Slated to open later this year, this centre expects to empower trade unions in harnessing national and European Union (EU) legislation, such as the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The centre will be guided by its steering committee composed of UNI Global Union (UNI), IndustriALL Global Union, and DGB.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Principal goals of the centre
1. To augment the capacity of trade unions within jurisdictions that have enacted human rights due diligence statutes, beginning with Germany, and extend this empowerment throughout global supply chains. This initiative aims to bolster trade unions’ ability to apply corporate due diligence mandates more effectively in safeguarding workers’ rights.
2. To facilitate strategic interventions employing human rights due diligence (HRDD) measures to protect workers’ rights and pre-empt potential infringements within high-priority value chains.
3. To champion the thorough execution of HRDD by corporations and policymakers.
To foster extensive representation and collaboration, the centre plans to form an advisory group comprising additional trade unions and experts. This group will formulate the centre’s strategy and orchestrate collective action as needed.
The competence centre will be constituted as a non-profit foundation based in the Netherlands, functioning entirely through virtual means without a fixed physical office. Its official inauguration is slated for the final quarter of 2025.
The Initiative for Global Solidarity, a GIZ programme supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has provided initial funding for the centre.
DGB chair Yasmin Fahimi said: “Strong laws need strong cooperation to make a real difference for workers. The creation of the Human Rights Due Diligence Competence Centre is a testament to the power of collaboration between trade unions, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Friedrich Ebert Foundation in turning legal frameworks into concrete action.
“By bringing together expertise and resources, this Centre will ensure that human rights due diligence laws are not just words on paper but a powerful tool to strengthen workers’ rights and corporate accountability in global supply chains.” During the announcement event, union leaders, policymakers, and employers will deliberate on how the centre can ensure that due diligence laws enhance the resilience, equity, and accountability of global supply chains.
IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie said: “By collaborating with other global unions, we can bridge the gap between unions in countries where these laws originate, like Germany, and those in supply chains where human rights violations are most prevalent. The new Competence Centre will serve as a crucial resource, providing capacity-building and legal expertise to ensure that human rights due diligence obligations translate into tangible improvements in working conditions across global value chains.”
Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which has been operative since January 2023, will constitute a significant focus for the centre’s initiatives.
This Act mandates large companies with over 1,000 employees to undertake human rights due diligence to detect, mitigate, and prevent risks related to human rights abuses and environmental damage within their worldwide operations and supply chains.
The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) was adopted in June 2024 and is set to be implemented by all EU member states starting in 2026. Once the CSDDD comes into effect, the Centre’s mandate will be broadened accordingly.
Last month, the European Commission introduced an Omnibus proposal aimed at amending various sustainability-related legislations, including CSDDD.
Although intended to streamline bureaucracy, this proposal has faced significant resistance from trade unions and civil society organisations due to concerns that it might dilute critical elements of the Directive. Recently, some US Senate and House of Representative members expressed concern about the impact of the EU’s CSDDD on US competitiveness.
