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.
This study contributes knowledge about anti-trafficking faith-based and non-faith-based NGOs—how they compare in their goals and mission, why they do what they do, the care philosophies and services that they have, and how they can work together. ...Read More
The breakdown of the social contract is exposed in the 2020 ITUC Global Rights Index with violations of workers’ rights at a seven-year high. The trends by governments and employers to restrict the rights of workers through violations of collecti...Read More
Abstract Through an empirical study, this article explores the overall profile of female traffickers of children in China and their role and performance in the trafficking processes. Its contribution to the human trafficking literature lies in i...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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