Reworking labour rights

Richard Milsom | 4th March 2022 | Brussels, Comment
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The Malaysian palm oil industry is one of many making strides towards stamping out forced and trafficked labour

After much delay, the European Commission has announced its Corporate Sustainable Governance proposal; It comes amidst criticism that Brussels has fallen behind the US when it comes to enforcing standards for labour rights. A document published last summer by the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission set out some of the principles the Commission considers to be important, and many of those issues have been picked up by industries seeking to improve their track record on labour rights. One example is a recent announcement from the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), which set out sweeping changes and commitments designed to rid the sector of any indicators of forced or trafficked labour. The commitments, contained with a new Responsible Employment Charter to which the largest Malaysian growers have all agreed, are designed to address serious allegations levelled at Malaysia over the past 18 months by Western authorities like the US State Department and the European...

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