Binding agreements: building worker safety and reducing risk21 March, 2024With increasing recognition that voluntary, corporate self-monitoring of factories is a failed mechanism comes growing interest in binding agreements between global companies and trade unions as a more reliable route to effective human rights due diligence in supply chains. On 14 March, IndustriALL co-organized, with the New York City Comptroller’s Office, the third in a series of investor roundtables on the subject.
Workers continue to fight after Next’s Sri Lanka factory closure 15 July, 2025In May, more than 1,400 workers were reportedly dismissed via a WhatsApp message when UK retailer Next closed its wholly owned factory in Sri Lanka without proper notice. Two months on, the affected workers and their union remain determined to challenge what they call an unlawful and irresponsible closure. Those who refused to sign resignation letters are now unemployed while their case is heard by the Department of Labour’s Employment Unit. Many face severe hardship during Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, with some skipping meals daily.
Pushing for legally binding agreements9 September, 2024To advance garment and textile company support for binding agreements in their supply chains, IndustriALL is working to raise institutional investor awareness of the model and encourage investors to engage their companies to become signatories.
Samsung electronics workers announce indefinite strike12 July, 2024The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) in South Korea has mobilized 6,000 members to join the first strike in the 55-year history of Samsung Electronics at the company’s semiconductor facility in Hwaseong. The strike was called over failed collective bargaining negotiations and union busting.
Amazon: Stop free-riding on worker safety, sign the Accord today!25 April, 2024IndustriALL Global Union and Uni Global Union are calling on Amazon to sign the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry.
Malaysia’s booming electronics industry leaves little room for workers’ rights 21 May, 2024Malaysia has become a hotspot for global electronics and semiconductor investment, with country's electrical and electronics export seeing a sharp increase of 54.2 per cent. However, the surge of electronics and semiconductor investment in Malaysia is sharply contrasted with low unionization; only six per cent of all Malaysian workers are unionized, the majority in the public sector.
Unions push for stronger human rights protections in the base metals sector4 October, 2024Trade unions are intensifying efforts to ensure that human rights due diligence (HRDD) frameworks lead to meaningful improvements in workers' conditions within the base metals sector. At a workshop held in Prague on 3-4 October, IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll Europe gathered union representatives from around the globe to address the industry's notorious risks to workers' rights and safety. Supported by the European Commission, the event focused on how unions can actively shape HRDD processes and hold companies accountable.
ArcelorMittal trade union global action day: stop deaths at work NOW! 13 September, 2024Today, trade unions at ArcelorMittal sites across the globe are coming together in light of the mounting death toll at the company’s sites to say enough is enough!
Global union committee advances workers' rights in Inditex' supply chain 17 October, 2024The Inditex global union committee was established following provisions in the global framework agreement signed in 2019. The committee is empowered to implement the GFA, to share best practices in promoting the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, and to increase local unions’ involvement in the application of the GFA.
Myanmar's garment workers under siege31 October, 2024A pillar of Myanmar’s economy even before the coup, the textile and garment industry has become an important way for the country’s military rulers to inject foreign money into a collapsing economy. And workers are paying the price.
