Day 2 | 8 June

Decent Work in Supply Chains

11:00-12:30 ICT

Background

The Asia- Pacific region has played a key role in the growth of Supply Chains in the last three decades. Supply chains can now be found in a multitude of sectors including agri-food, garments and textiles, electronics, and automotive manufacturing. In fact, supply chains embrace all economic activity regardless of country, region or level of development. Most supply chains are in the domestic economy. They account for 80 percent of GDP (WTO) and employ 85-95 percent of workers (ILO estimates). They now also account for a substantial portion of trade with multinational enterprises.

Asia Pacific’s rise, economically and socially, has gone hand in hand with its integration into global trade and supply chains which have in turn transformed labour markets, created opportunities for millions and reduced poverty. But on the flip side, supply chains also have decent work deficits, especially in domestic ones where most decent work deficits arise, and the pandemic has led to important disruptions, exposing both their structural and internal vulnerabilities (Alliance 8.7. report) After the pandemic, the attention has switched to how supply chains can become more resilient and sustainable and how these can represent an effective and positive entry point for the promotion of decent work.

Supply Chains can be an opportunity to encourage formalisation of economic units and workers. There is evidence that suggests that supply chain benefits also include a decline in working poverty and gains in labour productivity, as well as job quality improvements, due to modernisation and skills training. Yet, this requires an enabling environment for sustainable business provided by effective law implementation and enforcement by governments. The vast majority of supply chains is composed of SMEs. Because the formal sector is more regulated and typically subject to higher compliance and due diligence standards and oversight, human rights harm is less likely in the formal sector. Contrarywise, SMEs in the informal economy, in particular those operating in the lower tiers of supply chains, fall outside the scope of regulations and this is where most negative business-related deficits in decent work persist.

Governance issues are the main drivers of decent work deficits in supply chains, ranging from child labour and forced labour, connected to migrant workers, to discrimination, unsafe working conditions and limited access to enabling rights of freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.

Since governance remains a challenge, the way business enterprises and supply chains operate, can affect people’s enjoyment of their human rights either positively or negatively. The UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights, clearly outline the State duty to protect human rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights as well as the need for access to remedy for those whose rights have been infringed clearly define the respective complementary roles of States and businesses. They all need to be considered to ensure genuine and lasting advancement of decent work in all supply chains. These different yet complementary roles can also be found in the ILO’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration) that aims to encourage the positive contribution of business to economic and social progress and the realization of decent work for all; and to minimize and resolve the difficulties to which their operations may give rise.

Resolving decent work deficits, requires action from all actors, addressing root causes and drivers of decent work deficits through coherent action at the sectoral, national, regional and global levels, with specific attention to international labour standards, social dialogue and tripartism and a firm commitment to addressing gender disparities and inequalities in supply chains and prioritizing the inclusion and protection of groups of workers who are likely to be more exposed to vulnerable situations resulting in decent work deficits.

Objectives

The key objectives of this session are to:

Understand the characteristics of supply chains which present an opportunity for intervention to promote decent work, and characteristics that present challenges.
Explore how all stakeholders can work together to promote decent work in all supply chains (including domestic ones).

Key questions

Panelists will reflect on the following questions in relation to the Asia-Pacific region:

How can supply chain represent an effective and positive entry point for promoting decent work and what measure and/or best practices have proven to work well?
What are some of the interventions by ILO, constituents and other stakeholders in supply chains and what lesson learned can be drawn?
How can human rights due diligence support the promotion of decent work in supply chains. How can this support collective action to advance the BHR agenda?
How do the three pillars of the UNGPs support decent work in all supply chains and what progress has been made in Asia Pacific??

Speakers

Kanjana Poolkaew

Deputy Director-General
Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, Thailand

Ruttiya Bhula

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ruttiya is an academic and researcher specializing in labor market dynamics, decent work, and migration. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo and has had the honor of delivering a commencement address. Before obtaining her Ph.D., she completed a Master's Degree in Labor Economics and Human Resource Management as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Economics, both from Chulalongkorn University.

She currently serves as a Lecturer at the College of Population Studies at Chulalongkorn University and has held the position of Vice Dean since March 2019. In addition to her administrative role, she actively engages in graduate teaching, offering a diverse array of courses such as "Labor and Human Development" and "Migration under Globalization." She also plays a crucial role in extensive research endeavours and serves as an academic advisor to graduate students.

She has held various managerial and coordination positions. Since November 2019, she has skilfully led program planning and nurtured partnerships as the Director/Coordinator of the Collaborating Centre for Labour Research at Chulalongkorn University. Additionally, she contributes significantly as the Secretariat to the National Labour Research Centre, where she plays a vital role in developing labour-related policies and practices.

In her pursuit of global collaboration relating to labour, she has worked with international organizations such as the International Labour Organization on numerous technical consultancy projects. Her work with the ILO includes analysing skills mismatch in Asia and the Pacific, evaluating skills for green jobs in Thailand, and conducting comprehensive enterprise surveys. She has also played a pivotal role in drafting the first Thailand Decent Work Country Programme.

Throughout her career, she has produced a plethora of research papers and publications, delving into various topics such as skills mismatch, gender equality, migration, and labour market profiles. Her contributions to regional studies have provided insights into labour-related issues in Asia and the Pacific.

With an unwavering commitment to academic excellence, she has made remarkable contributions to the field of labour studies. She unyieldingly dedicates herself to promoting decent work, protecting labour rights, and social justice.

Athit Kong

Athit Kong, original from Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia, works in Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers Democratic Union (C. CAWDU) as President.

Lavanga Wijekoon

Lavanga Wijekoon is an attorney at the Chicago and Singapore offices of the global law firm Littler Mendelson. Lavanga provides strategic advice and counsel to multinational employers on a wide range of international employment and compliance matters, including on Business and Human Rights. Since 2017, he has been involved in the UN treaty process on BHR, providing the global employers’ perspective. Lavanga also represents and defends employers before U.S. courts and government agencies, as well as before international fora such as the National Contact Points under the OECD Guidelines. Lavanga is a co-chair of Littler’s pro bono practice, and regularly represents asylum seekers in the US.

United Nations Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia-Pacific