What is OECD Guideline for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (the Guidelines) are guidelines made for multinational companies to promote sustainable development and address the negative impacts of business on people, the planet, and society. The Guidelines offer voluntary principles and standards for responsible business conduct, aligning with applicable laws and internationally recognized standards. While some topics covered by the Guidelines may already be addressed by national laws and international commitments, they provide recommendations that go beyond legal requirements. It's important to note that the government's recommendation for companies to follow the Guidelines is separate from matters of legal liability and enforcement. Since their introduction in 1976, the Guidelines have been periodically updated to address changing societal challenges and the evolving landscape of international business. The 2023 update, which comes after the previous update in 2011, reflects insights gained from experience and responds to pressing social, environmental, and technological priorities that societies and businesses face today. What is being updated? The update process involved the 51 Adherents to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises and multiple key stakeholders from the private and public sectors. The updates involve two public consultations open to stakeholders from all countries, representing the diverse perspectives of businesses, workers, and civil society. The overall key updates are as follows. For more detailed updates, you can visit OECD’s official page . Encouraging enterprises to align with internationally agreed goals on climate change and biodiversity. Introducing recommendations for risk-based due diligence regarding technology, including data collection and utilization, throughout its development, financing, sale, licensing, trade, and use. Providing guidelines on how enterprises should conduct due diligence concerning the impacts and business relationships associated with their products and services. Enhancing protection for vulnerable individuals and groups, including those who voice concerns about business conduct. Updating recommendations on disclosing information related to responsible business conduct. Expanding due diligence recommendations to address all forms of corruption. Recommending that enterprises ensure their lobbying activities align with the Guidelines. Strengthening procedures to ensure the visibility, effectiveness, and functional equivalence of National Contact Points for Responsible Business Conduct. Key Areas that Impact Global Buyers with Complex Supply Chain The updates have a broad impact across various aspects of the original Guideline. The following two areas; General Policies + Employment + Industrial Relations Specific Policies, may have the highest impact on the global buyers with complex supply chain. General Policies: Key Points What it means for Global Buyers Due diligence should be risk-based and proportionate to the severity and likelihood of adverse impacts, recommending enterprises to prioritize actions based on their significance. Specific geographies, commodities or industries have known risks – take immediate actions to educate + prevent on these issues. Conduct thorough and regular risk assessments that help you prioritize improvement and remediation actions based on the potential impact. Expectation for enterprises to engage in meaningful consultation with individuals or groups who may be adversely affected by their activities. Continuous engagement channels with stakeholders; including your suppliers, workers’ representatives and other stakeholders to prevent + remediate risks. Responsibility for adverse impacts should not be shifted from the entity causing them to the enterprise with which it has a business relationship. Buyers can no longer shift responsibility to supplier, meaning that implementing a system with mechanism + tools to educate, prevent, remediate, and improve the supply chain is a key success factor. Responsible engagement, rather than disengagement, should be pursued when there is a realistic prospect of improvement over time, with disengagement only being considered responsibly if necessary. A systematic identification process + improvement plan that encourages ongoing collaboration to drive positive change throughout the supply chain. Prevent reprisals against individuals investigating or raising concerns about their operations, products, or services, and foster a safe environment for voicing concerns. The mechanism + channels that protect individuals who raise concerns or report issues, then address those accordingly. Employment + Industrial Relations Specific Policies: Key Points What it means for Global Buyers Respect for workers' rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Educate suppliers, and their line managers to uphold and respect workers' rights to freely associate and engage in collective bargaining. Obligation for enterprises to provide a safe and healthy working environment, aligning with the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Ensure that suppliers create and maintain a safe and healthy working environment for their employees by supporting them with tools + education programs. Preventing human trafficking, forced labor, and coercive practices, while promoting transparency in addressing forced labor risks associated with operations, products, and services. Actively educate on and prevent human trafficking, forced labor, and coercive practices through education + prevention methods. The need for training programs that anticipate future changes, such as societal, environmental, and technological shifts, automation, digitalization, just transition, and sustainable development. Training programs that prepare workers for future changes and challenges. Stressing that enterprises should prevent reprisals against individuals investigating or raising concerns about their operations, products, or services, and foster a safe environment for voicing concerns. Mechanisms + tools for confidential reporting, whistleblower protection, and grievance redressal to encourage open communication and ensure that concerns are addressed promptly and effectively. Clarifying that providing reasonable notice to worker representatives and relevant authorities about major operational changes includes automation-related collective or large-scale layoffs or dismissals. Continuous engagement to keep workers informed on significant operational changes, particularly those involving automation that may result in collective or large-scale layoffs or dismissals. As most Human Rights Due Diligence laws and regulations are based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines, it is important for global buyers to keep informed and update their processes to meet these guidelines. By incorporating such guidelines into supply chain, global buyers can mitigate legal risks, protect their reputation, and align with global expectations for responsible business conduct. If you are interested in learning more about how to take your first step in making your supply chain sustainable – download our eBook on Strategies for Effective HRDD in Your Supply Chain.

