GRI 407: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining 2016 contains disclosures for organizations to report information about their impacts related to freedom of association and collective bargaining, and how they manage these impacts.
The Standard is structured as follows:
The rest of the Introduction section provides a background on the topic, an overview of the system of GRI Standards and further information on using this Standard.
Background on the topic
This Standard addresses the topic of freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Freedom of association is a human right as defined by international declarations and conventions. In this context, freedom of association refers to the right of employers and workers to form, to join and to run their own organizations without prior authorization or interference by the state or any other entity.
The right of workers to collectively bargain the terms and conditions of work is also an internationally recognized human right. Collective bargaining refers to all negotiations that take place between one or more employers or employers' organizations, on the one hand, and one or more workers' organizations (e.g., trade unions), on the other, for determining working conditions and terms of employment or for regulating relations between employers and workers.1
These concepts are covered in key instruments of the International Labour Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the United Nations: see the Bibliography.
System of GRI Standards
This Standard is part of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards). The GRI Standards enable an organization to report information about its most significant impacts on the economy, environment, and people, including impacts on their human rights, and how it manages these impacts.
The GRI Standards are structured as a system of interrelated standards that are organized into three series: GRI Universal Standards, GRI Sector Standards, and GRI Topic Standards (see Figure 1 in this Standard).
Universal Standards: GRI 1, GRI 2 and GRI 3
GRI 1: Foundation 2021 specifies the requirements that the organization must comply with to report in accordance with the GRI Standards. The organization begins using the GRI Standards by consulting GRI 1.
GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 contains disclosures that the organization uses to provide information about its reporting practices and other organizational details, such as its activities, governance, and policies.
GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 provides guidance on how to determine material topics. It also contains disclosures that the organization uses to report information about its process of determining material topics, its list of material topics, and how it manages each topic.
Sector Standards
The Sector Standards provide information for organizations about their likely material topics. The organization uses the Sector Standards that apply to its sectors when determining its material topics and when determining what to report for each material topic.
Topic Standards
The Topic Standards contain disclosures that the organization uses to report information about its impacts in relation to particular topics. The organization uses the Topic Standards according to the list of material topics it has determined using GRI 3.
Using this Standard
This Standard can be used by any organization – regardless of size, type, sector, geographic location, or reporting experience – to report information about its impacts related to freedom of association and collective bargaining. In addition to this Standard, Disclosure 2-30 in GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 requires reporting on the percentage of total employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.
An organization reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards is required to report the following disclosures if it has determined freedom of association and collective bargaining to be a material topic:
See Requirements 4 and 5 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021.
Reasons for omission are permitted for these disclosures.
If the organization cannot comply with a disclosure or with a requirement in a disclosure (e.g., because the required information is confidential or subject to legal prohibitions), the organization is required to specify the disclosure or the requirement it cannot comply with, and provide a reason for omission together with an explanation in the GRI content index. See Requirement 6 in GRI 1: Foundation 2021 for more information on reasons for omission.
If the organization cannot report the required information about an item specified in a disclosure because the item (e.g., committee, policy, practice, process) does not exist, it can comply with the requirement by reporting this to be the case. The organization can explain the reasons for not having this item, or describe any plans to develop it. The disclosure does not require the organization to implement the item (e.g., developing a policy), but to report that the item does not exist.
If the organization intends to publish a standalone sustainability report, it does not need to repeat information that it has already reported publicly elsewhere, such as on web pages or in its annual report. In such a case, the organization can report a required disclosure by providing a reference in the GRI content index as to where this information can be found (e.g., by providing a link to the web page or citing the page in the annual report where the information has been published).
Requirements, guidance and defined terms
The following apply throughout this Standard:
Requirements are presented in bold font and indicated by the word 'shall'. An organization must comply with requirements to report in accordance with the GRI Standards.
Requirements may be accompanied by guidance.
Guidance includes background information, explanations, and examples to help the organization better understand the requirements. The organization is not required to comply with guidance.
The Standards may also include recommendations. These are cases where a particular course of action is encouraged but not required.
The word ‘should’ indicates a recommendation, and the word ‘can’ indicates a possibility or option.
Defined terms are underlined in the text of the GRI Standards and linked to their definitions in the Glossary. The organization is required to apply the definitions in the Glossary.
An organization reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards is required to report how it manages each of its material topics.
An organization that has determined freedom of association and collective bargaining to be a material topic is required to report how it manages the topic using Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 (see clause 1.1 in this section).
This section is therefore designed to supplement – and not replace – Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3.
1.1 The reporting organization shall report how it manages freedom of association and collective bargaining using Disclosure 3-3 in GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.
1.2 The reporting organization should describe any policy or policies considered likely to affect workers’ decisions to form or join a trade union, to bargain collectively or to engage in trade union activities.
The reporting organization shall report the following information:
Guidance for Disclosure 407-1
The process for identifying operations and suppliers, as specified in Disclosure 407-1, can reflect the reporting organization’s approach to risk assessment on this issue. It can also draw from recognized international data sources, such as the various outcomes of the ILO Supervisory bodies and the recommendations of the ILO Committee of Freedom of Association (see reference [4] in the Bibliography).
When reporting the measures taken, the organization can refer to the ILO ‘Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy’ and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises for further guidance.
Background
This disclosure concerns an organization’s due diligence with respect to any negative impacts its activities have had on the human rights of workers to form or join trade unions and to bargain collectively. This can include policies and processes with respect to the organization's business relationships, including its suppliers. It can also include the due diligence process to identify operations and suppliers where these rights are at risk.
It also aims to reveal actions that have been taken to support these rights across an organization’s range of operations. This disclosure does not require the organization to express a specific opinion on the quality of national legal systems.
Collective agreements can be made at the level of the organization, at the level of a particular site, at the industry level, and at the national level in countries where this is the practice. Collective agreements can cover specific groups of workers, for example, those performing a specific activity or working at a specific location.
An organization is expected to respect the rights of workers to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining. It is also expected to not benefit from or contribute to such violations through its business relationships (e.g., suppliers).
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This glossary provides definitions for terms used in this Standard. The organization is required to apply these definitions when using the GRI Standards.
The definitions included in this glossary may contain terms that are further defined in the complete GRI Standards Glossary. All defined terms are underlined. If a term is not defined in this glossary or in the complete GRI Standards Glossary, definitions that are commonly used and understood apply.
entity with which the organization has some form of direct and formal engagement for the purpose of meeting its business objectives