Asian TNCs

Since 2002, the Asian Transnational Corporations (ATNC) Monitoring Network has been working to build up a regional network through which labour organisations in different Asian countries can pursue concrete solidarity actions to improve working conditions in transnational corporations (TNCs) in Asia. The initial consensus among the groups involved in the ATNC Network was that there was an urgent need to overcome the limits of external monitoring, in the process of which workers play an extremely passive role and workers’ self-organising takes secondary importance. As one of the initiators, AMRC has been playing a key role for the Network which conducts solidarity campaigns as well as collaborative research on key labour issues in the region. The Network, which involved unions and labour organizations from 12 Asian countries, is evolving and becoming decentralised and independent with members taking active roles and responsibilities. At present, the Network is focusing on three issues where each has a working group for effective coordination: electronic, automotive, and garment/textile.