OREANDA-NEWS. August 03, 2012. Siemens, the Siemens Central Works Council, the German trade union IG Metall and the global industrial union IndustriAll have signed an international framework agreement on the principles of corporate responsibility, reported the press-centre of Siemens.

The agreement reaffirms Siemens' commitment to fundamental employee rights, including equality of opportunity, the right to collective bargaining and the freedom of association. "This agreement reflects Siemens' awareness of its responsibility to its employees and underscores the relationship of trust between the company, the works council and the union," said Siemens President and CEO Peter Loscher. "The joint framework agreement documents our company standards – which already apply worldwide and are firmly anchored in our Business Conduct Guidelines."

"For employees and unions, it's very important that global companies make a commitment to human and employee rights and act accordingly," said Berthold Huber, First Chairman of Germany's IG Metall union and President of the global industrial union IndustriAll. "At Siemens, we've documented our commitment in this joint declaration, which defines a set of values that must be lived each and every day by the company's employees as well as its managers. The international framework agreement provides a further basis for achieving this aim at Siemens."

Lothar Adler, Chairman of the Central Works Council of Siemens AG: "We stand for decent working conditions worldwide. The agreement places particular emphasis on the fundamental rights of employees at Siemens. At our company, people come before profits. Signing this agreement will help ensure that the rights of employee participation in matters involving fair labor conditions continue to be recognized worldwide."

The agreement refers to the basic employee rights defined in the applicable international conventions, the core labor standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Global Compact initiative. Its principles include the elimination of forced labor, the prohibition of discrimination, the right to equal treatment, the abolition of child labor and the definition of a minimum age for employment as well as the right to collective bargaining and the freedom of association.