After three years of parliamentary back-and-forth, it is now clear that since the National Council and the Council of States have been unable to agree on a viable counter-proposal, the corporate responsibility initiative will be put to the ballot box. Swiss voters are expected to be able to vote in November in favour of making Swiss companies accountable for violating human rights and destroying the environment.
In the end, the large corporations won through in parliament with their lobbying. At yesterday's conciliation conference it was decided to present only an alibi counter-proposal to the corporate responsibility initiative to the two councils. In this proposal, corporations such as Glencore and Syngenta would not be held responsible for any damage caused, but would simply publish a glossy brochure once a year. A conciliation conference will be held if the National Council and the Council of States have not been able to resolve their differences despite three consultations each.
There was certainly an alternative to the alibi counterproposal. Broad sections of the economy, such as Coop, Migros, the food association fial and the Conference of Economic Directors had backed an effective counter-proposal by the National Council, which would have led to the withdrawal of the initiative. The alibi counter-proposal brings no improvements whatsoever, but is intended to make those eligible to vote believe that the corporate responsibility initiative is not needed. The National Council and the Council of States will decide next week whether to confirm the alibi counter-proposal.
The voting campaign has thus been launched and now full support for the corporate responsibility initiative is needed. It must become even better known and more visible. Here you can order campaign material free of charge ( https://konzern-initiative.ch/kampagnenmaterial/ )
Do you want to be more active? Use the telephone to motivate like-minded people in your region to hang up a flag at home. You can register here: ( https://konzern-initiative.ch/fahnen-telefonieren )
The initiative demands a matter of course: companies that poison rivers and use child labour should be held accountable for this.
