MacBride Principles
Encyclopedia
The MacBride Principles — consisting of nine fair employment
principles — are a corporate code of conduct for United States
companies doing business in Northern Ireland
and have become the Congressional standard for all US aid to, or for economic dealings with, Northern Ireland. They were written by Nobel Laureate Seán MacBride
, a founding member of Amnesty International who served as its International Chairman, and were launched in November 1984.
In addition to the above, each signatory to the principles is required to report annually to an independent monitoring agency on its progress in the implementation of these principles.
Some of the principles were seen as unrealistic and impracticable, such as protection of employees on their way to and from work. Besides, they were perceived as throttling foreign investment in Northern Ireland and by that increasing the economic problems of the province. No cases were mentioned where a specific American investment had led to discrimination.
This resulted in their rejection by both the Government of the Republic of Ireland
, and by moderate nationalists in Northern Ireland, amongst them the Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP). This is subject to debate because in 1987 the then Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Lenihan is quoted as follows regarding the McBride Principals “The Government's policy is to press for action by the British Government on measures in the short and medium term aimed at promoting equality of opportunity…”. He later wrote in 1989 “The Government's view is that there is nothing objectionable in the MacBride principles”.
in March 1972, starting with the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976. This was further amended in 1989. In 1999 the Fair Employment and Treatment Order 1998 became law.
Since then complaints are handled by the Fair Employment Commission for Northern Ireland, now a part of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
, a non-governmental but publicly-funded agency. The MacBride Principles certainly speeded the reform process in the 1980s, but it is debatable whether they contributed significantly after 1989. In a 2003 report the Irish National Caucus felt that the reforms had not yet achieved complete parity, emphasising that Northern Irish Catholics were still more likely to be unemployed and undereducated, and less likely to work in managerial positions, than other groups, and calling for affirmative action
policies.
Connecticut
, Florida
, Illinois
, Maine
, Massachusetts
, Michigan
, Minnesota
, Kentucky
, Missouri
, Nebraska
, New Hampshire
, New Jersey
, New York
, Pennsylvania
, Rhode Island
, Texas
, Vermont
and California
.
The have also been passed or endorsed by over 40 cities, and are pending in many more. The following organizations or individuals have also endorsed them:
Employment discrimination
Employment discrimination is discrimination in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, and compensation. It includes various types of harassment....
principles — are a corporate code of conduct for United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
companies doing business in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and have become the Congressional standard for all US aid to, or for economic dealings with, Northern Ireland. They were written by Nobel Laureate Seán MacBride
Seán MacBride
Seán MacBride was an Irish government minister and prominent international politician as well as a Chief of Staff of the IRA....
, a founding member of Amnesty International who served as its International Chairman, and were launched in November 1984.
The principles
- Increasing the representation of individuals from under-represented religious groups in the workforce including managerial, supervisory, administrative, clerical and technical jobs.
- Adequate security for the protection of minority employees both at the workplace and while traveling to and from work.
- The banning of provocative religious or political emblems at the workplace.
- All job openings should be publicly advertised and special recruitment efforts should be made to attract applicants from under-represented religious groups.
- Lay-off, recall, and termination procedures should not in practice favor particular religious groupings.
- The abolition of job reservations, apprenticeship restrictions and differential employment criteria, which discriminate on the basis of religious or ethnic origin.
- The development of training programs that will prepare substantial numbers of current minority employees for skilled jobs, including the expansion of existing programs and the creation of new programs to train, upgrade, and improve the skills of minority employees.
- The establishment of procedures to assess, identify, and actively recruit minority employees with the potential for further advancement.
- The appointment of a senior management staff member to oversee the company's affirmative action efforts and the setting up of timetables to carry out affirmative action principles.
In addition to the above, each signatory to the principles is required to report annually to an independent monitoring agency on its progress in the implementation of these principles.
Some of the principles were seen as unrealistic and impracticable, such as protection of employees on their way to and from work. Besides, they were perceived as throttling foreign investment in Northern Ireland and by that increasing the economic problems of the province. No cases were mentioned where a specific American investment had led to discrimination.
