Business code of ethics adopted

National Catholic Reporter, April 30, 2004 by Dennis Coday

MANCHESTER, England--Britian's Catholic Agency for Overseas Development praised a decision by computer giant IBM to introduce a code of conduct for suppliers. CAFOD said the new IBM code, which includes a commitment to monitor suppliers' working conditions, took crucial steps toward ensuring decent labor standards in the company's supply chain.

Katherine Astill, a policy analyst at the Catholic agency, said IBM's policy change is "a great achievement for CAFOD's campaigners, who have sent thousands of messages to IBM."

"The IBM code is roughly as good as the codes of other industry leaders, Dell and Hewlett-Packard. It is definitely a move in the right direction," she said.

In January CAFOD, the official agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, issued a report that criticized computer companies for exploiting factory workers in the developing world. Now IBM leads the field on certain issues, such as putting in place limits of 60 hours per week for workers and guaranteeing employees a day off per week, CAFOD said.

Astill also called on IBM, Dell and Hewlett-Packard to further improve their codes by guaranteeing workers the right to organize.