Corporations and governments throughout the world are working together to protect migrant workers. On December 9th,
the Swedish clothing corporation, H&M Group, renewed its interest
in this area by pledging to promote the ethical recruitment and
protection of migrant workers in global supply chains. The pledge was
memorialized through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United
Nations agency International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Numerous corporations have renewed their
efforts to support the rights of migrant workers. Many corporations
make such pledges internally or with their customers, but it’s
refreshing to see such a commitment as the H&M company has made with
an inter-governmental agency, reflected New York based immigration
attorney Jon Purizhansky.
The H&M Group has a particular
interest in around workers’ rights. They are a
multinational clothing-retail company that operates in 62 countries with
over 4,500 stores and employs over 132,000 people. It is one of the
largest global clothing retailers having an online presence in over
thirty countries.
H&M’s Head of Sustainability, Anna Gedda, executed the MOU on behalf of the company. The company stated that “unethical recruitment practices and gaps in the governance of labor migration” are among the leading risks impacting global migrant workers in todays economy.
Migrant workers are routinely taken
advantage of, there are unethical fees charged to workers, rampant fraud
during the recruitment and on-boarding process, and seizure of personal
documents, says Jon Purizhansky.
These have been issues for many years, and while governments have tried
to remedy these practices they still exist today. Having major
corporations getting involved in this area draws attention to a global
issue and which can ultimately bring change.
IOM is a major United Nations initiative
drawing attention to this issue. They are the leading international
organization for migration and routinely work with the international
community to address challenges in migration management. IOM also
promotes and advances the understanding of migration issues and supports
economic and community development through migration. One of their
critical value statements is to uphold the dignity and well-being of
migrants and their families.
IOM is the global leader in this space, reflects Jon Purizhansky.
The organization was founded in 1951 and is supported by 173 member
states. Being an arm of the United Nations provides the resources and
awareness of migration matters on a wide-global scale and the tools to
drive change.
Another benefit of H&M’s very public
pledge is that it will encourage other social groups and corporations
to adopt similar positions to drive continued awareness to a global
issue.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment