Effective systems of business accountability to protect labour standards in supply chains require several elements to be in place.
1. Establish recognised standards
First, there is a need to establish widely recognised standards that clearly define business responsibilities for respecting and protecting labour rights, as well as for providing avenues for remedy when rights are violated. There are still some gaps in the international development and recognition of such standards. Generally speaking however, this is a step where significant international progress has been made, with both legal and voluntary standards contributing to the clarification and recognition of business obligations.
2. Support business capacity
Second, supply chain accountability systems cannot fully support labour rights unless businesses have the required capacities to fulfil their recognised responsibilities. Again, existing supply chain governance schemes have made some important contributions to building understanding and capacity in executive and operational staff, and in some cases also to supporting changes to internal corporate policies, procedures, and resourcing. Nonetheless, the level of understanding and capacity remains extremely uneven within and between companies engaged in global supply chains, and this continues to be an important area for ongoing change. Moreover, many businesses remain reluctant to engage and empower worker organisations and other external stakeholders within supply chain governance systems, despite extensive evidence suggesting that worker-oriented approaches can significantly increase the effectiveness (and legitimacy) of such systems.
