Workers Symposium

Global Supply Chains: International Labour Standards needed to implement Decent Work

The international symposium on decent work in Global supply chains calls for ratification and implementation of International labour standards, and strengthening of trade unions in Multinationals Enterprises.

Press release | Geneva | 17 December 2015
The ACTRAV Team on the panel discussing Global Supply Chains
GENEVA (ACTRAV INFO) – The ratification and implementation of ILO core Conventions is a key element for credible policy on Global Supply Chains (GSC), according to an International Symposium organized by the ILO’ Bureau for Workers Activities (ACTRAV).

‘The ratification and implementation of International Labour Standards (ILS), in particular of the ILO core conventions and of those ensuring income security, better working conditions and secure employment relationships, are key elements of a credible policy on GSC. The effective implementation of these standards, via national law and legal systems, are a prerequisite for leveraging working conditions in GSC,’ the symposium concluded.

‘Multinationals Enterprises and Businesses have a responsibility to respect ILS in their companies and throughout their global supply chains,’ the symposium added.

Some 100 trade union representatives, senior ILO officials and experts from Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and the Arab regions, called for strengthening of Trade Unions and improvement of collective bargaining in GSC.

‘It is crucial to develop cross border labour relations for strengthening collective bargaining and the capacity for trade unions to organize workers in MNEs and in their supply chains,’ participants added in the Summary Conclusions and Recommendations of the meeting.

Participants to the symposium discussed on how best to promote Decent Work in the Global Supply Chains.

The symposium was held in Geneva from 15th to 17th December 2015.

The challenges of Decent Work in Global Supply Chains

ACTRAV Director Maria Helena André discusses the challenges linked to decent work in global supply chains, particularly for the trade union movement.

For more information, please contact:
Mamadou SOUARE | +41 (0)79 193 19 49 | souare@ilo.org
Claude AKPOKAVIE | +41 (0)22 799 77 11 | akpokavie@ilo.org