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 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report calls upon all governments to ensure they are addressing all forms of human trafficking and to reject the common misunderstanding that human trafficking requires movement across borders or even to another tow...Read More
This edition of the Index highlights how fragile hard-won human rights still are throughout the world, and how in times of crisis — be it the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing climate crisis, or ongoing armed conflict — it is the world’s most vul...Read More
The data in this report represents signals and cases from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 and is accurate as of July 25, 2019. Cases of trafficking may be ongoing or new information may revealed to the National Hotline over time. Consequen...Read More
Safe accommodation is vital for survivors. Offering safe accommodation enables individuals to find stability to rebuild their lives and plan towards their future. Understanding the role hosting can and does play as an accommodation option for surviv...Read More
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