The Importance of Human Rights in Organizations
Human rights are universal and they are for everyone at any place at any time (Kempadoo, Sanghera & Pattanaik, 2015). The rights are based on values such as equality, dignity freedom and the right to protect the quality of life. The human rights include the following rights to the people of Australia- a fair trial, free speech, vote, free from discrimination of age, sex or race, protection from arbitrary imprisonments, education, protection form violence etc. The human rights help the people to get their basic right and this ensures equality in the society. An obligation is a set of rules by which the parties are bound to refrain or act from acting. Legal obligation means performing duties according to the law. A person who is bound to do something, which is described in the law have to that thing if he/she failed to do so then legal obligation cam be taken against that person.. For example, according to the legal obligations of Australia, all the earning citizen of Australia has to pay the income tax. If any person failed to pay the income tax or try to invade the taxes will be imposed fines and may be imprisonment. Similarly citizens also have some legal obligations towards other people for example an earning adult is liable to look after their parents who does not have any means of living.
Human rights are a necessary aspect in every organization. The employee tends to work effectively if they get proper equality and the rights that they deserve. Without proper human rights they tend to lack interests and working motivation in the organization. To be effective and efficient the organization need to be unbiased similarly the employee needs to follow the legal obligations in the organization. The legal obligations will ensure that there is no corruption or fraud in the operational process. It will also help to maintain the proper rules and regulations within the organizational workplace. According to , one of the major issues that the organizations in Australia faces is the religious discrimination. To stop this issue the Australian government have include the racial discrimination act 1975, which promotes equality among all the employees and the citizens of Australia regardless of their race, religion, colour and ethnic or national origin. It stated that people discriminating others by these characteristics will be illegal and unlawful. These ensured Australian workplace to be more diverse and effective. When the racial discrimination is stopped the Australian organizations have become more successful as it helped them to gather the best employee. There are countries where the religious discrimination affects the overall performance of the organization; one of the examples is India. Religious discrimination causes conflict in the organization and it also lead towards a bad workplace environment which can prove to be a major issue in the long run. To be effective and efficient the organization needs to follow the racial discrimination act. Another important issue is the age discrimination. This means the employees are discriminated and are less favoured according to the age. To protect the employees from this discrimination the Australian introduced the age discrimination act 2004 which ensures that the people of Australia will not be treated less favourably depending on their age in the various filed for example employment, education, provision of services and goods (Ford, 2013). It gives equal opportunity to the deserving candidates. This will help the organization to find better and effective employee for their workplace. The disability discrimination act of 1992 is formed with the motto to eliminate the discrimination against the physically challenged people (Widiss, 2012). This act promotes the community acceptance that physically challenged people have the same rights as all the members present in the community. This law helps the people to get the equal opportunity as rest of us. Though this act is not viable in most of the organization where the human strength is required. These types of acts help them to get forget about their disability and focus on their purpose or aim. The religious discrimination act, age discrimination acts are the primary things that the organization in Australia have to take in consideration. It develops a positive work environment and also increases the job satisfaction as the employees are being judged on their merit and quality rather than on their physical appearance. Apart from this there are other acts that ensure safety to the customer of Australia. One such act is enforced by Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to enforce the necessary product safety and the information standards (Richards et al., 2012). This act also enforce bans of unsafe products which is declared under Competitive and consumer act 2012. Product safety is vital as the customers in Australia are very health conscious. This act instructs the organizations to provide clear instruction for the products, including warnings and the possible misuse of the product. This act also instructs the employees to be aware of the mandatory quality standards to offer the product to the Australian community. These are some of the human rights that the organization has to include during the planning for their future actions.
Examples of Discrimination in Australian Workplace
Australia is an important party to in the seven key international human rights treaties. Australia has agreed and signed up on the following treaties- the international covenant on civil and political rights (ICCPR) (Joseph & Castan, 2013). This treaty explains that the entire individual has the civil and the political rights, which includes the right to freedom, right to life, right to religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, electoral rights and the right to have a fair trial. Australia has also signed for The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It commits its parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) to the non-self-governing and trust territories and individuals, including labour rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living (Koh, Getgen & Sital, 2017). Employee safety is highly requires in the organization as the workplace is full of potential threats and accidents can happen at any time in the organization. The above mentioned acts promote safety to the working environment. Safety is the first and the primary rights in the organization. The balance between the human rights and the legal obligations are highly necessary. All the organizations have to follow these rules to continue the smooth flowing of their organization. There are other treaties that Australia has signed for. The Convention on all forms of racial discrimination is another treaty that Australia has signed for. The following obligations suggest that the employee of the organization should not be treated unequally according to their casts and religions. These treaties, which Australia has voluntarily entered in, set out in clear terms Australia’s international human rights obligations. Under international law, Australia is bound to comply with their provisions and to implement them domestically.
The Law Council uses these instruments to evaluate Australia’s human rights performance, particularly when assessing the appropriateness of proposed legislative or policy reforms (Molenaar, 2012). The Law council encourages the Australian government to follow up in an more effective and timely manner to conclude the recommendation and the observation of the United Nations Human Rights Council and international human rights treaty bodies, by following the relevant and guidelines with the participation of the civil society organizations. The Law Council holds special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (Krook & True, 2012). This status enhances the Law Council’s ability to engage with and contribute to the work of the United Nations Committees and bodies, and supports the Law Council’s advocacy directed at ensuring Australia complies with its obligations under international law. If the organizations in Australia want to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals then it is highly necessary for them to follow the rules that are set by the government (Barney, 2012). Fraud or illegal activities can lead the organization to some serious loss which can hamper the reputation of the company.
References:
Barney, J. B. (2012). Purchasing, supply chain management and sustained competitive advantage: The relevance of resource?based theory. Journal of supply chain management, 48(2), 3-6.
Ford, M. (2013). Achievement gaps in Australia: What NAPLAN reveals about education inequality in Australia. Race Ethnicity and Education, 16(1), 80-102.
Joseph, S., & Castan, M. (2013). The international covenant on civil and political rights: cases, materials, and commentary. Oxford University Press.
Kempadoo, K., Sanghera, J., & Pattanaik, B. (2015). Trafficking and prostitution reconsidered: New perspectives on migration, sex work, and human rights. Routledge.
Koh, S. A., Getgen, J. E., & Sital, K. (2017). Enhancing enforcement of economic, social, and cultural rights using indicators: A focus on the right to education in the ICESCR. In Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (pp. 211-268). Routledge.
Krook, M. L., & True, J. (2012). Rethinking the life cycles of international norms: The United Nations and the global promotion of gender equality. European Journal of International Relations, 18(1), 103-127.
Molenaar, E. J. (2012). Current and Prospective Roles of the Arctic Council System within the Context of the Law of the Sea. The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 27(3), 553-595.
Richards, C., Lawrence, G., Loong, M., & Burch, D. (2012). A toothless chihuahua? The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, neoliberalism and supermarket power in Australia. Rural Society, 21(3), 250-263.
Widiss, D. A. (2012). Gilbert Redux: The International of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Amended Americans with Disabilities Act. UCDL Rev., 46, 961
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