For more than a decade, technology, clothing and other sectors with globe-spanning supply chains have been implementing codes of conduct and monitoring compliance through auditing. Today, there is growing consensus among activists, academic researchers and many brands and retailers that the results fall short of the ambition of broadly improving conditions.

Without the ability to maintain “sustainable supervision” in factories through unions or other forms of independent workers’ organisations, labour rights experts predict sustainable improvements will remain elusive. Despite brands’ strong commitments in principle to workers’ freedom of association, few successful trade unions exist in supplier factories in the developing nations that are the core of the manufacturing industries.

Are companies as committed to workers’ rights to organise as they profess?

Please login to view whole article - or subscribe here.
For a free two week trial to Ethical Corporation online, please click here.