Download our eBook on Strategies for Effective HRDD in Your Supply Chain to learn more about this topic. According to the United Nations, “human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.” Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) is a general term for the kinds of laws that require companies to undertake proactive measures to ensure business practices and operations do not violate human rights. These laws require companies to regularly assess, identify, remediate, and prevent human rights violations within their business and with varying scopes of application up and down the value chain. This starts with traditional due diligence to confirm the identity, legal status, policies, and practices of potential contractual partners, but adds additional responsibilities once a supply relationship is entered into, including remediation of violations. This limits a company’s ability to remove itself from a problematic supply chain and implies that supply relationships should be entered into with a long-term view—hence, the due diligence stage (pre-contract) is the decision point that will determine the kinds of obligations and potential liabilities you have with respect to this supplier and their associated stakeholders after you sign the contract. In this whitepaper, we will use “due diligence” to refer to all of the obligations that companies have under HRDD laws, not just traditional due diligence. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) published by UNHCR in 2011 are the authority on defining human rights in the business context and are the basis for HRDD principles that countries have used as the foundation of their HRDD laws. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights has three pillars: 1. The States Duty to Protect Human Rights States set clear expectations that companies domiciled in their territory/jurisdiction respect human rights in every country and context in which they operate. 2. A Company’s Responsibility to Respect Human Rights To meet the responsibility to respect, business enterprises must have the necessary policies and processes in place. The Guiding Principles identify three components of this responsibility. First, companies must institute a policy commitment to meet the responsibility to respect human rights. Second, they must undertake ongoing human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for their human rights impacts. Finally, they must have processes in place to enable remediation for any adverse human rights impacts they cause or contribute to. 3. Access to Remedy One of the fundamental principles of the international human rights system is that when a right is violated, victims must have access to an effective remedy. Since the adoption of these principles, a new era of socially responsible and sustainable business has taken shape and continues to build momentum. Many governments and businesses have used these principles to set regulations, policies, and set long-term goals. Recently we have seen several governments enact far-reaching laws and regulations in line with the Guiding Principles to help regulate businesses and their supply chains and ultimately protect workers. By implementing HRDD practices, companies can ensure that their products and services are created without harming the environment or violating human rights. This can help build trust with customers, stakeholders, and investors, while also minimizing legal and reputational risks. Furthermore, HRDD helps companies to promote sustainability and improve the overall well-being of their employees, suppliers, and communities where they operate. Overall, adopting HRDD is a critical step towards building a responsible and ethical supply chain, which is increasingly important for consumers and society as a whole. Globally HRDD regulations are being passed and more to come Several countries and regions have passed laws over the last few years regulating industries and imports into their country. Laws range from issue specific to disclosure reports to national-level mandatory due diligence and reporting that cover all human rights. Here are a few examples (this is far from exhaustive, and laws and regulations are being enacted, passed, and updated in real-time– so please check with legal counsel) Issue Specific Laws The UK , US and Australia Modern Slavery Act , and the Dutch Child Labor Due Diligence Act . Disclosure Laws The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act and the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU CSRD) Mandatory Supply Chain HRDD France , Switzerland , the Netherlands , Norway , Germany , Japan . These are also proposed in Canada , Spain , and the EU . The enforcement mechanisms vary from case to case and could result in hefty fines or customs seizure of goods. Some laws allow for indiscriminate detention of specific types of goods, meaning importers are responsible for proving their supply chains are clear of violations. Buyers will be particularly sensitive about supplier selection and retention based on their ability to comply with human rights requirements. How Do Human Rights Due Diligence Regulations Effect Global Buyers Since January 2023, governments and NGOs have started to enforce and test the limits of the laws through investigations and in court. A complaint was filed in early 2023 against three major retailers alleging that their failure to become signatories to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh is a violation of their due diligence obligations under the LkSG. In the UK, the Uyghur World Congress has brought a suit in London’s High Court over the government’s failure to ban imports of cotton products made with forced labor. And in the US, an environmental law organization filed suit against a global commodities trader for breaching the OECD guidelines on responsible business conduct for its operations in soya supply chains in Brazil and allegedly causing environmental damage and human rights violations. While these cases are still ongoing, the uncertainty and potential liability evidenced by these complaints and claims put global companies on notice about their human rights and environmental obligations. Having HRDD in your supply chain contracts can help you drive not only positive social impacts but also financial impacts. HRDD can help you avoid legal risks and reputational damage that may result from being associated with human rights abuses. Having good HRDD policies and practices can also enhance your competitiveness and attractiveness to customers, investors, and stakeholders who value ethical and sustainable business practices and see a lack of due diligence as a risk. Furthermore, these practices can also improve your operational efficiency and quality by reducing disruptions, conflicts, and grievances in your supply chains. Technological tools like Labor Solutions’ WOVO can help global companies understand and manage their supply chain risks at scale, and to collect the data they need to make required annual reports under new HRDD laws.

