Campaign gets TFL financial backing

A campaign to improve life for low-paid workers in the global electronics industry, led by the University of Greenwich, has received financial backing from Transport for London. 

The university's School of Law has been working for three years to bring the working conditions for millions of workers in the electronics supply chain to international attention. Excessive working hours, forced overtime, discrimination, punitive rules and extremely low wages in countries including China, the Philippines and Mexico, are among the practices its investigations have revealed. High-risk or unsafe working conditions are commonplace, including a lack of safety precautions for the use of hazardous substances.

Now Transport for London has announced it is providing €60,000 per year in support of the research. This will help fund ElectronicsWatch, a group set up by the university and its partners to help large companies and 'public buyers' to understand and support the rights of workers in the supply chain, and create a market for responsibly procured goods.

Dr Olga Martin-Ortega, leader at the BHRE, says: "The backing of Transport for London is hugely significant. It gives great momentum to our research, which ultimately seeks to improve working conditions. We aim to ensure that all involved – states, companies and individuals – live up to their responsibility to respect human rights and human dignity in manufacturing the products we consume.

Read full story on http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/news/articles/2016/a3617-law-and-tfl