Cases of abuses of workers’ rights by companies are on the rise. According to ITUC Rights Index 113 countries exclude workers from their right to establish or join a trade union, up from 106 in 2021 to 113. 87 per cent of countries violated the right to strike and four in five countries blocked collective bargaining.

Pressure has been increasing for regulatory action to hold companies accountable for human rights abuses at national and regional levels with new legislation coming into force...

Global trade unions are calling for the following priorities to be strengthened:

• A broad substantive scope covering all internationally recognised human rights, including fundamental workers’ and trade union rights, as defined by relevant international labour standards.
• The coverage of all business enterprises regardless of size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure.
• Parent company-based extraterritorial regulation and access to justice for victims of transnational corporate human rights violations in the home state of transnational corporations.
• Regulatory measures that require business to adopt and apply human rights due diligence policies and procedures.
• Reaffirmation of the applicability of human rights obligations to the operations of companies and their obligation to respect human rights.
• A strong international monitoring and enforcement mechanism...