The next decade will be pivotal for the future of business and supply chain due diligence. The UNGPs 10+ Roadmap for the Next Decade announced in December 2021 highlights the importance of "demonstrating human rights due diligence and effective engagement as well as grievance management in just transition planning" for companies. Labor Solutions is helping companies address human rights issues in a way that not only meets the needs of the due diligence laws but creates long term sustainable change for people within supply chains. It was a landmark year for mandatory human rights due diligence legislation with new laws proposed or enacted in the EU, the Netherlands, New York State, Norway, Germany, and Canada. While negotiations are still ongoing for some of these laws, passage in some form seems all but inevitable. Much like the GDRP, put together, these laws have broad reach and will undoubtedly impact companies globally, even those without operations in the countries from where laws originate. Human rights due diligence will become a prerequisite for doing business globally. Labor Solutions estimates 35 million companies will be held accountable for human rights violations along their value chains beginning in 2024 at the latest. Companies will need to, amongst other things; Proactively map risks; Provide accessible and anonymous grievance mechanisms to capture issues; Enact fair and transparent remediation to address issues; Educating workers, suppliers and other stakeholders of their rights and responsibilities; and Proactively seek worker input to evaluate the efficiency and outcomes of due diligence programs. Labor Solutions is committed to helping companies meet these emerging standards: 1. Map human rights risks in the workplace and supply chain using worker surveys Legislation requires companies to proactively map supply chain risks to best understand where additional resources are needed. Listening to workers is key to uncovering issues, mapping systemic, systematic or single occurrences issues. Worker Surveys are effective at proactively asking workers about their experience Often workers need someone to proactively reach out to feel comfortable reporting an issue or to even know they have experienced a violation. Over the last decade, Labor Solutions has deployed worker surveys to help companies identify gaps, key actors and systemic challenges. Examples include using surveys to; pin-point violations in the recruitment process, map worker fees, uncover poor managers and understand the scale and type of sexual harassment occurring around the workplace. Worker surveys are also useful to gather baseline information on what workers already know about their rights to help companies target training efforts or other outreach activities. They can also serve as a tool to measure the effectiveness of mitigation and remediation efforts. 2. Provide an accessible grievance mechanism for workers Many regulations mandate grievance lines to ensure the collection of these issues. Going forward companies of all sizes throughout the supply chain will need to prove they have a way to collect feedback from workers and that they have policies and actions to remediate these risks. Implementing Labor Solutions' Grievance Management and Worker Dialogue Tools will be sufficient in meeting grievance management requirements. Grievance Management Systems and Worker Dialogue Tools provide real-time constant feedback to help advocates stay ahead of violators. Companies who proactively implement their own grievance lines, will have better outcomes, both in terms of the reduction of risks and in the protection of workers. Worker Surveys are a tool to help companies set annual goals, while worker dialogue tools are used to help companies address imminent challenges, quickly pivot and make daily decisions to protect workers. 3. Implement clear and transparent remediation policies and procedures. Collecting data isn't enough. Responding and following up with workers is key to ensuring rights are protected. Building effective grievance mechanisms is core to our work, work with the Labor Solutions team to ensure the implementation of a worker voice and grievance program that works. The Labor Solutions grievance system, not only allows on-going conversation with the reporting worker, but it also allows companies to systemically send feedback and updates to all workers. The on-going communication allows for a deeper understanding of the issue. The broadcasting feature ensures all workers know the company cares and acted, encouraging workers to continue to use the system. The Labor Solutions team is also skilled at supporting companies to create grievance management policy and procedures to ensure systems work once implemented. The team also specializes is remediation support to help companies effectively respond to complex workplace challenges. 