Workers involved in fragmented production chains are increasingly exposed to exploitation, modern slavery and human rights violations... 

But the development of EU public procurement regulation has emerged as a useful tool to change the behaviour of firms, suppliers and contractors linked by Global Supply Chains (GSC) across different countries with varying legislation. 

Researchers at the University of Birmingham and Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich (LMU) have published their findings in Europe and the World: A law review...

Research by Dr Corvaglia and Kevin Li, of LMU, highlights the 2014 reforms of EU Procurement Directives as a key element in procurement regulation which is helping to improve working conditions and address violations of human rights abroad.

They point out that certification and labelling are important elements of new regulation practices making it possible to monitor and protect human rights and labour standards outside the jurisdiction of the procuring country...

”The EU Procurement Directives open many opportunities for achieving social and labour policies in public procurement,” said Dr Corvaglia. ”The government agency considers the human rights and labour conditions of supplying companies located abroad when making its decision – directly influencing the behaviour of companies within the supply chain.”