Corporations have increasingly turned to voluntary, multi-stakeholder governance programs to monitor workers’ rights and standards in global supply chains. This article argues that the emphasis of these programs varies significantly depending on stakeholder involvement and issue areas under examination. Corporate-influenced programs are more likely to emphasize detection of violations of minimal standards in the areas of wages, hours, and occupational safety and health because focusing on these issues provides corporations with legitimacy and reduces the risks of uncertainty created by activist campaigns. In contrast, these programs are less likely to emphasize workers’ rights to form democratic and independent unions, bargain, and strike because these rights are perceived as lessening managerial control without providing firms with significant reputational value. This argument is explored by coding 805 factory audits of the Fair Labor Association between 2002 and 2010, followed by case studies of Russell Athletic in Honduras, Apple in China, and worker rights monitoring in Vietnam.

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

Golden Dreams Infosheet
Publications

Golden Dreams is a Burmese-language smartphone app targeting current and prospective migrant workers. It is a platform for learning and exchanging information, reviews, ratings, comments, and advice about employers, recruiters, and service providers...Read More

The International Legal Definition of Trafficking in Persons: Consolidation of research findings and reflection on issues raised
GuidancePublications

Until December 2000, the term “trafficking in persons” was not defined in international law, despite its incorporation in several international legal instruments. The long-standing failure to develop an agreed-upon definition of trafficking in p...Read More

TAGS: Global
From fish to fishworker traceability in Thai fisheries reform
Publications

This paper explores the question of what traceability systems mean for the labour situation of fish- workers; for whom and in what respects is traceability effective, and what impact do these systems have? The limited social criteria in fi...Read More

Pervasive, punitive, and predetermined: Understanding modern slavery in North Korea
Publications

By Remco E. Breuker & Imke van Gardingen It has long been known, though difficult to verify, that citizens of North Korea are forced to work by the State on a far greater scale than seen elsewhere in the world. Recent estimates reveal that 1 in ...Read More

TAGS: Asia