Shared Responsibility and Labor Rights in Global Supply Chains

Area of Science:

• Socio-legal studies
• Business ethics
• International labor law

Background:

• Existing research on global supply chain labor governance primarily uses empirical and conceptual approaches.
• There's a need for normative frameworks that justify mandatory labor governance beyond voluntary private regulations.
• The study addresses the gap in scholarly work on moral justifications for labor governance in globalized economies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel normative model for shared responsibility in addressing unjust labor conditions and protecting workers' rights within global supply chains.
• To provide moral justifications for labor governance schemes that incorporate public enforcement mechanisms.
• To propose a framework for allocating responsibility among diverse actors in global supply chains.

Main Methods:

• The research draws upon normative theories of justice.
• It integrates empirical-legal research findings.
• A Labor Model of Shared Responsibility is developed, outlining principles for allocating duties.

Main Results:

• Responsibility for labor standards in global supply chains should be shared by all involved private and institutional actors.
• A normative model for allocating this responsibility is proposed, based on principles of connectedness, contribution, benefit, capacity, and power.
• The study demonstrates potential implementation pathways for the normative model via national and international institutional mechanisms.

Conclusions:

• The proposed model offers a robust framework for shared responsibility in global supply chains.
• It advocates for moving beyond voluntary measures towards enforceable public regulations for labor protection.
• The model provides practical guidance for institutionalizing shared responsibility across diverse actors.