4. Streamlining digital education and technology services across global supply chains via tools is key to upskilling workers and managers to protect themselves and reduce and proactively remediate risks when they arise. Many systematic human rights challenges have existed for decades and are considered the norm by all. Education is a key step to helping workers and managers understand their rights and to speak up when something is wrong. Education also helps incentive violators to change their ways. Many violators, like migrant workers agents, are resistant to to change because the existing industry provides them no other option. By creating markets that require better and educating stakeholders about standards helps redesign the industry. eLearning is an affordable and effective tool to reach more stakeholders and ensure everyone within your supply chains knows your ethos. Labor Solutions provides a host of eLearning courses on salient human rights issues designed with industry experts, including topics on Worker Rights + Responsibilities, Forced Labor + Workplace Harassment, Family Planning + Parenting, and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Gender Discrimination + Sexual Harassment. Data from eLearning allows companies to ensure compliance. Companies are incentivized to participate the learning journey through earning badges and easily tracking and sharing progress with stakeholders. Our Dashboard shows the number of workers trained overtime and the percentage of current workers trained across your supply chain to help you measure your impact, while ensuring your current team is up to date. 5. Ending modern slavery and forced labor means promoting responsible recruitment and eliminating sexual and gender-based violence and harassment (SGBVH). Labor Solutions is developing two exciting industry-wide partnerships, both of which will lead to expanding our Worker Survey offerings for Forced Labor and Responsible Recruitment and Sexual and Gender-based Violence and Harassment (SGBVH). Get in touch with our teams directly to hear more. 6. A more robust business case for responsible sourcing in global supply chains must be built with Labor Solutions and partner organizations as research extends beyond scorecards, rankings, and tick-box ESG reporting. Leveraging data to improve business practice is a core priority for Labor Solutions. Scoring and ranking companies is an effective first step – but not a solution – to nuanced, localized issues driving worker engagement along a supply chain. Labor Solutions is committed to building robust business cases and showing our clients a thorough return on investment (ROI) for the social component of ESG. A recent article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review on the subject points out: “Returns from addressing women’s health in supply chains, for example, do not appear in quarterly sound bites, but often take years to emerge. Yet good performance on health can be a proxy for good corporate supply chain management and risk mitigation.” Consulting firms and/or academic research institutions should continue partnering with third parties like Labor Solutions to further boost the business case for engaging workers along supply chains. The Good Business Lab, the Children’s Place, and Shahi Exports have already partnered with Labor Solutions on innovative research finding that workers were 9 times more likely to use Labor Solutions’ WOVO tool than traditional grievance channels, like suggestion boxes, and ‘open door policies.’ Labor Solutions hopes to leverage this and other research-based partnerships to take our best-practice findings global and public 2022. In 2022, Labor Solutions will remain at the forefront of future trends for business and supply chain due diligence. ---- Labor Solutions, a social enterprise, leverages technology to connect, engage and educate workers to build resilient supply chains. Over a million and a half workers in 25 countries have access to Labor Solutions’ worker engagement platform, WOVO. Please reach out to our team to learn more: info@laborsolutions.tech.

New human rights due diligence (HRDD) regulations in effect around the world are creating new obligations for companies with global supply chains. In addition to adding human rights and environmental risks to your existing due diligence and compliance and reporting processes, new legislation often includes increased requirements for supply chain reporting, engagement, and support. Brands can no longer simply walk away from suppliers when issues arise, which makes knowing-your-supplier and establishing expectations and standards upfront critical to a successful business relationship. Labor Solutions can help you start these conversations by offering digital training for your suppliers on the basics of human rights due diligence. Our eLearning platform provides HRDD lessons for both corporate management, and factory-level supervisors and workers. Training on HRDD and risk-based topics serves both an operational and risk management function -- teaching management about HRDD ensures better alignment and compliance with new requirements, and teaching workers and floor managers about HRDD helps workers recognize grievances and prevent issues. We specialize in providing factories and the suppliers you work with information that is relevant to them and that aligns with what human rights due diligence means at every tier, including the types of risks that are common for particular geographies and sectors. Our eLearning lessons are designed by professional instructional designers to deliver critical information effectively using a combination of techniques and interactions to keep learners engaged. You can easily assign specific individuals or a group within each company to complete the lessons and see progress in real-time on the WOVO dashboard. The