Transnational Labour Governance in Global Supply Chains: Asking Questions and Seeking Answers on Accountability

Abstract

The “language of accountability” has featured prominently in transnational labour governance. For decades now, activists have called on brands and lead firms in the developed world to take more responsibility for working conditions in their supply chains. Private regulatory initiatives are implicitly premised on transparency and market and reputational mechanisms that ostensibly enable consumers, investors and civil society actors to hold companies to account for their labour practices. Yet, there continues to be much debate and uncertainty in international and national fora about the meaning and mechanisms of accountability in global governance. In this chapter, we seek to explore the way i..