What social responsibilities do corporations have?
Pressure on James Hardie is mounting after weekend negotiations with NSW government representatives failed to produce an agreement on the compensation of asbestos victims. A spokesperson from the NSW Premier’s department gave an assurance today that an agreement would be reached by the end of this week. It is not yet clear, however, whether the agreement will be achieved through negotiation or legislation. Premier Morris Iemma has said that if no agreement is reached, legislation will be pushed through to force James Hardie to set aside what is estimated to be around $4.5 billion of its profits over the next four decades for the compensation of asbestos victims. Last week was National Asbestos Awareness Week and while unions and victims groups were protesting, James Hardie was issuing press releases and running advertisements in major newspapers defending its commitment to the compensation of victims of its asbestos products. Meanwhile, a federal parliamentary inquiry is currently considering the issue of corporate social responsibility, and companies and citizens alike are increasingly aware of the importance of a corporation’s public reputation. Senior Lecturer in Social Inquiry at the University of Tecnology, Sydney, Eva Cox joined us in the studio to discuss the wider debate of corporate social responsibility.