Read this article in:
English
5 February, 2026IndustriALL Global Union and Electronics Watch have signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen their collaboration in protecting and promoting workers’ rights across global electronics and low-emission vehicle supply chains.
The agreement brings together IndustriALL’s global trade union network and Electronics Watch’s industry-independent monitoring system, which supports over 1,500 public buyers in Europe and Australia. By combining organizing power with worker-driven monitoring and public procurement leverage, the partners aim to deliver concrete improvements for workers in complex, globalized supply chains.
Under the MoU, the two organizations commit to promoting freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, addressing labour rights violations, particularly those affecting vulnerable workers, and advancing effective human rights due diligence. The collaboration will focus on facilities across the electronics supply chain, including mines, smelters, refineries and manufacturing sites, especially where workers are organized or seeking to organize with IndustriALL affiliates.
A central pillar of the partnership is worker-driven monitoring and remediation. Electronics Watch will share relevant monitoring findings, subject to confidentiality. While IndustriALL and its affiliates will provide evidence from workplaces where union busting, anti-union discrimination or bad-faith bargaining is taking place. Together, the organizations will coordinate action to ensure remediation of violations, trade union recognition through free and fair processes and meaningful collective bargaining that improves wages, working conditions and job security.
The MoU also establishes clear mechanisms for coordination, governance and communication. Joint initiatives will be guided by agreed decision-making structures, regular meetings and shared monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess progress and impact. Where appropriate, joint steering committees will be set up for specific projects, ensuring transparency and accountability.
By formalizing this collaboration, IndustriALL and Electronics Watch aim to drive long-term, structural improvements in the electronics industry, centering workers’ voices, strengthening solidarity and ensuring that public procurement contributes to respect for labour rights throughout global supply chains.
IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Høie, said:
“The new agreement will strengthen worker-driven approaches in global supply chains. Effective human rights due diligence must be rooted in freedom of association, strong trade unions, and collective bargaining that delivers real improvements for workers.”
Image: Shutterstock