On October 18, 2016, Microsoft published it's 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. We did not see any public article or comment about it. We think it is an important document as it reiterates Microsoft stated commitment to respect human rights as they are detailed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the covenants listed below. As you can see this commitment also clearly includes Microsoft's suppliers employees. Unfortunately, as we had noticed one year ago, Microsoft remains in breach of several clauses of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted 50 years ago.
What's to be done to incite Microsoft to implement it's commitment so that it's suppliers employees get paid public holidays on top of the present minimal standard of 15 days of 'paid time off' and specific paid parental leave? We think shareholder activism is presently the best way to raise the issue with Microsoft's leadership.
Our commitment
Microsoft is committed to respecting human rights across all aspects of our business.
For people around the world and for our own employees, we are committed to fair labor practices, inclusion and diversity, creating and delivering accessible technology, and taking a global approach based on internationally recognized standards.
We work in partnership with some of the world’s leading human rights organizations to apply the power of technology to advance human rights. Since endorsing the UN Global Compact in 2006, Microsoft has had a formal commitment to respecting all of the human rights set forth in key international agreements that set the standards for global human rights.
These commitments include:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
The Microsoft Global Human Rights Statement outlines Microsoft’s commitment and approach to respecting the rights of our employees, the employees of our supply chain partners, our customers, and individuals in the communities in which we operate..
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