Informal Employment, New Forms of Work and Enforcement of Labour Rights

The informal employment question is, first of all, a major challenge for economies and labour markets throughout the world. More than 60 per cent of the world’s employed population are …

Protecting migrant construction workers: What can we learn from China, EU, US and Latin America?

This is the third in a series of papers addressing the issue of late, partial or non-payment of wages to migrant construction workers. Our work has a specific focus on …

Respecting Trade Union Rights in Global Value Chains: Practical Approaches for Business

 

Women on the Move in a Changing Climate: A discussion paper on gender, climate & mobility

The sudden and slow onset impacts of climate change — in combination with other socioeconomic, political and environmental factors — are among the prominent drivers of human movement. Climate-related mobility can take many forms. …

UN Secretary-General announces new Climate Action Summit jobs initiative; urges countries to join

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today announced a new initiative aimed at ensuring that decent job creation and protecting livelihoods are at the center of countries’ efforts to boost climate …

Fig Leaf for Fashion. How social auditing protects brands and fails workers

Over the past few decades activists, worker rights organisations and journalists have reported extensively on labour abuses, such as child labour, excessive overtime, violence, and poverty wages in factories producing …

The long and winding road to respecting workers’ rights in supply chains

Companies often talk about being on a human rights ‘journey’; a long and winding course with many stops along the way. On the other hand, they are never on a …

In Harm’s Way: UCLA Study Finds Child Labor Protections Lacking in Many Countries

“Despite international commitments made by nearly all of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states, dozens of countries lack important legal protections against children doing work that could be harmful …

Outsourcing exploitation: global labor-value chains

“Fast Retailing, the Japanese company behind the clothing brand Uniqlo, is “the second-largest apparel maker by market value” behind the Spanish company Zara. In 2015, the operating profits of Uniqlo Japan alone …

HOT GOODS PART I: ROOTING OUT FORCED LABOR IN SUPPLY CHAINS USING THE “HOT GOODS” PROVISIONS OF THE FLSA

“In June of 2019, the owner of a Utah pecan farm was ordered to pay $1 million in back wages to victims of exploitative child labor in violation of the …