Recent developments suggest that the CWC asset manager accountability (AMA) initiative is starting to bear fruit for workers on the ground.
Since September, the CWC has been coordinating meetings between Swiss asset manager UBS and trustees from Australian, Finnish, Dutch and US pension fund clients of UBS.
One point of discussion has been around the application of the UBS Responsible Contractor Policy at a hotel property that it owns and that is operated by Marriott in Baltimore. A group of trustees have pressured UBS to uphold the Responsible Contractor Policy to remedy some of the worker rights violations that have occurred at the hotel in relation to freedom of association, one of the four ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at work. On, November 21, Marriott agreed to rehire four of the fired union leaders in the hotel, with federal mediation scheduled in mid-December for the remaining union leaders who were fired. On the same day, UBS representatives met with workers for the first time to hear about their challenges. The workers reported that the conversation was productive and that they directly felt the effects and the support of the CWC network at the meeting.
UBS also commented on the CWC AMA Report card. It said that it engaging on priority themes (e.g.: just transition) and priority companies (e.g.: Teleperformance) for the CWC.
