Social & Labor
This section shows whether data on social and labor practices at this production location is available through integrations with Spotlight Partners. Social and labor data covers information about workers, working conditions, employment practices, labor rights, and industrial relations at a production location. This can include data related to working hours, freedom of association and collective bargaining, occupational health and safety, recruitment practices, social protection, and other aspects of decent work.
Currently, the Social & Labor section on OS Hub includes data on two specific areas: whether workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement and whether wages are paid through digital wage payment systems. As additional Spotlight Partner datasets become available, this section may cover a broader range of social and labor indicators.
Note that grievance mechanisms and worker helplines are covered separately, under Grievance Mechanisms.
Where did this data come from?
OS Hub acts as a connector, surfacing where data about social and labor practices exists and linking to the relevant partner platform that holds it. The presence of a data point here means that one or more OS Hub partners have social or labor data linked to this production location's OS ID. Each partner's data reflects their own methodology and scope.
The information shown here should not be understood as a complete assessment of social and labor conditions at the production location. The absence of a particular data point does not necessarily mean that the practice, condition, or relevant dataset does not exist; it may simply mean that OS Hub does not currently have partner data covering it. Let us know if you have social or labor data you'd like to add.
How can you use this data?
Social and labor data can provide useful facility-level insights to inform research, human rights due diligence, responsible sourcing decisions, and the design of programs aimed at improving working conditions. As this section currently includes two types of data, collective bargaining agreements and digital wage payments, the current use cases include:
- Understanding whether workers at a production location are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, as an important input into assessing freedom of association and collective bargaining rights
- Where copies of collective bargaining agreements are available, reviewing the agreements themselves to better understand the rights, protections, benefits, grievance procedures, and other provisions negotiated between workers and employers
- Identifying production locations where wages are paid digitally, which can provide insights into wage payment practices and workers’ access to formal financial services
Given the role of freedom of association and collective bargaining as enabling rights, information about collective bargaining agreements can also provide important context for understanding how workers are able to exercise, negotiate, and secure other workplace rights.
As more social and labor datasets are added through Spotlight Partners, we will expand this section with additional use cases reflecting the broader range of data available.
Check out specific case studies from each of the partners below for additional inspiration.
From the Partners
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Collective Bargaining Agreements
A collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, is a written agreement negotiated between one or more employers and one or more trade unions or worker organizations. It may cover wages, working hours, benefits, health and safety, dispute resolution, worker representation and other terms and conditions of employment.
Students from the School of Management and Labour Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) identify, review, clean and structure publicly available information about collective bargaining agreements. The records are then matched to production locations on OS Hub using their OS IDs.
Data points
- Trade union: The trade union or trade unions identified as parties to the agreement.
- Employer party: The employer or employers identified as parties to the agreement.
- Agreement start date: The date on which the agreement is stated to begin or take effect, as reported in the public source.
- Agreement end date: The stated expiry or end date of the agreement.
- Public source: A link to the publicly available agreement or to the source from which the information was obtained.
Methodology
Students from TISS identify CBAs available through publicly accessible sources that permit the information to be accessed and used for this purpose. These may include government and labor-authority repositories, trade union websites, employer publications and other publicly available records.
The students review the available documents, clean and standardize the relevant information, and record the trade union party, employer party, agreement dates and source link. The production-location information is then reviewed and either matched to an existing production location on OS Hub using its OS ID or added to OS Hub where no matching location already exists.
OS Hub and TISS do not independently verify:
- Whether the agreement resulted from free, genuine and meaningful collective bargaining;
- Whether the named trade union is active, independent, freely chosen by workers or representative of the workers covered by the agreement;
- Whether the agreement is being implemented or complied with in practice; or
- Whether other collective bargaining agreements, trade unions, worker organizations or forms of worker representation are also present at the production location.
Users should consult the linked source and, where appropriate, confirm the current information directly with the relevant trade union, workers or employer connected to the production location.
Coverage
The initial dataset includes 252 production locations across six countries:
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- Canada
- South Africa
- Spain
- the United States
Coverage is expected to expand as further publicly available agreements are identified and reviewed.
Update frequency
The dataset will be reviewed and updated at least once a year.
Because agreements may be negotiated, extended, amended, replaced or terminated between updates, users should refer to the linked public source and confirm the current position with the relevant parties before making decisions based on this information.
How Others Use This Data
When combined with other OS Hub data, the dataset can support:
- Supply-chain research on collective bargaining, worker representation and workers’ access to trade unions;
- Identification of trade unions that may be relevant for worker consultation, stakeholder engagement or further research;
- Human rights due diligence and responsible sourcing processes;
- Analysis of collective bargaining agreements across countries, sectors and supply chains; and
- Further research into the terms, scope, duration and implementation of collective bargaining agreements.
The data should not be used as a standalone assessment of labor conditions, freedom of association or respect for workers’ rights at a production location. The dataset currently represents a small and non-representative sample, and users should therefore exercise caution when drawing broader conclusions or making comparisons across countries, sectors or supply chains.
Learn More
Wikirate collective bargaining agreements & digital payments
Wikirate is a Berlin-based nonprofit and open data platform where a global community of civil society organizations and advocates collects and structures data on companies' social and environmental impacts to make it accessible, comparable, and free for all.
Data points
- Collective Bargaining Agreement Reported: Whether a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is in place at this facility.
- Digital Payment Reported: Whether workers at this facility are paid their salaries digitally.
- Public source: The public source from which the CBA / digital payment information was obtained.
- Reporting year: The year to which the reported CBA / digital payment information relates.
- Wikirate ID: The unique identifier assigned to the facility in Wikirate.
- Wikirate facility profile: The URL of the facility’s profile page on Wikirate.
Methodology
The facility data was sourced from publicly available supplier lists published by companies. Each facility was matched to a corresponding Wikirate facility/company profile where possible, and the source name and reporting year were retained to preserve provenance. Facility-level attributes, such as the presence of a collective bargaining agreement or the use of digital wage payments, were recorded based on the information reported in the source. Wikirate IDs and profile URLs are included to provide a persistent reference for each matched facility.
Coverage
The initial dataset includes close to 800 production locations with global coverage across the garment sector.
Update frequency
The dataset will be reviewed and updated at least once a year.
How Others Use This Data
Learn More
Have questions?
Reach out to support@opensupplyhub.org and we are happy to assist you.