In the age of globalisation, large multinational companies set the industry standards in every country where they operate.

It is a long-term economic and moral imperative that these global companies drive up service and employment standards in our communities, rather than drag them down. I believe that EU-based companies should give a lead in this respect and apply fully the best European standards in all their operations.

In this context, the actions of the UK-listed company Group 4 Securicor’s subsidiaries around the world are of profound concern.

Although this rapidly growing company claims to be a responsible employer, the experience of Group 4 Securicor employees around the world - in South Africa, Kenya, Indonesia, and the US - suggests a very different reality.

In the U.S., for example, Group 4 Securicor’s subsidiary is the only major company refusing to join cooperative efforts to raise standards in private security.

Group 4 Securicor’s employees are asking simply that their employer treat them with respect and invest in their training and development. Unfortunately, the company’s subsidiaries appear to be taking an increasingly hostile stance toward workers who seek to form a union.

I call on the company to change the way it treats its employees around the world, and recognize its employees’ right to freedom of association and right to form a union.

When it comes to ensuring high standards, institutions of representative government must be role models. The International Monetary Fund removed G4S subsidiary Wackenhut as its supplier last year. Wackenhut’s treatment of its workers at the IMF provoked sharp criticism from trade unionists and elected leaders in Europe and the United States.

The European Parliament should be a role model in the choice of its suppliers as well. The EP has a creditable record in the defence of European social standards and it should seek to ensure that they are applied by companies with which it has dealings. I call on the European Parliament to review its contract with Group 4 Securicor, in view of the unacceptable labour practices at company sites around the world.

I call on companies that use Group 4 Securicor to hold the company up to scrutiny and to choose only those suppliers who are committed to driving up service and employment standards around the globe.

John Monks General-Secretary ETUC