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.
Australia needs a “Modern Slavery Act” that addresses three issues as a priority: Anti-Slavery Commissioner - appointment of an Anti-Slavery Commissioner to provide independent oversight, with powers to monitor laws and hold business and th...Read More
Authors: Hao Wang, Andrew Philpot, Eduard H. Hovy Women and children are trafficked between countries and within countries for illicit sexual purposes. This is a serious international crime. Domestic traffickers use a variety of means to adve...Read More
There are over 40 million people in modern slavery worldwide. Modern slavery exists in every industry, in every country in the world. The financial services industry has a major role to play in combating this violent and abusive business. And yet ou...Read More
A report on human trafficking and native people in the state of Oregon, seeking to identify if federal, state, and local government protections are effective in addressing trafficking amongst this population. State, Federal, and Tribal legislatio...Read More
2020 © Copyright, RESPECT International. All Rights Reserved. Website Disclaimer | Privacy Policy
