Dossier
Everyone has the right to work. The right to work is a basis for the realisation of other human rights and for a life in dignity. It includes the opportunity to earn a living through freely chosen or accepted work. Fundamental to this is, on the one hand, the availability of employment opportunities and, on the other, ensuring non-discrimination in all aspects of work. Forced labour is prohibited under international law.
Closely related to the right to work are the right to just and favourable conditions of work and trade union-related rights, i.e. fair wages, equal pay for equal work, the guarantee of a minimum wage, safe and healthy working conditions, adequate working hours and rest periods, and respect for human dignity in relation to all types of work. Workers must also be guaranteed the right to organise and bargain collectively for better working conditions and living standards. They must have the right to form and join a trade union of their choice and to strike.
Many human rights violations occur at the beginning of supply chains, e.g. child labour on plantations or the displacement of people for mining projects. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights stipulate that companies proactively and systematically analyse the risks along their entire supply chain and then take measures that address the extent and scope of human rights violations and their own ability to influence them. Central elements of the UN Guiding Principles are transparency and reporting. These must ensure that companies actually address possible human rights violations and environmental damage, uncover grievances and take appropriate action.
International Organising, Rights for Minority Groups
LGBTQIA+ Inclusion within the Global Trade Union MovementMira Fey
International Organising, Social Rights, Supply Chains
After the EU Corporate Sustainability DueDiligence Directive is before the UN TreatyKarolin Seitz
International Organising, Right to Food, Social Rights, Supply Chains
Cheap Wine, Bitter AftertasteRight to Health, Social Rights
Double Standards and Hazardous Pesticides from Bayer and BASFPeter Clausing, Lena Luig, Jan Urhahn, Wiebke Beushausen
Socio-Ecological Transformation
Hazardous Pesticides from Bayer and BASFRosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, INKOTA-netzwerk, Khanyisa, MISEREOR, Campanha Permanente Contra os Agrotóxicos e Pela Vida
International Organising, Right to Social Protection, Supply Chains
Amazon Workers Strike BackHans-Christian Stephan
Right to Food, Social Rights, Supply Chains
Are We Heading for the Next Global Food Crisis?Marita Wiggerthale
International Organising, International Politics, Right to Food, Right to Health, Right to Social Protection, Social Rights
The unions facing COVID-19: the Swiss experienceAlessandro Pelizzari
International Organising, International Politics, Right to Social Protection, Social Rights, United Nations
The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of workUma Rani
International Organising, Social Rights, Supply Chains, Women's Rights
Is the ILO implementing the decent work agenda in global supply chains?Silvana Cappuccio
International Organising, Social Rights, Women's Rights
Time to Re-Open Unfinished ConversationsRoula Seghaier
International Organising, Right to Food, Social Rights
Exploitation and Gender Discrimination in South Africa’s Wine MinesCarmen Louw, Kim Naser, Colette Solomon
International Organising, Right to Health, Social Rights
How COVID-19 has ignited new struggles over workers’ health and safety Mark BergfeldInternational Organising, Right to Food, Social Rights, Supply Chains
Labour rights in agriculture – time for new strategies Benjamin LuigRight to a Healthy Environment, Right to Food, Social Rights, Socio-Ecological Transformation
Pesticides: An Expensive BusinessBASIC, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Corporate Europe Observatory, European Environmental Bureau, Good Food Good Farming, INKOTA, Public Eye, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung and SOS Faim
International Politics, Social Rights, Supply Chains, United Nations
A Binding Treaty for TransnationalsRosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung