OECD Watch works with members and partners, including our counterpart the OECD Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC), to strengthen corporate accountability for impacts on workers and trade unions.
We help worker groups and civil society partners fight labour abuse in value chains. And while TUAC leads advising of union-led complaints, we work with them to foster collaboration between union and CSO co-complainants, to strengthen collective impact.
Together with TUAC, we helped win important improvements in the Guidelines’ standards on workers rights in value chains. We continue to push for better company practice and government policy. Workers’ rights are central to our work on a just transition in particular. We advocate for transitions to greener and more sustainable economies that protect workers, provide opportunities for decent work, and ensure that workers are meaningfully involved in decisions affecting their livelihoods.
We seek to advance international standards for workers rights in national and regional due diligence law and policy, including through strategies focused on modern slavery.
The OECD Guidelines expect companies to respect workers’ rights and promote decent working conditions. Companies should:
These responsibilities extend beyond a company’s direct workforce. Companies should use their leverage to prevent or mitigate harms to workers that are directly linked to their operations, products or services through business relationships.
Want to learn more about OECD Watch’s work on this issue? Get in touch with us to find out more about our advocacy and resources, or to discuss how the OECD Guidelines can support your work. Reach out directly.
We work closely with our trade union counterpart, the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC), who can provide detailed advice on union-led NCP complaints and workers’ rights under the OECD Guidelines. Read more on TUAC’s website.
Get a practical overview of what the OECD Guidelines say about workers’ rights. Available in:
Explore complaints where workers’ rights violations have been raised by civil society.
Read more about complaints filed by trade unions or individuals on the OECD’s online case database.
The OECD Guidelines provide civil society with a framework for engaging companies, governments and other decision-makers on responsible business conduct. You can use the Guidelines to:
Help communities and other affected people understand the standards companies are expected to meet and the rights and protections they can demand.
Use the Guidelines to talk to companies about their impacts and demand that they prevent, address and remedy harm.
Use the Guidelines to advocate for strong laws, policies and corporate practices that protect people and the planet and hold companies accountable.
When a company falls below the standards in the Guidelines, you can bring a complaint to an NCP and seek accountability and remedy.
How companies should use a gender lens to identify and address the distinct impacts of their activities on women and LGBTQI+ people.
How companies can respect human rights, prevent harm and provide or contribute to remedy when harms occur.
How companies should respect human rights defenders and prevent and remedy reprisals against those who speak out.
How companies should respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including collective rights to culture, self-determination, and free, prior and informed consent.
How companies should prevent harm to people’s land, housing and tenure rights and respect legitimate land rights.
How meaningfulengagement can ensure affected people have a voice in decisions that impact them.
Last week, OECD Watch joined governments, businesses, trade unions and civil society from around the world in Paris for the OECD’s Responsible Business Conduct Week, marking the 50th anniversary of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational…
By Blake Harwell Blog symposium co-organised by OECD Watch and NOVA School of Law Since the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (“Guidelines”) were first recommended by the OECD in 1976, trade unions understood the employment…