Labour Rights
Labour rights in the Fairtrade system
Fairtrade commissioned an independent study to examine the working and living conditions of workers, including hired labourers, in smallholder settings for cocoa production in West Africa and banana production in Latin America and the Caribbean that are part of Fairtrade certified Small-scale Producer Organisations (SPOs).
This research involved a mapping and contextual analysis of the nature and types of labour engaged in SPOs to understand on-the-ground labour realities and challenges, and make concrete proposals to improve access to workers’ rights and wellbeing.
In their landing page, Fairtrade made public the 11-page executive summary of the full report. Fairtrade also published a Policy Briefing by the authors, and Fairtrade’s Management Response.
UK MSA evaluation indicators
Our indicators of corporate performance under the UK MSA underwent a review and public consultation in 2020. Please see here the expanded set of 67 indicators.
2nd (2019) benchmarking of Global Governance
RE 100 Index
The Global Governance Real Estate (RE) 100 Index ranks the compliance and conformance with the UK Modern Slavery Act (MSA) and good practice in human rights of London’s largest commercial landlords by square foot.
As a group, the 2019 Global Governance RE 100’s average combined score was 39%.
The 2018/19 RE 100 league table was commissioned by the Global Governance Research Fund (GGRF). The initial contributors to the GGRF are BRE and Marshalls.
2nd (2019) benchmarking of Global Governance
FTSE 100 Index
Our second FTSE 100 MSA Benchmark shows year-on-year improvements in Modern Slavery statements by 87% of the 24 companies that had a new statement in 2019. Yet more work lies ahead as the average combined score is 48% (a cumulative score comprising legal compliance, legal conformance, and good practice). For details, check out the new League Table and download scorecards.
For the press release, click here, and here a thoughtful article in Edie by Sarah George.
The 2018/19 FTSE 100 league table was commissioned by the Global Governance Research Fund (GGRF). The initial contributors to the GGRF are BRE and Marshalls.
Anti-slavery actions by Great Britain's FTSE 100 and Real Estate 100 companies
Great Britain's FTSE 100 stock index makes up 80% of the public companies' market capitalisation in the country. Our second Modern Slavery Act (MSA) benchmarking study therefore hones in on these companies, as well as the top 100 real estate holders/developers in Great Britain. Even amongst the well-heeled, legal compliance gaps abound. Yet the study also reveals robust anti-slavery programs, identifying their nuts and bolts.
A big thank you to Sustain Worldwide for facilitating this work through the Global Governance Research Fund!
2018
UK MSA Benchmarking
Study
Having analyzed the disclosure performance and anti-slavery good practice of a representative sample of 6,501 UK-registered organisations subject to the UK Modern Slavery Act, we are pleased to share our macro- and micro-level findings in our report entitled: "Corporate Compliance with the UK Modern Slavery Act – 2017/18".
2017 Labor
Grievance
Mechanism
Chapter
As worker-level grievance mechanisms are the ultimate form of quality control on the conduct of fair and productive labor operations, DI's Jesse Hudson and co-author Mark Winters were thrilled to author an Ethical Trading Initiative-commissioned paper "NGO Leadership in Grievance Mechanisms and Access to Remedy in Global Supply Chains" and to present it on Nov. 30, 2017 in Geneva. It explores the roles of NGOs in shaping and operating effective grievance mechanisms, takes a deep-dive into two such mechanisms led by Amader Kotha and Issara Institute, and explores current issues.
2016 TISCA-CA
Benchmarking
Study
Also for 2016, DI evaluated private sector compliance with California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (SB 657):
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Here the study's report;
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Here the report's press release;
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The Good, The Bad & The Tricky: CA-TISCA Disclosures 2016 is a resource that assesses specific language examples;
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To compare companies' anti-slavery and anti-conflict scores click here.
eLRT
DI's Chris Bayer headed the development of a B2B Anti-Slavery Reporting Template. Commissioned by iPoint, the electronic Labor Rights Template (eLRT), is a free, open-access, Excel-based, business-to-business (B2B) reporting tool designed to support companies in their compliance with global human trafficking and modern-day slavery legislation. Here the press release, and here the tool's home on the web.
2015 TISCA-CA
Benchmarking
Study
Almost four years since the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act's mandated disclosure provisions went into effect on January 1, 2012, in 2015 we individually assessed 1,504 qualifying companies’ statements against eight (8) compliance criteria based on the law’s core requirements (resulting in a compliance score), and seven (7) affirmative conduct indicators (yielding an affirmative conduct score). In addition, the study collected 19 pertinent data points of interest per disclosure.
Scrutinizing all pertinent corporate disclosures provided a first macro perspective not only of the compliance landscape but also the micro-level efforts companies are making to confront human trafficking and slavery-like practices in their supply chain.
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Click here to download a copy of our 2015 Corporate Compliance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 report.
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Here the 2015 report's press release.
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For a pdf with the legal compliance and affirmative conduct scores of all evaluated companies for 2015, click here.
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For a searchable table of qualifying companies with their evaluation status, URL to statements and scores for 2015, click here.