Multinationals

In Guinea, bauxite workers and their families fight for access to their pensions

Following a decade of struggle, pensioners from Africa’s largest alumina plant and their families are finally able to benefit from their social security rights.Read the full article

31 July 2023

Given the ravages of climate change, has the time come for environmental accountability and responsibility?

During the summer, the Equal Times newsdesk invites you to explore an issue by revisiting our archives.Read the full article

In a landmark case, Kenyan tea workers continue to fight for damages from a Scottish tea giant over musculoskeletal injuries

28 April 2023

In a landmark case, Kenyan tea workers continue to fight for damages from a Scottish tea giant over musculoskeletal injuries

Between 2,500 and 3,000 workers have come together to file a case in Scotland against James Finlay Kenya, accusing the company of creating the terrible working conditions that have caused them life-limiting musculoskeletal injuries.Read the full article

Are the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse just a series of shocks, or signs of a systemic crisis?

27 April 2023

Are the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse just a series of shocks, or signs of a systemic crisis?

Daniel Kostzer: “The response to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse are both powerful examples of the underlying logic of capitalism, that a bank can be bailed out in a matter of hours but during the Covid-19 pandemic it took most governments several months before deciding to intervene to [...]Read the full article

Ten years on from Rana Plaza, how much have conditions in Bangladesh's garment industry improved?

24 April 2023

Ten years on from Rana Plaza, how much have conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry improved?

“The same individuals who own the garment factories also hold positions in the parliament and cabinet. There is no representative of the workers in the parliament. The rulers are exploiting us.”Read the full article

Trade union freedom in Morocco: more an aspiration than a right

29 March 2023

Trade union freedom in Morocco: more an aspiration than a right

While Moroccan legislation guarantees a number of individual freedoms and social rights, including freedom of association, workers who make too many demands are likely to face harsh reprisals.Read the full article

Does the new EU consumer rights directive go far enough?

13 March 2023

Does the new EU consumer rights directive go far enough?

The new directive makes possible EU-wide class actions for breaches of 66 different EU directives and regulations, from legislation related to medical devices to the EU’s seminal 2018 GDPR privacy law.Read the full article

With claims of mass workers shortages and layoffs in the US, we must read between the lines

26 January 2023

With claims of mass workers shortages and layoffs in the US, we must read between the lines

Daniel Kostzer: It is clear that the popular narrative about worker shortages and layoffs is aimed at building a cultural consensus against workers and the labour movement, and is based on biased, partial, and even contradictory definitions.Read the full article

In the Iberian peninsula, “unsustainable, unviable” berry businesses are draining water and exploiting migrant labour

5 December 2022

In the Iberian peninsula, “unsustainable, unviable” berry businesses are draining water and exploiting migrant labour

“This extractivist industry doesn’t benefit the region. It’s unsustainable, and it relies on the exploitation of migrant labour.”Read the full article

Resistance to greenwashing grows in the struggle for a liveable planet

6 October 2022

Resistance to greenwashing grows in the struggle for a liveable planet

Steve Rushton: “Since the 1980s, scientists have driven the response to the unfolding climate emergency. Countering this, an industrial complex has developed to deny what is happening and stymie meaningful action, funded by the world’s most profitable fossil fuel [...]Read the full article

22 July 2022

Why we need an agri-food transition

The globalised and financialised agri-food system not only has a serious socio-environmental impact; it is also tremendously inefficient and a risky bet if the aim is to guarantee food supply.Read the full article

At Greece's largest port, dockworkers fight for a collective agreement

22 June 2022

At Greece’s largest port, dockworkers fight for a collective agreement

Hundreds of dockworkers at Greece’s largest port are demanding better working conditions and a new collective agreement. Ever since the Chinese state-owned enterprise COSCO became the majority owner of the Piraeus Port Authority, workers there have had fewer rights and [...]Read the full article

2 June 2022

Why profit-making has no place in care

Jan Willem Goudriaan : Organising care on a not-for-profit basis is good for society, good for taxpayers, good for people who need care and support, and good for care workers.Read the full article

Commodity trading: the shadowy industry destroying the planet

29 July 2021

Commodity trading: the shadowy industry destroying the planet

Joseph Baines: Commodity traders wreak havoc on global markets and profit from ecological and social devastation. Can they be stopped?Read the full article

