Can Workers Govern Supply Chains? Global South Social Responsibility Initiatives

• In Event: Emerging Challenges and Political Opportunities in a New Globalization Era

Abstract

After two decades of governing global supply chains through top-down corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and legislation passed by the wealthy “home states” of multi-national enterprises, a new model of worker-driven supply chain governance initiatives initiated in the global South are taking shape. In this paper, we investigate two such initiatives—often called Worker-Driven Social Responsibility (WSR) initiatives—which are being championed as the new gold standard to promote human rights and equity in supply chains: (1) the 2019 Lesotho Agreement between apparel brands, suppliers, trade unions and women’s right’s organizations; and (2) The 2022 Dindigul Agreement on Prevention, Remedy, and Elimination of Gender-Based Violence and Harassment between apparel brands, suppliers, and workers in Tamil Nadu, India. WSR agreements use legally binding agreements between worker organizations, unions, supplier firms, and big brands that leverage market mechanisms like value redistribution and price premiums. We argue, drawing on original field research, that while the effectiveness of CSR is frequently overstated as a form of private governance, WSR potentially reveals new avenues of resistance driven by local actors and communities. In doing so, we seek to contribute to a wide range of IPE debates including on how to optimize public and private governance surrounding supply chains, racial capitalism, and feminist political economy.

Authors

• Ali Bhagat, Simon Fraser University

• Genevieve LeBaron, Simon Fraser University