. We have great investment opportunities that we must utilise as Kenyans. As we invest we must balance between investment and human rights. However i commend our Government for a great vision.

Security and Business

The security of our nation is critical to a sustainable business environment.

Teachers and Doctors strike

The unions representing doctors and teachers and the government must learn to negotiate on the basis of balancing the competing interests and rights. Hard line positions will not serve our nation any good. Thats good sense.

Insecurity: What is the real problem

The insecurity and tension we face in our country is a result of unequal distribution of resources. It is the high time that as a nation we learn how to balance between the rights of corporations and human rights.

Responsible Investing: CSR

As a country we cannot take pride in economic growth and progression, while our people still fight over resources and struggle to feed our children.

Corporate Social responsibility projects by corporate organisations must now, like never before, address the fundamental needs of the majority.

Corporate Environmentalism: Voluntary Environmental conservation

CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTALISM

Laws are meant to govern relations between people in society. What then happens to a society that already has a high form of organization? Is it possible to have a society that does not require strict legal regulation?

I came across the term ‘corporate environmentalism’ that provokes my thoughts about this broad topic.

The term simply means corporate organizations investing in environmental conservation without waiting for the ‘hawk eye’ of the law. It means that companies voluntarily taking steps to ensure that their activities are environmentally friendly. It means that citizens who have come together as a corporate body, taking individual steps to conserve the environment. It avoids a hostile approach to environmental conservation and in contrast emphasizes partnerships and co-operation.

I hope we can learn from this.

Want to buy a company, what about employees..

I recently highlighted the tussle between Kenon Kobil and its employee's relating to the acquisition of majority stake by Puma Energy.

Well this is the point. It is important to ensure a balance between the Kenol Kobil's rights and the right of the employees to fair labour practises.

So what should other companies learn from this. First, i support investments since they are a necessary part of our livelihoods. However i also believe that investments must be people-focused. As such a company cannot be stopped from entering into strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions and other forms of take overs. This is an important right for every corporation, since it ensures profitable growth by establishing new business lines or growing existing ones. If the deal has the necessary legal approval, the directors shake hand and move on.

Secondly, as executives shake hands and toast to a deal, they must be reminded that their decisions will directly affect employees. In this regard, the Talent Acquisition/Human Resource department should bring its employees to understand the deal. They should ensure that employees are well protected and make them know this. If employees will be retrenched, give them good send off packages, recommend them to prospective employers, help them develop business plans (to start their own small and medium ventures) and ensure that they leave peacefully.

Lastly, updating employees on the progress made in the deal on matters affecting them will also help avoid conflict (real or imagined). I have laernt that in life, people relax when given the right information and panic when kept in the dark.

I strongly believe that resulting to courts to resolve anticipated disputes is not good for the corporation or employees. The matter will most likely delay in court and both parties bear the costs. In addittion in a global business world, the reputation of the company may be dented if such a process is handled carelessly.

All in all a focussed balance of rights, entitlements and interests will go along way to ensure investors reap from their investments.

Rio+20: Business, Human Rights and Sustainable Development

The UN experts on business and human rights are not pleased with the outcome of the Rio+20 conference. This an interesting subject for CROPRI knowing the critical role businesses play in our economies and the need to balance their interests with human rights, so as to have a stable society that guarantees sustainable liveliohoods for present and future generations.

Enjoy reading it.

Business must respect human rights for truly sustainable development – UN expert body on Rio+20

GENEVA (28 June 2012) – A United Nations expert body* charged with the promotion of respect for human rights by business of all sizes, in all sectors, and in all countries, expressed concern that the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, failed to explicitly mention that business should respect human rights in the drive to a green economy and sustainable development.


“Businesses will play a major role in developing the green economy and human rights safeguards are necessary to ensure that policies and business plans intended to advance environmental or development goals do not negatively impact people, communities and their livelihoods,” said Puvan Selvanathan, who currently heads the five-strong UN Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises.
“Inclusive, equitable and sustainable development can only become a reality when human beings are the central concern and their rights are realized and respected,” Mr. Selvanathan stressed. “Human rights must be internalized in both principle and practice, especially in the transition to a green economy.”
For the Working Group, internalizing human rights means at a minimum implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (see below), a set of internationally accepted guidelines, which provide a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse human rights impacts linked to business activity.
“States need to send clear and coherent messages that companies should respect human rights as the world creates a green economy, by exercising due diligence and ensuring access to effective remedies for those whose rights are adversely affected by business activity,” Mr. Selvanathan underscored.
Besides promoting and disseminating these Guiding Principles, the Working Group ensures that they are effectively implemented by both governments and business, and that they result in improved outcomes for individuals and groups around the world whose rights have been affected by business activity.
The UN Working Group called on States and business to work with it, civil society and other stakeholders, on ensuring that the path to sustainable development set up at Rio+20 is undertaken, while protecting and respecting human rights

Where do employees stand when a company is bought?

Puma Energy is in the process of buying KenolKobil. It remains to be seen how this deal will be finalised and how KenolKobil prospect will change with such huge capital injection. However and most importantly is the various players in the entire deal, both direct and indirect participants and stakeholders. In this regard several questions came to mind after i read that employees at KenolKobil have sued to stop the sale.

So, do the employees have a stake in the deal? If, yes what is the extent of their interest? How do we balance the rights of the corporation to seek strategic shareholders through such a deal and the rights of employees? What is the best mechanism of balancing such rights; negotiations or litigation in court? These thoughts will occupy my mind in the coming days and i hope to address all of them.

Become an E-Coach

Association of African Entrepreneurs - Become an E-Coach
The Youth Employment Network (YEN) is a partnership of the United Nations, International Labour Organziation, and the World Bank set up after the Millennium Summit in 2001 to find new and durable solutions to the youth employment challenge. YEN is managed by a permanent secretariat hosted by the ILO in Geneva with field offices in Dakar, Senegal, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Association of African Entrepreneurs is a Pipeline partner of the YEN Marketplace E-Coaching Program, where our specific role is to help attract young entrepreneurs and e-coaches from around the world by sharing the opportunity to apply for the E-Coaching programme.
Volunteers are invited to serve as AAE E-Coaches on the YEN program, where they provide crucial mentorship for young entrepreneurs with lots of ambition but not much experience.



Read More

http://wp.me/p2lINC-3R

Corporate (Bank) bailouts; Whose interests?

When a company is in need of a bailout, to avoid collapse or near-collapse, for whose benefit is this being carried out. How to we balance between the interests of the company, shareholders and the general public during such bailouts.

It is important that bailouts are not done for the mere reason of saving a corporations. Behind the corporate entity are people who should be put to account. Shareholders and the general public matter and must be considered.

Here is a short piece i found on forbes

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2012/06/11/the-worst-bailout-yet/

hope you enjoy reading.