As concerns over the UN Food Systems Summit mount, civil society's hunger for change deepens

23 July 2021

As concerns over the UN Food Systems Summit mount, civil society’s hunger for change deepens

“By framing hunger as a ‘shortage’ and ‘market access’ issue, it glosses over the fact that poverty, injustice, occupation, neocolonialism and inequality are at the heart of hunger.”Read the full article

Childhood and adult obesity: Mexico's other epidemic

16 July 2021

Childhood and adult obesity: Mexico’s other epidemic

Mexico ranks first in the world in childhood obesity and second in adult obesity. Until recently, studies addressing the causes of obesity have focused on the poor choices made by individuals, but have rarely looked at the obesogenic [...]Read the full article

Is the end of corporate tax evasion and tax havens finally in sight?

21 May 2021

Is the end of corporate tax evasion and tax havens finally in sight?

The billions that the most powerful corporations avoid paying in taxes are crucial for a just economic recovery in the post-pandemic era. The G20’s stance on global tax justice will be decisive in turning the tide.Read the full article

On the road with Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa beans

31 March 2021

On the road with Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa beans

European chocolate makers will make a significant portion of their annual turnover around Easter time thanks in part to cocoa from Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s leading producer. But this ‘brown gold’ is the product of an environmentally destructive industry with precarious working [...]Read the full article

8 March 2021

Is the Jamaican government giving BPO investors the “green light to disregard labour laws”?

The BPO sector is one of the fastest-growing industries in the Caribbean, but decent jobs are often less of a concern than the number of jobs created.Read the full article

After Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza, Covid-19 once again exposes the human cost of fast fashion

26 February 2021

After Tazreen Fashions and Rana Plaza, Covid-19 once again exposes the human cost of fast fashion

Many Bangladeshi workers are more afraid of dying of hunger than they are of dying from Covid-19.Read the full article

From benefit corporations to social purpose companies: when capitalism seeks to reconcile profit with the common good

19 February 2021

From benefit corporations to social purpose companies: when capitalism seeks to reconcile profit with the common good

Can the inclusion of social or environmental objectives in a company’s articles of association help to make them more virtuous? Whilst it may help promote a shift in business mindsets, it may also amount to little more than ‘fairwashing’.Read the full article

In Kenya, women bear the brunt as mechanisation wipes out tea sector jobs

17 February 2021

In Kenya, women bear the brunt as mechanisation wipes out tea sector jobs

Since 2006, approximately 30,000 women have lost their jobs in large-scale, often multinational-owned, tea companies because of mechanisation.Read the full article

India's farmers won't stop protesting until Modi's unfair agricultural reforms are repealed

26 January 2021

India’s farmers won’t stop protesting until Modi’s unfair agricultural reforms are repealed

“With these laws, farming will become corporate, and these corporates will make us landless.”Read the full article

21 January 2021

Illicit financial flows hinder development in Africa – the UN must rise to the challenge of ending this

Chloé Maurel: Every year, US$88.6 billion leaves Africa in the form of illicit capital flight, according to the UN. Africa is affected more than all other continents, making it a net creditor to the rest of the world, contrary to the popular belief of an Africa aided by the countries of the [...]Read the full article

14 January 2021

Human rights

Auditing firms shouldn’t provide cover for the inaction of global brands on low wages

Aruna Kashyap : Brands that truly support workers’ rights in their supply chains should stop relying on social audits to drive labour compliance, especially regarding wages and working hours.Read the full article

Big data: a friend or foe for small farmers?

11 January 2021

Big data: a friend or foe for small farmers?

Growing vertical and horizontal integration in the agricultural industry – with ever bigger corporations controlling a greater share of the food system – is one of the main risks attached to the technological advances in farming. And tech companies are already showing an interest in the [...]Read the full article

#2020InReview: How Covid changed the world of work

21 December 2020

#2020InReview: How Covid changed the world of work

Reporting from the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.Read the full article

Argentina at an energy crossroads: the role of trade unions in building a just transition

14 December 2020

Argentina at an energy crossroads: the role of trade unions in building a just transition

Argentina’s trade unions are faced with the challenge of putting a just energy transition on the agenda, a transition combining sustainability with the principles of social and environmental justice.Read the full article

