In a special series of online discussions intended to inspire and inform action, IHRB and partners are examining the responsibilities of companies for the human rights of workers and affected communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first in the series looks at the international policy context and the spotlight the coronavirus pandemic has shone on modern employment relationships and social safety nets. What is the kind of action we need to spark constructive changes aimed at long-term sustainability?

Featuring:

• Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
• John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce
• Anita Ramasastry, Member, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
• Marcela Manubens, Global Vice President for Integrity Social Sustainability, Unilever
• Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor Global Issues, Institute for Human Rights and Business
• John Morrison, CEO, Institute for Human Rights and Business

Questions Submitted by Participants

IHRB received a number of excellent and wide-ranging questions for speakers in advance of the broadcast, as well as dozens more during the live discussion. We have shared those below to give a sense of the concerns that business, government, and civil society practitioners are grappling with in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At registration: 

• How do you think global aid budgets will be affected post the current crisis.
• How does the pandemic affect the question of a universal living wage?
• If retail shops close down forever, what do you suggestion respect of observance of human rights?
• What responsibility should we expect from brands beyond honouring payments for immediate contracts?
• Can the speakers address how we as companies should look at the concepts of contribute - linkage
• What professional courage and ethics should HR leaders should demonstrate during this Pandemic?
• Why have the commitments of many companies to respect human rights crumbled so quickly?
• What will be necessary for companies not to identify business as usual as the solution to crisis?
• How should we prioritise different human rights issues and coordinate with other relevant issues?
• How can companies work for social safety nets in the countries they source from?
• What is, according to you, the role of investors during the pandemic?
• Examples of best practices among businesses on managing migrant workforce in COVID-19 context
• How do we change human rights from optional to an absolute priority for businesses in future
• How can the b&hr agenda respond to the worsening scenario of social inequality due to the crisis?
• How can industry & cross-Industry consortia best help lead the way to sustainable change?
• What measures would you take to protect your child at age 4 when you want to take him/her for a walk?
• In this context, what can we expect from National Action Plans that were implemented or drafted?
• What would collective action look like to help both vulnerable workers? How to operationalise
• The Global North and the South will an agreement on the international legislation on BHR？
• What does a post-pandemic new world order look like?
• What role can law firms/external lawyers play to enable companies to meet their responsibilities?
• What about the informal economy that is so dominant in the developing world?
• With the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic,  how a Company can Redesigning the Workplace?
• Best steps to start implementing as a recruiter from Bangladesh to Qatar?
• What are the responsibilities of companies toward communities where they implement their projects?
• What measures have been put in place to protect workers rights in the extractive industries sector
• How can we avoid the race to the bottom, and countries underbidding their beighbours to get orders.
• How should this be reflected in our modern slavery statements/strategy
• How to protect human right during COVID quarantine zone
• What could be done to prevent dilution of workers rights?
• How do you see the role of business in shaping policy responses to Covid-19?
• Who will take the lead on building a common idea of resilience? What entity, organisation?
• Will the covid-19 crisis' impact on global supply chain require a new approach to hr  due diligence?
• Do you think after the era of this pandemic, our average slavery foot print data will improve?
• Examples of good company actors in this space
• What can companies do to oppose govts using COVID as pretext to disproportionately limit C&P rights?
• How does COVID-19 help demonstrate the business case and necessity of addressing human rights risks?
• What would be your advice to implement the recommendations from report in the SMEs
• What is a government's HR obligation vis-a-vis industries that compound COVID, eg tobacco?
• Will the COVID-19 crisis push the treaty negotiation on a back burner?
• Covid 19 Community Emergency Response Action Plan activity components recommended for implementation
• The duty to increase community resiliency where pre-COVID activities contributed to vulnerability?
• What do you believe the role of institutional investors should be in this context?
• How to achieve global multistakeholder collaboration and solidarity in time of crisis?
• What practical approach do you suggest and what leverage are you able to lift for labour

During the live broadcast: 

