6. Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining in Global Supply Chains

This chapter addresses freedom of association (FOA) and collective bargaining (CB) in global supply chains. FOA and CB rights are internationally recognized as core and fundamental human rights of global citizens. Thus, in 1998 when the International Labour Organization recast its objectives to promote “decent work,” FOA and CB were among the “core labor rights,” along with the freedom from child and forced labor and freedom from discrimination. The chapter uses diverse datasets from brands, auditing firms, multi stakeholder institutions (MSIs), and Better Work to assess FOA and CB in the global apparel industry and substantiate the arguments. The breadth of the data permits systematic and comprehensive analysis of the incidence and nature of FOA violations and the influence of FOA and CB on overall labor standards in the industry. FOA and CB show great promise for improving compliance with codes of conduct overall — the expressed goal of private regulation — but FOA and CB are the least supported rights in current private regulation efforts. In other words, most companies with private regulation programs are eschewing the very rights that could potentially improve the functioning of their private regulation programs.