Why it's time to blow the whistle on Amazon

24 November 2020

Why it’s time to blow the whistle on Amazon

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in soaring profits for US tech giant Amazon, but around the world, workers, small businesses, local communities and national economies are all paying the price.Read the full article

16 October 2020

As incremental efforts to end child labour by 2025 persist, Congo’s child miners – exhausted and exploited – ask the world to “pray for us”

Despite the government’s stated intention to put an end to the practice, child labour remains a reality in Congo’s mining sector. In the absence of effective political coordination to address the problem, trade union, community and non-profit leaders are working to tackle the root causes as well [...]Read the full article

Ending corporate impunity is at the heart of a sustainable post-pandemic recovery – that's why we need a strong Binding Treaty

8 October 2020

Ending corporate impunity is at the heart of a sustainable post-pandemic recovery – that’s why we need a strong Binding Treaty

Makbule Sahan: The failure of many firms to clearly demonstrate their respect for human rights during the Covid-19 pandemic not only highlights the limitations of voluntary corporate social responsibility standards, but flaws in the global supply chain model [...]Read the full article

7 September 2020

How the little-known Energy Charter Treaty is holding environmental policy hostage

Originally created to protect energy investments in Eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, the international agreement, which includes the European Union as a member, allows companies to sue countries for passing laws that threaten their [...]Read the full article

Commitment or marketing: is there really an ethical awakening in the fashion industry?

20 July 2020

Commitment or marketing: is there really an ethical awakening in the fashion industry?

In 2013, year zero of the ethical awakening in the fashion industry, absolutely everyone – brands, states, consumers – came to know about the dismal and perilous conditions in the factories that dress our shop windows. The current health emergency is exposing the seams of inadequate [...]Read the full article

Behind their current display of charity, it's business as usual for multinationals

14 May 2020

Behind their current display of charity, it’s business as usual for multinationals

Benjamin Hourticq: In response to the coronavirus pandemic, some large multinational corporations are putting their money and production capacities at the service of societies. But behind the scenes, they are working hard to ensure the preservation of the same economic model currently being called into question [...]Read the full article

Due diligence: has France really laid the foundations to end corporate impunity?

19 February 2020

Due diligence: has France really laid the foundations to end corporate impunity?

Three years after France passed a law aimed at preventing companies from hiding behind their status as buyers in the event of human or environmental rights violations, the legislation continues to raise hope among NGOs, at the same time as revealing its [...]Read the full article

Feminist agroecology is taking on the agribusiness model in Argentina

17 January 2020

Feminist agroecology is taking on the agribusiness model in Argentina

A movement in favour of food sovereignty and agroecological practices is gathering momentum. And the role of women, who identify the agribusiness model with the patriarchal system and are insisting on the need to include a gender perspective in agroecology, is [...]Read the full article

The renewable energy sector may ‘pass' the environmental test, but what about labour and human rights?

20 December 2019

The renewable energy sector may ‘pass’ the environmental test, but what about labour and human rights?

Renewable energy companies are repeating the same business practices for which the fossil fuel industry has been criticized – practices that are very far from being clean.Read the full article

Ownership should not equal control: how democracy at work puts shareholders in the hot seat

28 November 2019

Ownership should not equal control: how democracy at work puts shareholders in the hot seat

Stan De Spiegelaere: Workers invest their labour on a daily basis in the companies they work in. This is an equally important investment which should therefore come with ownership rights.Read the full article

In West Bengal farmers are resisting climate change and rising costs with indigenous rice

22 November 2019

In West Bengal farmers are resisting climate change and rising costs with indigenous rice

The less reliant farmers are on agribusiness, and the more resilient the seeds they plant are to the vagaries of climate change, the better for the livelihoods of India’s farmers.Read the full article

Valérie Cabanes: “Without political visionaries who are willing to defy special interests, humanity doesn't stand a chance”

20 November 2019

Valérie Cabanes: “Without political visionaries who are willing to defy special interests, humanity doesn’t stand a chance”

Could recognition by the International Criminal Court of ecocide as a crime provide a legal tool for protecting the environment from the actions of multinationals?Read the full article

5 November 2019

A UN treaty on business and human rights is vital for economic and social justice

Sharan Burrow: How can transnational corporations be held to account in a world of nation states? A binding UN treaty would be an important step.Read the full article

Could the demise of Thomas Cook mark a new beginning for the tourism industry?

