Under the regime of private company or multi-stakeholder voluntary codes of conduct and industry social auditing, workers have absorbed low wages and unsafe and abusive conditions; labour leaders and union members have become the targets of both government and factory harassment and violence; and trade union power has waned. Nowhere have these private systems of codes and audits so clearly failed to protect workers as in Bangladesh’s apparel industry. However, international labour groups and Bangladeshi unions have succeeded in mounting a challenge to voluntarism in the global economy, persuading more than 180 companies to make a binding and enforceable commitment to workers’ safety in an agreement with 12 unions.
The extent to which this Bangladesh Accord will be able to influence the entrenched global regime of voluntary codes and weak trade unions remains an open question. But if the Accord can make progress in Bangladesh, it can help to inspire similar efforts in other countries and in other industries.
Anyone can be exploited, or become a victim of modern slavery, no matter their age, gender or nationality. This report focuses specifically on Chinese women, due to the experiences of Caritas Bakhita House, Rahab and Tamar. It is hoped that it can s...Read More
This report calls for overfishing, pirate fishing and modern-day slavery in the Thai fishing industry to be addressed as interconnected issues. It examines the complex and multi-faceted problems in Thailand’s fisheries sector and offers recommenda...Read More
Edited by Joel Quirk and Julia O’Connell Davidson. This is the first volume of the series Beyond Trafficking and Slavery Short Course. Much of what people think they know about human trafficking and ‘modern-day slavery’ is inaccurate, ...Read More
The following information is based on incoming communication with the National Human Trafficking Hotline from January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016 about human trafficking cases and issues related to human trafficking in Puerto Rico. ...Read More
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