Date filed
10 May 2016
Keywords
Countries of harm
Current status
No resolution
Sector
NCP

Allegations

A Thai and Japanese coalition of trade unions and NGOs filed a complaint on 10 May 2016 against Japanese Suzuki Motor Corporation for labour rights abuses at a Suzuki manufacturing facility in Thailand. The complainants allege that Suzuki Motor (Thailand) Co. Ltd. has violated its workers right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The complainants call on the Japanese NCP to bring Suzuki Motor Corporation‘s and its Thai subsidiary’s conduct and activities in line with the OECD Guidelines, by carrying out an investigation and facilitate mediation. The complainants would like Suzuki Motor Corporation to provide reparations for the adverse treatment suffered, develop and implement human and labour rights due diligence procedures and allow for the prosecution of incriminated employee representatives who carried out the labor rights violations.

Relevant OECD Guidelines

Outcome

The Japanese NCP accepted the complaint for further consideration on 8 September 2016, stating most of the issues raised in the Specific Instance merited further examination apart from three points in the complaint related to the loss of training opportunities, the failure of the companies to foster a relation of mutual trust with the societies, and the request for the Japanese NCP to recommend that the Thai government should prosecute the case. On 28 September 2016 Suzuki Motor Corporation and Suzuki Motor (Thailand) Co. Ltd. informed the Japanese NCP that they had no intention to engage in dialogue with the complainants through the mediation of the Japanese NCP, but did state that they intended to respect the judicial procedures currently underway in Thailand around the case with an aim for resolution. As a result, the Japanese NCP concluded the case on 23 June 2017 with the recommendation that “The Japanese NCP recommends that Suzuki Motor Corporation and Suzuki Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd. conduct activity while respecting the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.”

More details

Defendant
Company in violation
Complainants
Affected people
Date rejected / concluded
23 June 2017

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