 In this topic, we will be discussing the regulation of multinational enterprises by international organization. We just discussed in the previous topic that multinational organizations have got formidable resources and many characteristics that can affect the collective bargaining power of the trade union. But trade unions, they have also, you know, grown and they have expanded their influence and they have also lobbied in various different ways in which they have become, they have also become more influential and have been able to counter the pressure that was created by the multinational organizations. And the way that they have created this pressure is that they have lobbied with international organizations such as the United Nations and international labor organizations. So this lobbying by the trade union, these are the attempts by trade union to exert influence over multinational via international organizations and it has met with some success. Because this is something which matches their magnitude of influence, you know, that United Nations and its different bodies, they have got an international existence, they have got an international influence and pressure over countries and over various different entities. So therefore, these trade unions by lobbying with these international organizations, they have been able to counter the pressure of the multinationals and they have been able to achieve success. So trade union federations such as European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC, the labor movement has been able to lobby many international organizations. The different international organizations, number one is the international labor organization. Number two, it's the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, then a very common name organization for economic cooperation and development, the OECD and then European Union itself, they also protect the right of the workers and citizens generally. ILO has been one of the most influential international organizations to frame guidelines and policies to take care of the rights of employees and people working in these organizations. How they have achieved that, they have international labor organization have promoted and they have made sure that there is freedom of association. People should be allowed to freely become members of trade unions. Then right to organize and collectively bargain. This is one of the major guidelines of ILO. Then abolition of forced labor ILO has been able to all over the world, it has been able to abolish slavery, which is forced labor. So slavery has been abolished completely from all over the world. Then they have been able to issue guidelines that focus on non-discrimination in employment which has led to principles of equal employment opportunity of all sectors, from all ethnicities, from all types of strata of the society. So women, the people of different ethnicities, people speaking different languages, people coming from different countries, all of them, they get the equal right for employment. ILO principles have been initially proposed in 1975. The ILO adopted a code of conduct for multinationals, which is trepidate declaration of principles concerning M&E's and social policy. So they have adopted this code of conduct. It was influential in drafting of the OECD guidelines for multinationals, which was approved in 1976. So ILO in collaboration with OECD, they have developed guidelines that monitor the processes particularly regarding employment in the multinational organizations. OECD guidelines, what do they cover? These cover disclosure of information that organizations, multinationals, they are supposed to disclose information transparently. Then competition, how much competition and how, at what level of, what they can do while competing with other firms. Then financing, financing, what sources are there, terms and conditions, what taxation can be managed. Then employment and industrial relations is a part of OECD guidelines and how is science and technology going to be managed by these multinationals. One of the very important aspects of these OECD guidelines is the umbrella or shappu clause. Shappu clause precedes these guidelines and it serves as a summary of lead in state statement for guidelines or agreements. This shappu clause and umbrella clause basically summarizes all of your guidelines and tells basically how MNCs should work in different national boundaries. It states that MNCs should adhere to the guidelines within the framework of law regulations and prevailing labor relations and employment practices in each of the countries in which they operate. So this clause is something which is considered to be a point of problem. It is a point of issue between the trade unions and the multinationals. Multinationals, they take this clause that employers, they have understood the shappu clause to mean compliance with local law supersedes the guidelines. So because the clause says that it should follow the guidelines under the prevailing law and practices of that particular national country. So it means that even if the organization is following the national law, it need not follow the guidelines. For example, if there is no law of equal employment opportunity in Pakistan, if it is not clearly stated that everybody should be given equal employment opportunity, then even if it is written in the same guideline that equal employment opportunity should be provided, then the work in Pakistan that multinationals are doing, they do not need to adhere to equal employment opportunity. This is the aspect or the version that employers or multinationals perceive in this way. So they think that if we are following the national laws, then until the national law does not give them the requirement, then they do not need to follow the OECD guidelines. So due to this, many controversies are developed. Labour unions interpret it as it means that the guidelines are a supplement to the national law. They say that if there is no equal employment opportunity in the national law, then the OECD guidelines should also follow the national law and the OECD guidelines should also follow the national law. But multinationals say that if there is no equal employment opportunity in the national law, then there is no need to follow the OECD guidelines. Because the Shabu clause is saying that within the framework of law, regulations and prevailing labour relations and employment in each country in which they operate, the multinationals should follow these guidelines. So this Shabu clause that creates a kind of controversy or is controversy a very big example that is Badger's case which you can read in the book and you can understand from that particular case how this controversy is developed from this Shabu clause and how multinationals and trade unions take it in different perspective and what kind of conflict it can create. So I recommend you to read the Badger case. So this was how international organizations, they can put pressure on multinationals to frame their human resource policies and employment relations.