LS Human Rights Core Lesson Set is customizable Our Human Rights Core lesson set for practitioners consists of four lessons on the fundamentals of human rights due diligence: 1) an introduction and overview setting the current legislation in the context of international human rights instruments and obligations, including why it matters in countries without a human rights due diligence obligation; 2) the State’s responsibility to Protect and what companies that operate where Stares do not adequately protect human rights should do to protect themselves; 3) companies’ obligation to Respect and what this means in terms of both processes and outcomes; and finally 4) Access to Remedy and what effective remedy requires from both state and private actors, including you and your suppliers. We also have a suite of risk-based lessons, from gender-based violence and harrassment to responsible recruitment, to address specific risk areas that you identify in your sector, geographic region or supply chain. Contact us to find out more about how to incorporate a risk-based approach to your supply chain human rights due diligence. We encourage you to add your own content to these lessons to explain to your suppliers what steps, assessments, and requirements you are putting in place. By including your own steps and requirements in these online lessons, you can ensure that your suppliers globally are ready for any changes. We would be happy to work with you to add customized content about your company's human rights due diligence process in the relevant lessons. Risk Based Lessons Help Prevent Human Rights Issues In addition to our four foundational Core Human Rights Due Diligence lessons, Labor Solutions offers a suite of more than ten risk-based lessons to address risks discovered in your mHRDD assessment and identification processes. Use industry assessments, worker survey, audits, and/or management self-assessments to prioritize which risk based topics you want your supply chain in each country to focus on and improve through worker and manager eLearning. Support your suppliers to understand Human Rights Due Dilligence Provide your suppliers with the information they need to understand human rights due diligence using our eLearning platform to track completion and ensure compliance throughout your supply networks. Most suppliers are unsure of what these new legal requirements mean for their operations, so they are looking for information that helps them prepare. Then follow up with your specific assessments, surveys, grievance tools and other support— we can also help with these, just ask our team! Labor Solutions is the most used platform in the industry, and we stay ahead of your needs with our team of experienced practitioners and advisors who can help you deploy eLearning, surveys and social sustainability solutions at scale and ready to go in local languages. Check out our online learning catalog for a full list of available lessons, languages, and topics or contact Sr. Director for Partnerships and Content, Jen Green, for more details.

Labor Solutions believes in collaborating across the industry to consolidate data, ensure transparency and ultimately drive purchasing changes. Tools like Open Supply Hub are key to driving industry change, aggregating key data points helps to change purchasing practices. Labor Solutions is excited to announce in 2023, clients will be able to choose to add their Open Supply ID (OS ID) to WOVO to more easily share data with their clients and to validate their participation in WOVO on the Open Supply Hub (OSH). This will result in three key functionalities; Facilities who use WOVO to conduct worker surveys, collect worker feedback or distribute eLearning to workers, will now be able to publicly share their affiliation with WOVO on OSH. Stakeholders on Open Supply Hub, with WOVO access, will also be able to click through (with a login) to see more specific worker voice and feedback data from the facility. Facilities will also be able to use their OS ID on WOVO to more easily share data with their clients through the WOVO platform. Labor Solutions’ WOVO platform already allows facilities to report into multiple clients at once, adding OS IDs will make it easier than ever for brands to connect with their suppliers and download data. WOVO remains a supplier owned tool, sharing data will always be the choice of a facility. About Open Supply Hub We need accessible, quality supply chain data to address the biggest issues of our time. Modern slavery, GHG emissions, climate change impacts and deforestation cannot be efficiently tackled until we have open and reliable data to work with. That is exactly what Open Supply Hub is looking to create. Now live, Open Supply Hub is an accessible, collaborative, supply chain mapping platform, used and populated by stakeholders across sectors and supply chains. Try uploading, searching or downloading supply chain data for free at www.opensupplyhub.org . About Labor Solutions Labor Solutions, an impact-focused business, leverages technology build resilient supply chains by connect ing , engag ing and educat ing workers. Over a million and a half workers in 28 countries have access to Labor Solutions’ worker engagement platform, WOVO . Labor Solutions advisory services focuses on building healthy social eco-systems that engage workers, suppliers and buyers.

