Shared responsibility and collaboration

14. What is the role of a business to prevent GBVH when it employs workers? 

All businesses employ workers and therefore have a duty to:  

• Provide safe workplaces free from GBVH by developing and implementing inclusive policies and procedures on prevention of GBVH in the workplace
• This includes recruitment, which is free from any GBVH, and efforts to address the root causes of GBVH and reduce the vulnerability of workers.
• Ensure protection from third-party perpetrators e.g. labour recruiters, security services
• Enable safe reporting and victim/survivor-centered remediation
• Hold perpetrators accountable regardless of seniority 

Businesses should follow a gender responsive human rights due diligence approach, starting with a clear policy and commitment. See Q9  for additional content.  

We have shared links to a number of helpful resources that support businesses with human rights due diligence on the topic of GBVH specifically. 

15. What is the role of a business to prevent GBVH when it buys products or services? 

Safeguarding human rights and preventing GBVH across the supply chain requires that all relevant supply chain actors collaborate, share resources and work in partnership to fund agreed interventions. Buyers have additional responsibilities to: 

• Conduct gender-responsive human rights due diligence (HRDD) of their supply chains, including assessing the risks of GBVH
• Engage in meaningful and open dialogue with workers/their representatives and suppliers that enables a better understanding of risk and incidents, as well as develop collaborative solutions that take into consideration the roles and actions not only of partners but of buyers too. 
• Support workers’ rights, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining that enables negotiation of specific measures to prevent GBVH and create safer workplaces.
• Embed joint expectations to prevent GBVH in purchasing contracts and agreements with supply chain partners.
• Share responsibility for prevention, mitigation, and remediation of GBVH with supply chain partners.
• Provide financial and technical support where necessary
• Recognise and reward supply chain partners that are transparent and implement responsible practices that prevent GBVH. 

16. How can businesses support partners, such as producers and growers, to implement the principles? 

Every business in the supply chain has a responsibility to address GBVH. This responsibility should be shared and upheld at all levels, not pushed down to lower-tier partners. 

As a business partner, you have a responsibility to support partners in lower tiers of the supply chain to safeguard workers and ensure workplaces are free of GBVH. How you support them will very much depend on the context, the nature of your business relationship and the level of understanding of GBVH risks. For example: 

• You can support business partners in fulfilling their responsibilities to prevent and respond to GBVH through, for example, contributing to the costs and investments needed for prevention programmes, as well as through offering guidance, access to support, knowledge sharing, upskilling and capacity building.
• It is also important to clarify any expectations about the management of GBVH and engage in a discussion to understand what needs partners have to meet this.You can also ‘lead by example’ by adhering to the principles in your own operations and ensuring that as a business partner you can speak from experience and demonstrate action is being taken at all levels of the business.
• Leadership can also take the form of ensuring responsible purchasing practices that do not perpetuate the risks of GBVH in the supply chain, as well as transparency with partners on successes and challenges.  

17. What is freedom of association and why is it important? 

Freedom of association and collective bargaining are fundamental human rights, which means that they apply in all contexts, regardless of local law. Workers, without distinction, have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively.  

When workers, particularly women and LGBTQI+ people, understand their rights and can organise, they create trusted avenues to raise concerns and seek remedy. Organised workers, with strong representation and leadership from women, can negotiate improved terms and conditions, including specific measures to address GBVH in collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). In turn, employers are supported to create safer workplaces. 

Workers should have the freedom to choose how they organise for collective representation. Businesses should recognise and engage with independent trade unions, which are the most effective and legitimate form of worker representation, rooted in freedom of association. Trade unions benefit from legal protections, resources, and autonomy from employer influence. 

18. Where unions cannot operate, or workers are not (yet) unionised or there are low levels of unionisation, how can business practically consult with workers on GBVH and still respect FoA and trade unions rights? 

Short-term actions can include:  

• Support the next best form of independent worker representation, such as workplace committees or councils (where these are genuinely independent with democratically run elections) in the short to medium term. These should not be used to substitute or undermine the formation of trade unions. While these bodies can facilitate dialogue with workers on GBVH and make recommendations, they lack the legal standing, resources, and bargaining power of trade unions and cannot replace collective bargaining. Only trade unions can negotiate employment terms that include safeguarding obligations on equal footing with employers. 
• Develop a working relationship with national unions and global union federations, such as the International Union of Food, Agricultural and Hospitality Workers (IUF) and International Transport Workers’ Federations (ITF).   These unions can provide advice and input, particularly at a policy level and national unions may be able to provide more context specific expertise. Multinational businesses can formalise this constructive relationship through Memorandums of Understanding and Global Framework Agreements thereby supporting an enabling environment for freedom of association and collective bargaining.
• Support policy and legislative reforms that recognise and uphold the rights of all workers, including migrant workers and those in the informal economy, to form and join organisations of their own choosing, bargain collectively and participate fully in social dialogue mechanisms at all levels. 

19. How can non-private sector actors engage with the principles? 

Non-private sector actors like, trade unions, NGOs and multistakeholder initiatives can use the GAIA principles by raising awareness, building capacity, and as a framework for promoting accountability across the supply chain. They can support with training of workers and managers on key aspects of the principles, monitor implementation as independent observers, support survivor-centred grievance and referral systems, and convene multi-stakeholder dialogues for shared action.