Report by World Benchmarking Alliance.
February 2021.
A study of the measures taken by more than 200 large businesses to safeguard human rights during the Covid-19 pandemic has found that most are taking little to no action. This new study was carried out as a supplement to its Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, published last November. Some 229 companies are included in the benchmark and new study, spanning the global agriculture, apparel, extractives, ICT and automotive sectors.
Building on the damning findings of the Benchmark, in which one-third of companies scored zero on due diligence, the new study revealed that only one-quarter of companies were able to prove that they were helping suppliers mitigate the financial and social impacts of changing demand during 2020. The WBA found that only 17% of businesses surveyed were able to prove they took measures to safeguard pay and ensure sick leave across the supply chain and with wider business partners.
The picture was not much better for efforts to protect human rights within business’ direct operations. Three-quarters of businesses did not tell the WBA how they provided sick leave for workers in their own operations. Without paid sick leave, businesses run the risk of staff coming to work with COVID-19 and spreading the virus.
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