Learn how you can utilize WOVO to upload internal trainings on a compact Dashboard with customized digital learning tools made for your workers. 点击此处查阅中文版公告 Are you struggling to reach all your workers and ensure their training is up-to-date? Digital learning is a great way to ensure all workers receive the same training, even when you can't gather in groups. Did you know you can upload your internal trainings to WOVO, so only your workforce can access them, and you can easily track progress? Use digital learning to affordably and safely deliver curricula like; On-boarding + Induction Training Safety New COVID Regulations Simple Skills Wages Basic Manager Trainings Company Values Important Local Laws and Regulations Don’t worry its easy! Here’s how it works: Do you already have content in PowerPoint or video format? 1. Reach out to your Client Advisor 2. Send the following materials: The PowerPoint or video Up to 5 questions for your quiz (with answers) Tell us if it’s a company wide lesson or meant for specific individuals 3. Wait 2 weeks 4. Access your courses from WOVO 5. Track results on your dashboard Tips: Keep content short! It should take a worker 9-12 minutes to get through a lesson. For content longer than 9-12 minutes, break it up into shorter lessons. Each lesson should have a quiz at the end. This way you can check for understanding and you engage workers to make the content more exciting! Afraid your content is not good enough? If you don’t have your material ready to present, our eLearning team can work with you to design an engaging lesson. Need help digitizing existing face to face trainings? We can help! Just ask your client advisor. This is a great opportunity for you to increase engagement and make sure everyone has the same information. Don't miss out! Reach out to your Client Advisor today!

This post was written in collaboration with the Ethical Trading Initiative and originally posted on their website Leading industry experts, Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and Labor Solutions, collaborate to design and develop an eLearning Module to support global brands, retailers, and suppliers to implement ETI’s Access to Remedy Principles, to protect vulnerable workers, with a focus on migrant workers in international supply chains. Access to Remedy is a core component of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and refers to workers’ opportunity to both raise issues – including via operational grievance mechanisms (OGMs) – and initiate remediation. Affected rights holders should be able to claim remedy without fear of victimisation. The Access to Remedy Principles were released by ETI in 2019 to bridge the gap between supply chain realities and the vision of the UNGPs. Many workers around the world are vulnerable to workplace exploitation. They are vulnerable for different reasons and in different ways. These principles are applicable to any vulnerable workers, but they are aimed specifically at the case of migrant workers, who often face particular vulnerabilities in the workplace. Developed in consultation with a wide range of global stakeholders, including businesses, trade unions and NGOs, the 30 principles focus on: Setting up OGMs, enabling workers to raise issues at any stage of their migration journey, The need to provide appropriate remedy when harm has occurred; and How stakeholder engagement and collaboration can enable workers to meaningfully access their rights. To put these Principles into practice, ETI commissioned Labor Solutions to develop an interactive e-Module to provide brands, suppliers and retailers with step-by-step guidance illustrating the application of the Principles in practice through practical examples and several case studies. All resources are available for free and can be accessed through multiple channels, including the Principles website migrantworkerremedy.org , ETI’s own member platform the ‘ ETI Community ’ and Labor Solutions’ WOVO application from 30 May 2022. This project was funded by the UK Government through its Modern Slavery Innovation Fund with the aim to make the Principles more accessible for businesses of any size while inspiring them to take action. About the e-Module The e-Module takes approximately 90 minutes to complete. It is interactive and includes information from key resources, useful readings, references, and case studies from ETI members including ASOS, H&M Group, the Very Group and Princes Tuna Mauritius, who share success stories on their implementation of the Principles. Access the course here . The e-Module covers four topics: Understanding Vulnerability Worker Agency and Grievance Mechanisms Providing Access to Remedy Key Considerations for Businesses While the primary audiences for the e-Module  are  brands, retailers and suppliers, the module also outlines the roles and responsibilities of other supply chain stakeholders, including  trade unions and local NGOs and governments in facilitating effective access to remedy for workers. It also highlights the importance of stakeholder collaboration and worker agency in achieving these goals. Why you should complete the eLearning Module “As recent reports have indicated, great progress has been made over the last decade on the implementation of the UNGPs, but there is much more to be done to ensure vulnerable groups have greater access to effective remedy. We hope this comprehensive resource is a useful contribution to aid putting the Access to Remedy Principles into practice.” Peter McAllister, Executive Director, ETI. “The Access to Remedy Principles provide an important roadmap to making decent work a reality. We hope that this e-Module will help businesses implement the principles in practice and help protect vulnerable workers across global supply chains” Elena Fanjul-Debnam, Founder and CEO, Labor Solutions. Together, ETI and Labor Solutions call on business and other stakeholders to take action by putting the Access to Remedy Principles in practice. By taking this eLearning module and sharing it within their networks, other stakeholders can better support vulnerable workers, including migrant workers, globally.  Access the course here The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs that promotes respect for workers' rights around the globe. Our vision is a world where all workers are free from exploitation and discrimination, and enjoy conditions of freedom, security and equity. About Labor Solutions Labor Solutions, an impact-focused business, leverages technology to connect , engage and educate workers to build resilient supply chains. Over a million and a half workers in 25 countries have access to Labor Solutions’ worker engagement platform, WOVO . Workers can respond to worker surveys, report grievances and access eLearning modules on rights and responsibilities. The Labor Solutions eLearning team helps organizations and multi-stakeholder initiatives digitize their expertise and create content on diverse topics, including but not limited to human rights, worker safety and rights, labor migration, responsible business practice and recruitment, gender equality and more.

