FES-GAWU ENGAGEMENT ON UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS: GENDER AND LABOUR RELATIONS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Global supply chains connect workers, producers and markets across borders, but their benefits and risks are not distributed equally. Strengthening trade unions’ capacity to understand these structures is essential to advancing workers’ rights, decent work and more equitable labour relations. Global supply chains have become a defining feature of an increasingly interconnected global economy. While they create employment opportunities and facilitate access to international markets, their growing complexity and interdependence also pose challenges for workers. Working conditions, access to information, gender inequalities and the ability to seek redress are increasingly shaped by decisions and actors operating at different stages of global production. Against this backdrop, we partnered with the General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) to organise a training on “Understanding Global Supply Chains: Gender & Labour Relations in the Global Economy” on 16 and 17 July 2026 in Koforidua. 

The training brought together trade union members and representatives from different sectors; the training strengthened participants’ capacity to understand global supply chains and advocate for workers’ rights and decent working conditions. The discussions addressed human rights due diligence and Ghana’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, gender equality and non-discrimination, labour legislation and redress mechanisms, as well as strategic corporate value chain research. Particular attention was given to the importance of reliable information to drive collective bargaining and evidence-based advocacy. Participants highlighted that access to relevant data can strengthen unions’ negotiating positions, while effective and transparent grievance mechanisms are essential for workers to seek redress and hold economic actors accountable. 

Through practical exercises, participants mapped supply chains in the cocoa, mining, horticulture and oil palm sectors. By tracing the different stages of production, processing, transportation and distribution, the exercises demonstrated the interdependence of actors across value chains. They helped identify where workers’ rights, trade union representation and accountability become particularly relevant. The training reinforced the role of trade unions not only in responding to workplace challenges, but also in influencing the broader structures that shape workers’ conditions. Stronger research capacities, access to information, effective representation and engagement with employers, policymakers and other stakeholders can strengthen workers’ voices across increasingly complex global supply chains. 

Key Takeaways and Recommendations: 

• Strengthen trade unions’ access to reliable information and strategic corporate research to support evidence-based collective bargaining and advocacy. 

• Promote effective and transparent grievance and redress mechanisms that protect workers and strengthen accountability. 

• Advance gender equality and non-discrimination, including stronger measures against workplace harassment and unequal opportunities.

 • Strengthen workers’ rights to freedom of association, collective bargaining and safe and healthy working conditions. 

• Deepen cooperation between trade unions, employers, public institutions and other relevant stakeholders to promote decent work and responsible practices across global supply chains. 

• Translate knowledge of supply chains and human rights due diligence into stronger advocacy and engagement with employers and policymakers.