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.
At first glance, this research publication may seem niche, perhaps relevant only to “fringe” aspects of international migration. Historically, we know from decades of studies, data collection and analysis that there has been a strong bias toward...Read More
This report presents findings from two case studies conducted in Burma as part of a larger exploratory research project undertaken by Verité in 2018-2019, with the aim of examining the linkages between environmental degradation and vulnerability to...Read More
This report summarises case study research carried out in Mozambique in two sectors linked to deforestation: illicit logging of Pterocarpus Tinctorius in Tete Province and construction of the Cuamba–Mandimba–Lichinga section of the N13 road (par...Read More
Access to legal advice is crucial for survivors of trafficking and modern slavery but the legal aid funding system is failing them. Survivors are not able to access timely and quality, legally aided advice and representation when they need it, with ...Read More
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