Labor Solutions launches three new digital lessons for factory workers to help address gender-based violence in the workplace. Women across the globe are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence (GBV) in their workplaces and at home, COVID has only exasperated issues. According to a study conducted by the Sunflower Women’s Centre in Guangzhou, China, 70% of female workers some point in their working life experienced a form of sexual harassment at the workplace. The Fair Wear Foundation and CNV International had similar findings, reporting that in Bangladesh alone, at least 60% of female garment workers were either threatened or intimated with violence in their workplace. "Gender-based violence is a very real and highly prevalent issue for factory workers globally. We hope our elearning courses contribute to the education and empowerment of workers and managers; creating a safer, more inclusive workplace environment that promotes a culture of mutual respect." said Labor Solutions' Principle Gender Advisor, Kira Osborne, who lead the development of the courses. The interactive course consists of three different lessons. Each lesson is carefully designed to support a comprehensive learning journey both for female and male workers. Each lessons each take approximately 12-15 minutes to complete. All WOVO and WOVO eLearning users will have free access to the course free of charge. "We know that gender-based violence rooted in gender inequality. It's impossible to fix GBV without first addressing disparity. Therefore, we designed the courses by first addressing discrimination and then addressing violence," said Sheila Schulze, Labor Solutions Head of eLearning. The course includes the following lessons: Gender Equality: Introduces the concept of gender inequality, where and how it can occur and provide recommendations on how to reflect on the past and look to the future. GBV Part 1: Explains the GBV phenomenon, the various ways it can be perpetrated, where it can occur, what its impacts are and which factors can increase its risks. GBV Part 2: Communicates the importance of breaking the silence and stigma of GBV as well as the actions to take if you experience or witness violence at the workplace. Reach out to your client advisor to learn more. Meet Kira As Labor Solutions' Principle Advisor, for Gender, Kira Osborne, works closely with clients and is a thought leader on issues of women's right, gender equality and discrimination. Ms. Osborne is a development generalist with more than ten years’ experience working alongside marginalized and vulnerable communities across South Asia, the Pacific Islands and Australia. She has a strong background in safeguarding and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. Ms. Osborne has worked organizations to support survivors of sex trafficking in Nepal, empowering female entrepreneurs in India and facilitating training and resource development for youth mental health organizations in Australia. About Labor Solutions Labor Solutions, an impact-focused business, leverages technology to connect, engage and educate workers to build resilient supply chains. Over a million and a half workers in 25 countries have access to Labor Solutions’ worker engagement platform, WOVO. Workers can respond to worker surveys, report grievances and access eLearning modules on rights and responsibilities.

Read in Español, Việt Nam, 中文 To keep workers informed and connected during COVID, a footwear factory in China choose to launch Labor Solution's worker engagement app and platform, WOVO. Before implementing WOVO, the factory primarily relied on in-person meetings and WeChat for workplace communications. While these channels were easily accessible for workers, they did not provide easy integration of additional tools to support workers or the data needed for management to make more informed decisions, especially as workers were more stressed during this challenging time and COVID regulations were changing rapidly. Management was eager to have a more effective tool to connect with workers no matter what. They were particularly interested in keeping workers engaged and informed during these challenging times, but also were keen on hearing from workers to understand their needs. This case study examines how one factory implemented and successfully promoted WOVO during COVID. Challenges: While factory management saw the benefits of WOVO, they worried that workers; would question the security and anonymity of WOVO; may not understand the new features and tools; and would be reluctant to adapt to a new platform. Management was also concerned that these challenges would result in the small human resources team feeling overwhelmed. When implementing WOVO for the first time, many factories have similar concerns. As a result, the Labor Solutions’ Client Advisory Team created an easy to implementation plan and supporting documents. Factory A’s Client Advisor was able to provide these tools and support factory management in a seamless implementation and promotion. This case outlines how Factory A used these tools to ensure a successful launch. Target: Factory management hoped to have 30% of workers registered on WOVO in the first month, and 50% within the first three months. Solutions: Easy Promotion Labor Solutions encourages and supports factories to focus WOVO promotion on addressing all the questions: Who, What, Why and How. Introduce WOVO to Workers. The WOVO launch package includes a worker-facing introductory video, led by WOVO’s ambassador Laso Robo and his animated