Description
Today’s economy is characterized by globalisation and cross-border trade with highly sophisticated global supply chains to organize the activities needed to produce and deliver goods and services to customers. It is a fact that companies‘ work may increase risks to workers of another company along the supply chain. Favorable sales prices are often achieved at the expense of inadequate working conditions in the production countries, where human rights, labour and environmental protection regulations are often complained. The question that arises is how this situation can be changed. The answer is cooperative partnership while leveraging global supply chains for improvements in occupational safety, health and wellbeing. In line with ISSA’s Vision Zero the innovative idea is to widen the aspects of good work life from traditional safety, health and wellbeing to include related fundamental principles and rights at work. This approach for supply chains encourages companies to reconsider their business relationships. The overall objective is to create reliable economic relations through sustainable, long-term collaboration with all supply chain partner companies. Low-threshold instruments provided will help to establish a minimum standard for safety, health and wellbeing worldwide. The research project was done by the Finnish Institute for Health at Work in cooperation with Zwetsloot Research & Consultancy from the Netherlands, managed and financed by ISSA Section Trade.