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Supply Chains

Nothing moves without a transport worker. From food and medical supplies to clothing and computers, transport workers are essential to keeping global supply chains running.

However, all too often transport workers – and the value they add to the global economy – are invisible. Even as globalisation has increased international trade, labour standards have been eroded as businesses seek the cheapest possible way to compete to move goods. Meanwhile, e-commerce giants are using digital technology to reshape the way we shop, often at the expense of workers involved in distribution and delivery.

The ITF recognises that, for workers to wield real power in the 21st Century, we need to organise along supply chains. We do this in four ways:

  • Organising the warehousing sector, the key industrial hubs in global supply chains
  • Campaigning in logistics companies to ensure strong labour standards across different transport sectors
  • Targeting economic employers, who hold power to improve supply chain standards
  • Lobbying for regulation and enforcement mechanisms which enable governments, multilateral institutions and workers themselves to take more action to protect workers’ rights
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Supply Chains News

News | 25 Sep 2023

Orsted day of action: unions protest around the world

Hundreds of trade unions from across the world joined together on 20 September in protest against union-busting measures taken by renewable energy company...

News | 27 Jul 2023

Second wildcat strike in Grafenhausen shines new light on continued human rights abuses in European road transport

A second wildcat strike by truck drivers at a rest area in Grafenhausen, Germany, has brought renewed attention to the systemic issues plaguing the road transport...

News | 26 Jul 2023 Press Release

New ITF guidance shows companies how to respect the human rights of seafarers shipping cargo

With 90% of goods transported by sea, companies rely on seafarers to keep their supply chains moving. As human rights due diligence (HRDD) laws expand in scope and...

News | 26 Jul 2023

Teamsters win historic UPS deal and set tone for transport worker negotiations globally

In an eleventh-hour deal, UPS has accepted the demands of 340,000 rank-and-file Teamsters’ union members on pay and conditions, narrowly avoiding a strike that...

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The ITF co-ordinates practical solidarity for transport unions around the world. By bringing unions together, we can ensure better working conditions, improve workers’ rights, and create a just and fair society for everyone.

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