24 October 2019

Could the demise of Thomas Cook mark a new beginning for the tourism industry?

Rashmee Roshan Lall: The point of a new travel model would be to forge the real linkages that enrich the visitor just as much as the people and the place they have visited. This has never been more important.Read the full article

Are Indigenous textile makers fashion's latest victims?

21 October 2019

Are Indigenous textile makers fashion’s latest victims?

Several Indigenous groups have accused major fashion brands of copying their designs without compensation and causing serious harm to their cultures.Read the full article

Why the fight for tax justice is a global struggle

3 October 2019

Why the fight for tax justice is a global struggle

Arnaud Zacharie: Ensuring tax justice at all levels would not only reduce inequality and address the democratic fatigue of citizens, but it would also free up significant financial resources for social and ecological transition.Read the full article

12 September 2019

The long and winding road to respecting workers’ rights in supply chains

Justine Nolan: Prominent initiatives to address forced labour in supply chains are likely to fall short of their stated objectives because they fail to tackle the root causes of forced labour.Read the full article

The Amazon rainforest is burning – and we are all hypocrites

27 August 2019

The Amazon rainforest is burning – and we are all hypocrites

Mathilde Dorcadie: The critical state of our common natural heritage is all of our responsibility. The rainforest is burning because we’ve let it happen.Read the full article

“‘Hot desking' and ‘clean desk' policies are a source of anxiety for employees,” says sociologist Danièle Linhart

11 July 2019

“‘Hot desking’ and ‘clean desk’ policies are a source of anxiety for employees,” says sociologist Danièle Linhart

“The way the workspace is organised is a way of telling you: ‘This is our place, not yours.’”Read the full article

5 June 2019

The real cost of ‘Ethiopian-style development’

In its thirst to attract foreign investment, Ethiopia is selling off its natural resources, like water, used notably for the production and export of roses.Read the full article

Is lithium the ‘white gold' of the energy transition?

15 May 2019

Is lithium the ‘white gold’ of the energy transition?

The ‘lithium triangle’, consisting of salt flats in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, is home to major reserves of the world’s supply of lithium. The mineral is set to play an important role in the transition to renewable energy, but its extraction negatively impacts indigenous communities and [...]Read the full article

10 May 2019

As Uber goes public, the fight against its broken business model continues

Sharan Burrow: As a publicly listed company, Uber will have to maintain growth and show movement towards profitability to convince investors of its value. This can only be bad news for workers.Read the full article

25 April 2019

How Bolsonaro administration is already undermining Brazil’s commitment to Agenda 2030

Mayra Castro : In his first four months in government, Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has adopted measures that have thrown Brazil’s fulfilment of the Agenda 2030 goals off track.Read the full article

The new World Bank presidency and the crisis of multilateralism

25 April 2019

The new World Bank presidency and the crisis of multilateralism

Leo Baunach: There is a crisis of multilateralism, rooted in decades of rising inequality and the favouring of profits over people. If changes are not made, the crisis of multilateralism will worsen and the ground on which the Bank stands will [...]Read the full article

Why the world needs an African ecofeminist future

28 March 2019

Why the world needs an African ecofeminist future

Fatimah Kelleher : Orthodox economic models have failed us all, but women across Africa are resisting them and coming up with visionary alternatives.Read the full article

In Brazil, thousands of people are still living under the threat of bursting mining dams

25 March 2019

In Brazil, thousands of people are still living under the threat of bursting mining dams

Brazil has experienced two unprecedented human and environmental disasters, in 2015 and 2019, caused by burst mining dams. Ever since, all those who live near similar dams live in fear of another disaster.Read the full article

‘Made in Tunisia': the worker-casualties of the globalisation of the textile industry

14 March 2019

‘Made in Tunisia’: the worker-casualties of the globalisation of the textile industry

Eight years after the 2011 revolution and the fall of President Ben Ali, the opening of the Tunisian economy to foreign investment continues, along with labour law reforms and violations.Read the full article

For the sake of workers, governments must commit to a new paradigm on plastics and chemicals

13 March 2019

For the sake of workers, governments must commit to a new paradigm on plastics and chemicals

Bert De Wel: Plastic pollution not only threatens the job security of fishermen all around the world, it also endangers the food security and food safety of the whole planet.Read the full article

