Corporate social responsibility, decent work and global framework agreements: a textile industry case study

Abstract

The article discusses how the notion of decent work proposed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) is present on corporate social responsibility programs since the development of global commodity chains. Based on Economic Sociology Theory, discusses the formation of the International Framework Agreements (IFA) involving the union leadership and enterprises to create decent work in the supply chains. The empirical focus was the multinational Inditex fast fashion retailier. Interviews have been made with social and economic actors in the production chain in Portugal and Brazil. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the new corporate social responsibility tools, such as IFAs, favor the guidelines of decent work. However, the survey revealed that if there are no changes in the management of productive fast fashion retalier chain, the IFA has little effectiveness in reducing sweatshops and precarious labour.

Keywords

• trabalho decente
• responsabilidade social das empresas
• acordo marco internacional
• cadeias produtivas globais