Great Britain: companies urged to get involved in suicide prevention Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders On 11 September 2023 the UK executive published its ‘Suicide prevention strategy for England: 2023 to 2028’ policy paper,…
Canada: investigations launched against Walmart and Hugo Boss after allegations of Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders Following complaints from a group of NGOs, an investigation has been launched into Walmart and Hugo Boss which are two of three companies being accused of sourcing from factories suspected of using forced Uyghur labour.
Brazil: delivery platform iFood sanctioned by the courts for anti-union practices Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders Following revelations in the press that communications agencies working on behalf of the delivery platform iFood were spying on striking delivery workers, the courts in Brazil have imposed a series of sanctions against the private company, which will have to make public amends and finance a plan to strengthen the rights of its employees.
Uniqlo, Inditex and Skechers targeted by new legal action over forced labour Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders With China’s Xinjiang province providing 20% of the world's cotton supplies, legal action has been launched for a second time in France against three major retailing businesses: Uniqlo, Inditex and Skechers. In Brussels, the European Commission may be moving towards US-style legislation that targets products produced using forced labour and reverses the burden of proof.
Netherlands: a Guide for handling reports of sexual harassment in the workplace Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders The Dutch government has published a “Guide to reporting sexually inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.” The aim is to help companies manage these types of situations.…
United Kingdom: 200 companies named and shamed for not paying minimum wage Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders Having threatened to “name and shame” those companies that fail to pay their staff the minimum wage, the UK government kept its promise by publishing a list of over 200 employers on 21 June.…
Germany: complaint filed against VW, BMW, & Mercedes Benz for breaching human rights due diligence obligations in Xinjiang Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders On 21 June the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) confirmed that it had filed a complaint against Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes Benz, accusing them of failing to exercise their due diligence obligations vis-à-vis their Chinese subcontractors. The NGO is drawing material for the complaint from reports indicating human rights violations against the Uyghur people living in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR - a province within the People's Republic of China (PRC)). This is the first time in Germany that a complaint has invoked the German ‘Supply Chain Due Diligence Act’ (LkSG), which came into force on 01 January 2023.
United Kingdom: workplace standard issued for menopause and menstruation support Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders The British Standards Institute, the UK’s national standards body, has published a document setting out how employers should support staff dealing with menopause and menstruation. “The data suggests thousands of women are leaving the workforce at this stage [menopause],…
United Kingdom: government reiterates commitment to fostering salary transparency Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders In response to an open letter published by the recruitment platform Liberty Hive, which in January launched a campaign calling for a law requiring salary transparency on the part of companies,…
Exclusif Réglementaire Corporate due diligence (part 2/2): no longer applying just to large French corporations Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders Since the start of 2023, corporate due diligence is no longer the preserve of the French statute books with German legislation now entering into force and discussions over the adoption of an EU Directive set for before the end of the year. While corporate vigilance plans are often incomplete and due diligence is slow to become effective, an growing number of stakeholders are nonetheless taking the issue on board. Indeed the topic is now becoming both an area for inter-corporate co-operation as well as a topic for intra-company social dialogue. Below, we provide some feedback from major names including Engie, Vinci, and Carrefour.
