The Global Deal Flagship Report 2022

The H&M Group, a Global Deal partner and fashion company, exemplifies the challenge of how to uphold the right of workers to earn a living wage.

The Global Deal partner, ACT on Living Wages, brings together global brands and trade unions in a joint commitment to transform the garment, textile and footwear industry. Together with IndustriALL Global Union and its affiliates, ACT signatory brands aim to achieve living wages for workers through freedom of association (FOA), collective bargaining at the industry level, and responsible purchasing practices in the sector.

This case study reviews the implementation of the global framework agreements signed by Société Générale with UNI Global Union and by Solvay with IndustriALL Global Union. These agreements underline the important role of social dialogue in promoting and implementing effective human rights due diligence processes.

Following two major industrial disasters in 2012 and 2013 in Bangladesh, trade unions and enterprises negotiated the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Garment and Textile Industry to improve workplace safety in the country's ready-made garment industry. This case study explores how the sector-level legally binding agreement has set up an effective grievance mechanism to ensure due diligence for labour rights.

When COVID-19 struck in Sweden, the groundwork for the quick deployment of short-time work measures was already in place thanks to the actions undertaken by social partners following the 2008 financial crisis. This case reports on the critical role social dialogue and high-trust labour relations played in developing and implementing these measures in Sweden.

In 2019, the Global Deal partner Clariane (formerly Korian) established a European Works Council, together with a joint working group on workplace health and safety. This case study examines how these bodies facilitated social dialogue between company management and trade unions and how it enabled them to develop practices for handling health and safety challenges, including those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When COVID-19 first appeared, many firms struggled to adapt to teleworking. The Global Deal partner Stellantis, however, mobilised its social dialogue experience around telework to scale up existing arrangements. This case demonstrates how well-established social dialogue practices can help to build effective strategies to adapt to changes in the work environment.

This case study examines the work of Swedish Workplace Programme, a joint initiative by Swedish companies and trade unions to promote better workplace co-operation. It illustrates how high-trust relations at the factory level can mitigate the impact of unexpected shocks and shape sustainable workplaces.

In December 2021, the Spanish government and social partners concluded a tripartite agreement aimed at tackling the rise in non-standard forms of employment. This case study examines how the agreement marked a major shift in labour law towards the use of open-ended contracts and how social dialogue played a key role in ensuring its conclusion.

The Social Economic Council of the Netherlands issued a joint recommendation in 2021 calling on the Dutch government to address the problems triggered by growing labour market insecurity. This case study highlights the role social dialogue plays in informing and signalling the urgent challenges that need to be addressed to policy makers.

In 2018, the Government of Scotland introduced the Fair Work First (FWF) policy to further their commitment to becoming a Fair Work Nation by 2025. This case study examines the FWF example to demonstrate how public procurement and social dialogue can be linked to promote fairer work conditions and more secure employment contracts.

By exploring the examples of Bangladesh, Indonesia and Lesotho, this case study reports on how IndustriALL Global Union is supporting the capacity of its union affiliates across the globe to engage in social dialogue with employers and governments to end gender-based violence and harassment.

This case study considers the critical role social dialogue between the government, the Danish Trade Union Confederation and other social partners played in delivering the two recent landmark agreements aimed at providing a harassment-free work environment and addressing the gender gap through changes to parental leave regulations.