This resulted in their rejection by both the Government of the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, and by moderate nationalists in Northern Ireland, amongst them the Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP). This is subject to debate because in 1987 the then Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Lenihan is quoted as follows regarding the McBride Principals “The Government's policy is to press for action by the British Government on measures in the short and medium term aimed at promoting equality of opportunity…”. He later wrote in 1989 “The Government's view is that there is nothing objectionable in the MacBride principles”.
Parallel British reforms
Within Northern Ireland itself, reforms had begun after the British government suspended the Parliament of Northern IrelandParliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
in March 1972, starting with the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976. This was further amended in 1989. In 1999 the Fair Employment and Treatment Order 1998 became law.
Since then complaints are handled by the Fair Employment Commission for Northern Ireland, now a part of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is a non-departmental public body in Northern Ireland established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998...
, a non-governmental but publicly-funded agency. The MacBride Principles certainly speeded the reform process in the 1980s, but it is debatable whether they contributed significantly after 1989. In a 2003 report the Irish National Caucus felt that the reforms had not yet achieved complete parity, emphasising that Northern Irish Catholics were still more likely to be unemployed and undereducated, and less likely to work in managerial positions, than other groups, and calling for affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
policies.
Campaign
The MacBride Campaign is conducted on a three-fold level:- Federal - The MacBride Principles became the law of the U.S. in October 1998. The U.S. House and Senate passed the MacBride Principles -- as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1999 -- and President Clinton signed them into law. The MacBride law mandates that recipients of U.S. contributions to the International Fund for IrelandInternational Fund for IrelandThe International Fund for Ireland is an independent international organisation established in 1986 by the British and Irish governments with the objectives of promoting "economic and social advance and to encourage contact, dialogue and reconciliation between nationalists and unionists throughout...
(IFI) must be in compliance with the MacBride Principles. (The U.S. has been contributing about $19.6 million per year since 1986 to the IFI.) - State and Cities - Millions of dollars in state and city pension funds are invested in American corporations doing business in Northern Ireland. The MacBride Campaign lobbies to have legislation passed to direct these funds to be invested, in the future, only in companies that endorse the Principles (again, note, not divestment or disinvestments). This is the first step. The second step — once the MacBride Principles investment law has been passed — is to lobby cities and states to enact a "selective purchasing" law, barring the state or city from purchasing goods or services from companies in Northern Ireland that have not endorsed the Principles.
- Shareholder resolutions - The Campaign works to have shareholders introduce and pass resolutions asking companies to endorse the Principles.
Endorsement
The MacBride Principles have been passed in the following 18 US states:Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The have also been passed or endorsed by over 40 cities, and are pending in many more. The following organizations or individuals have also endorsed them:
- The Irish National Caucus and its leader Father Seán McManus
- The Reverend Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
- Randall RobinsonRandall RobinsonRandall Robinson is an African-American lawyer, author and activist, noted as the founder of TransAfrica. He is known particularly for his impassioned opposition to South African apartheid, and for his advocacy on behalf of Haitian immigrants and Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.-Early...
of TransAfrica, the group that sponsored Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
's visit to the United States - Former New York State Governor George PatakiGeorge PatakiGeorge Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
- Former New York State Governor Mario CuomoMario CuomoMario Matthew Cuomo served as the 52nd Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994, and is the father of Andrew Cuomo, the current governor of New York.-Early life:...
- Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
- Former New York City Mayor David DinkinsDavid DinkinsDavid Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
- Former Boston Mayor Raymond FlynnRaymond FlynnRaymond Leo Flynn , also known as Ray Flynn, served as Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1984 until 1993. He was later appointed United States Ambassador to the Holy See by President Bill Clinton.-Early life:...
(and former Ambassador to the Vatican) - The AFL-CIO
- The National Council of Churches
- The American Baptist Convention
- The Episcopal Church
- The Lutheran Pension Board
- The United Church of Christ Board of World Ministries
- The United Methodist Church
- some American Roman Catholic bishops
- Virtually all Irish-American organizations.