• As a social contract is a set of responsibilities and rights. Clearly companies and governments need to take additional responsibilities in order to also receive the benefits from a new social contract. But what new role do you see for workers?
• What is  the definition of essential services? as right now certain sectors are able to keep their jobs and earn better money? how do you see this type of essential services will last?
• As most of the core of the new social contract depends on basic rights to the economic stimulus towards public purposes, would it be feasible to look into UN Special Rapporteur Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky's work on the economy and human rights?
• How do we ensure governments and companies don't retrench post COVID to cost cutting and internal survival rather than a new social contract?
• Thanks for underlining the need for collaboration. What is your view on strengthening the collaboration among employers association and  organisation to ensure business speaks with one voice?
• Regarding what is included in essential services, this is super important; in line with 'new social contract'.  Social protection (floors, child protection, decent work protections) ARE essential and in SDGs. See https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/protect-our-children
• Resilience post-COVID may move supply chains from global to local. Is this good for developed country labor...and bad for developing economies?
• A UN Independent Expert on debt and human rights talked about the urgent need for universal basic income considering the COVID-19 lockdown and the economic slowdown - how would this be placed in the context of a new social contract?
• How would you see collaborations and agreements not being fulfilled now, in another global health crisis or a massive food crisis and how would human rights instruments be used on grounds of  accountability and sustainability?
• How would the UNBHR Guiding principles be enforced (informally) to ensure businesses to enforce human rights? In other words - when businesses struggle with income, how would they be accountable to uphold human rights?
• Where would you place migrant workers in this chain of protection of their safety, jobs, wages, medical treatment? There is a range of actions across the globe and they are a big workforce. 
• Many multinational companies have declared force mateure on their contracts with factories in poor countries. Is this consistent with the UNGP?
• Thank you for saying it as it is. appreciate it much. May i ask you view on unions in this pandemic? i find them rather quiet in Southeast Asia.
• How can we ensure and incentivize companies that have decreased margins and reduced financial flows, to make socially responsible decisions in the current context? How can they prioritize social policies and corporate responsibility when they might not even be able to pay the bills?
• In this context, how relevant would a treaty on business and human rights be?
• The new IHRB report on COVID-19 talks about the best practices in place - for instance Amazon has no contact delivery. But on the other hand. It is firing employees who talk about the poor work conditions. How would it then be possible to raise issues regarding unsafe workplaces?
• Thank you for your commentary on the business need to ensure economic viability - without this there would be any work for any employees. Also, on a previous question, if a state can declare emergency law, surely a company can claim force majeur in country under emergency law?
• Will this situation affect the future of the treaty on Business and Human Rights? In the sense of highlighting the urgent need to have one in place, in light of the many Business and Human Rights injustices magnified by Covid 19.
• I completely agree that the invisible people working in critical positions (delivery, groceries but also health care personnel) Need to be made more visible. How do we ensure they come out of this stronger, more protected and better paid?
• People in developing Countries who mostly rely on daily wages, what steps can be taken by Businesses, Governments and or Global Organizations to stabilize those Countries ?
• "Due diligence" is useful when the system is not failing. There is a need to redefine the principle at the heart of the current system, and collectively find a new organizing principle. Can it still be "maximization of profit" which is the reason why we have needed "due diligence" to begin with.
• As we move forward and we see national GDP's shrink. Considering many governments link their international aid budget to GDP.  How can we ensure that the cuts do not cripple development.
• CV-19 has exposed the degradation of work and the decent work agenda over the last 20 years. Recovery: There's is a fine line between vision and hallucination. No return to normal when that normal was part of the problem! What are your top 3 actions for recovery/just transition?
• Do you think that this Pandemic is man made and will give birth to the wave of Biological war among few countries?

In a special series of online discussions intended to inspire and inform action, IHRB and partners examine the responsibilities of companies for the human rights of workers and affected communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first in the series looks at the international policy context and the spotlight the pandemic has shone on modern employment relationships and social safety nets. The second analyses the crisis as it affects workers in global supply chains, with a special focus on Bangladesh. The third in the series focuses on the immediate human rights implications of trading commodities.