Bermuda companies were yesterday put on notice about the expected wave of stricter standards they may have to comply with in how they treat employees -- or face a loss of business.

International Organisation of Employers (IOE) senior advisor Deborah France yesterday warned local businessmen that growing globalisation has put increasing pressure on corporations to comply with labour standards being formulated by bodies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and by consumer advocacy bodies.

Ms Francis was speaking at a breakfast meeting hosted by the Bermuda Employers Council.

Ms France said previously the IOE had acted as a goalkeeper, attempting to block any proposals by the ILO it considered harmful to business.

She described the ILO's previous attempts to set international conventions for workers as largely "probably irrelevant'' as these imposed at times outdated and impractical standards that most nations didn't follow.

"If it was a company it would go out of business because it can't sell its products,'' she said.

However, with the growth of the worldwide multinational she said the ILO had switched tactics and was now looking to become a social pillar of the multilateral system.

Warning over stricter standards It hoped to achieve this through the promotion of the concept of "decent work'', core labour standards, and codes of conduct.

This tactical change was becoming more effective in a world in which more and more companies were operating across borders and depended on numerous suppliers in various countries.

Practices such as the use of child labour by suppliers could therefore impact on the bottom line of companies like Nike, who in turn were responding to attacks on its corporate image by requiring suppliers to follow codes of conduct.

"The ILO is in danger of becoming relevant,'' Ms France said. With this increasing relevance she said the employers' organisation was going to have to respond by becoming more proactive through working with the ILO in helping to formulate international standards.

Sub-contractors and suppliers were therefore in the position of getting cut by a company if it didn't comply with international standards. Bermuda companies could conceivably be in such a position in the future.

At another level union organisations were attempting to bargain with multinationals at the international level. Such a campaign failed against a large mining company which refused to recognise a trade union at its operation in Australia. The company was started on the Internet against the company for its alleged use of child labour in other countries and for the environmental pollution it had caused.

"There is a real danger that we are going to get a damaging environment,'' she said.

Warning note: Deborah France