Growing food to reap a future: Argentina faces up to the agribusiness model

11 March 2019

Growing food to reap a future: Argentina faces up to the agribusiness model

Argentina is one of the countries in the world where agribusiness is at its strongest; it is also a country with a long tradition of food production where alternatives to the dominant model are flourishing and creating their own [...]Read the full article

28 February 2019

We’ll tell you what we want, what we really, really want: freedom, safety and a living wage for garment workers

Clean Clothes Campaign: “Taking decisive action would demand that brands reach deeper into their profit margins and cut a bigger slice of the pie for those whose hard labour is behind the clothes that fills their glossy shops.”Read the full article

For Christophe Yanuwana Pierre, France must “recognise the distinctive nature of the Indigenous peoples of French Guiana”

22 February 2019

For Christophe Yanuwana Pierre, France must “recognise the distinctive nature of the Indigenous peoples of French Guiana”

“As Native Americans, we are doubly sanctioned. On the one hand, we are not recognised as Indigenous peoples. On the other hand, although we are French, our rights as citizens are not respected.”Read the full article

The deregulation of overtime in Hungary has triggered a social uprising

18 February 2019

The deregulation of overtime in Hungary has triggered a social uprising

Nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán is facing an unprecedented revolt against a law that will impact Hungarian workers.Read the full article

Reinvesting in politics and citizenship: the experience of the yellow vests

6 February 2019

Reinvesting in politics and citizenship: the experience of the yellow vests

For three months, women and men throughout France have been protesting government policies, inequality and unfair taxation. Many are non-voters and not involved in party politics. They seek to regain political ground by advocating for more direct [...]Read the full article

Peasants' rights, defended by the countries of the South, now backed by UN

29 January 2019

Peasants’ rights, defended by the countries of the South, now backed by UN

Chloé Maurel: The ‘Declaration on the Rights of Peasants’ illustrates the concern within the United Nations, which has declared 2019 to 2028 ‘The Decade of Family Farming’.Read the full article

Who really benefits from corporate-run women's empowerment programmes?

28 January 2019

Who really benefits from corporate-run women’s empowerment programmes?

“Women’s economic empowerment does not happen in a vacuum but is tied to other key areas like sexual and reproductive rights, access to a living wage and labour rights.”Read the full article

ILO's “Work for a Brighter Future”: a spring of hope for working people

22 January 2019

ILO’s “Work for a Brighter Future”: a spring of hope for working people

Philip Jennings: There is nothing complacent in the tone of the ILO Global Commission’s report on the future of work. Rejecting business as usual, it sows the seeds of hope for working people. The time has come for a reinvigorated social contract.Read the full article

From the fields of San Quintin to the supermarkets of North America: Mexican farmworkers call for solidarity

11 December 2018

From the fields of San Quintin to the supermarkets of North America: Mexican farmworkers call for solidarity

After launching an historic strike in Mexico in 2015, the strawberry pickers of the San Quintin valley are now looking to the US for help, from North American trade unions and consumer organisations.Read the full article

5 December 2018

Time is running out to save the planet

Despite extensive scientific literature, many believe that agroecology is nothing but a trend, and see banning single-use plastics as an inconvenience. What they don’t understand is that we have no other option – we’re living on borrowed time. If we don’t set limits for ourselves, the planet will do [...]Read the full article

Corporations should invest in workers – not just shareholders

29 November 2018

Corporations should invest in workers – not just shareholders

Lenore Palladino: “Not only are workers left out of the productivity gains they help to create, the work they do is becoming less and less secure.”Read the full article

In Europe, food delivery coops are fighting back against the gig economy

17 October 2018

In Europe, food delivery coops are fighting back against the gig economy

“Gig economy companies use self-employment to move all the risk on the worker, while paying no taxes to contribute to the welfare state.”Read the full article

15 October 2018

Human rights

Let’s seize the opportunity to ensure a strong, international binding treaty on business and human rights

Ruwan Subasinghe: “It is high time for governments, business, trade unions and civil society to collectively engage in meaningful and constructive dialogue to address the existing accountability gaps with respect to corporate human rights obligations.”Read the full article

Behind the scenes at Disneyland: exploited workers “deserve a share of the magic”

28 August 2018