friends, who us local language to introduce WOVO’s main functionalities, benefits and its differences from other social platforms. Laso Robo and his friends also go over the simple steps to register in the app, so workers don’t feel overwhelmed by the new platform. Factory A’s management shared the video in high traffic areas and posted it in the factory’s group chats. How to Download + Register for WOVO. The WOVO implementation package includes promotional posters and cards with QR codes for workers to scan and automatically download the app. This factory piloted WOVO’s new simplified registration process allows workers to select their own avatars and create their own credentials upon registration, providing a sense of ownership and security. Supporting Workers with Questions. While most workers were able to complete the registration without problem, management understood handholding might be needed for some workers. A WOVO Steering Committee was formed, including three HR members and ten worker representatives. For a period of two weeks, committee members spent 10 to 20 minutes every day attending morning meetings on different departments and production floors to answer workers’ questions about WOVO and provide additional guidance. From WOVO’s management portal, the Worker Engagement Dashboard, committee member was able to get live data on the registration rates of each department, which also helped them to decide which departments would need extra support. Incentivize Workers to Download. The management also utilized WOVO’s survey function to run a lucky draw among workers who registered. The lucky draw was open for two weeks, during which the registration rate spiked. Ask workers for feedback: Once the registration rate exceeded 30%, the committee sent out a test survey to all WOVO registrants for feedback on the launch process and challenges they had faced or heard about, including from those who had not been able to register. More targeted solutions were provided, such as sharing a Q&A list about WOVO in high traffic areas Ensure Long- Term Utility of WOVO for Workers. The key to workers downloading and using WOVO is making sure WOVO is useful to workers! This requires factory management to respond promptly to workers, publish useful information on WOVO, use WOVO to digitize previously analog processes, conduct eLearnings and keep WOVO up-to-date. The Labor Solutions team continued their follow up during the year to support the HR team and ensure they engaged with workers proactively and positively. Once a quarter the client advisor would check in, look at data and give feedback and tips. The HR team was also able to use their training hours to get specific trainings on better grievance management and follow up. Once management started providing updates on key complaints to the workforce, workers increased their utilization of the tool. Results: Half of workers in the factory registered on WOVO within the first two weeks and 80% in the first quarter. That covered nearly 90% of workers who used smartphones. With the help from Labor Solutions, the management also made a plan to regular monitor WOVO’s utilization data, which was lively updated on the dashboard, to keep track and further understand workers’ needs and engagement trend in the factory. About Labor Solutions Labor Solutions, an impact-focused business, leverages technology to connect, engage and educate workers to build resilient supply chains. Over a million and a half workers in 25 countries have access to Labor Solutions’ worker engagement platform, WOVO. Workers can respond to worker surveys, report grievances and access eLearning modules on rights and responsibilities.

Read in Español , Việt Nam , 中文 Eastman Exports, an apparel manufacturer in India, has onboarded Labor Solutions throughout all its’ 10 facilities to provide workers with technology for Education, Connection and Engagement. Recently Eastman has decided to refocus efforts on ensuring worker safety and engagement and determined WOVO was key to this strategy. The agreement brings together the management and workers through Labor Solutions’ flagship all-in-one tool, WOVO. WOVO allows workers to access digital trainings from partners, communicate with their employer anonymously, submit safety reports, view their pay slip and give input through worker surveys. WOVO provides a secure and anonymous grievance line for workers, a key mandate for companies under several new human rights due diligence laws globally. The WOVO dashboard allows the Eastman Exports team to live secure and anonymized data to track trends and understand challenges quickly and directly from workers. The tool also enables the factory group to design and instantly deploy surveys to all their workers, broadcast messages, distribute pay slips, share files, and send calendar invites among other features. Eastman Exports caters to global clients including leading global apparel brands, boutiques, and high street retailers. As a fast, responsive manufacturer, the group must continuously improve their worker engagement strategy. Using WOVO will allow them to educate, connect, and engage with their workforce in real time. About Labor Solutions Labor Solutions, an impact-focused business, leverages technology to connect , engage and educate workers to build resilient supply chains. Over a million and a half workers in 25 countries have access to Labor Solutions’ worker engagement platform, WOVO . Workers can respond to worker surveys, report grievances and access eLearning modules on rights and responsibilities.