45. Workers’ rights

Workers’ rights are a systemic challenge of economic globalization and a sore point of business responsibility. Some of the worst workplace incidents have taken place in the last decade in the most scrutinized and corporate social responsibility (CSR)-advanced sectors. For instance, sub-standard labour conditions and deadly building-safety-related incidents have been a recurrent feature in global apparel supply chains. The Covid-19 pandemic has also brought to light how workers’ rights remain woefully under-protected and unfulfilled and that this is exacerbated by existing discriminatory structures, relationships, and labour arrangements. In light of this context, this entry considers the relationship between workers’ rights and CSR and emphasizes the lines of tension between the two approaches. While the former emerged from workers’ struggles against employers and corporate power, the latter has offered managerial responses that are usually removed from the politics of industrial relations and limit workers’ participation.