Where responsibilities end: Migrant labour and CSR in a Russian supply chain

Abstract

Multinational corporations enforce their CSR-policies upon workers in their supply chain. These policies should protect the workers from issues arising from interaction with the corporation, however the impact and purview of CSR is limited. A group of workers particularly vulnerable when CSR fails to tackle social issues are migrant workers. Hence, the aim of this study is to find out whether the CSR-policy of a multinational corporation addresses the problems experienced by migrants employed in its supply chain – with particular attention to problems arising in the migration process. This was carried out as a case study of one multinational corporation with suppliers operating in Moscow. Here interviews were conducted with migrant workers and supplier managers to uncover the prominent migrant trajectories, how migration is facilitated and which problems the migrants experience – combined, these areas constitute the process of migration. The data was then compared to the multinational corporations’ CSR-policy. The results indicate that the initial move to Moscow is relatively unproblematic but that migrants remain in a process of migration after arrival in Moscow. The problems expressed by migrants therefore occur after arrival, the most prominent of which are prolonged division from family, inability to return, and inadequate pay. These problems remain inadequately or unaddressed by CSR-policies while problems relating to working conditions and fraud in the recruitment process appear fully addressed and solved. The study concludes by discussing the limitations of CSR in addressing social issues that arise in the shadow of corporate activity.