In order to ensure fair labour standards are upheld in supply chains, we need effective regulation and enforcement mechanisms to deter misconduct. The ITF lobbies on behalf of transport workers in a range of international environments.
The ITF Inspectorate performs a unique role in overseeing labour standards on ships, and the ITF was instrumental in winning shaping the Maritime Labour Convention which sets the baseline for labour standards at sea. We also play an active role at the UN International Labour Organisation (ILO), such as advocating and negotiating for an international standard on violence and harassment in the world of work, which was adopted as ILO Convention 190 in 2019. We are part of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, and ITF representatives sit on the boards of the UN Global Compact and Ethical Trading Initiative.
Governments and multilateral institutions must respond more systematically to the labour abuses which occur all over the world. For example, the ITF supports enacting mandatory human rights due diligence at the national level, and is pushing for a strong international binding treaty on business and human rights to crack down on corporate impunity throughout supply chains. It is time for regulators to step in and enforce the standards we all expect in the 21st Century.