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.
Uniqlo, Inditex and Skechers targeted by new legal action over forced labour Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders With Chinaâs 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.
RĂ©glementaire EU: French MPs back ambitious due diligence directive National legislation On 28 June, the French National Assembly’s European Affairs Committee adopted a âpolitical opinionâ on the proposed EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, on the initiative of MPs Sophia Chikirou (LFI-NUPES) and Mireille Clapot (Renaissance). It calls for the European Parliament’s position to be followed rather than that of the EU Council,…
Société Générale to offer digitalisation related guarantees and social coverage to its employees worldwide Transnational industrial relations On 23 June, French banking group Société Générale renewed, for a second time, the global agreement on employee rights that it initially signed with UNI Global Union in 2015 and again in 2019 on its first renewal. The document reinforces its commitments vis-à -vis due diligence, countering harassment, progress towards gender equality and it also inaugurates guarantees over digitisation, notably on AI. Above all, the text introduces death cover as well as maternity/paternity leave entitlements for all 117,000 employees worldwide.
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-Ă -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 âSupply Chain Due Diligence Actâ (LkSG), which came into force on 01 January 2023.
Exclusif RĂ©glementaire 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.
Corporate due diligence (part 1/2): six years on since French due diligence legislation came into force and essential fundamentals remain wanting Frame of reference/standards With the first wave of due diligence related lawsuits now appearing in the  courts, mind RH has attempted to gauge just how much the 2017 landmark due diligence legislation has really changed the situation for the major corporate groups that come within the legislationâs scope. While almost all the relevant companies now comply with the mandatory publication of a vigilance plan, the real impact of the law remains limited for several reasons ranging from minimal compliance levels, to restricted appropriation (primarily just the CSR teams), and again to a paucity of jurisprudence.
RĂ©glementaire EU: European Parliament proposing a stronger version of the due diligence directive European legislation On 25 April the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) adopted a text, which mind RH has obtained, that strengthens the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council, on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD), as put forward by the European Commission in 2022. This text sets out a position juxtaposing the European Councilâs December 2022 watered down version in an attempt to influence the ultimate compromise that is being hoped for by the end of this year.
Exclusif Teleperformance: global agreement committing to trade union freedom eventually signed after years of conflict Transnational industrial relations On 01 December 2022 French digital business solutions group Teleperformance succumbed and signed a global agreement on social responsibility. The text, which mind RH has obtained, commits Teleperformance both to guaranteeing freedom of association wherever it is poorly guaranteed by law and to complying with due diligence obligations; two issues over which the company has been facing litigation.
EU: Council adopts position on due diligence directive, reducing its scope European legislation On 1 December, the Council of the European Union adopted its position on the corporate sustainability due diligence directive, presented in February by the European Commission. The text, which should make it possible to hold companies accountable for human rights,…
