Tag Archives: UTS

How an Industry Known for Exploiting Workers is Cleaning Up its Act

March 5, 2021UncategorizedARC Linkage, certification, cleaners, cleaning, Cleaning Accountability Framework, exploitation, Fair Work Ombudsman, industrial relations, labour standards, Martijn Boersma, modern slavery, University of Technology Sydney, UTS, UTS Business School, vulnerable workers, worker exploitationmartijn

The cleaning industry has long had a reputation for exploiting workers, as cut-throat competition delivers contracts with profit margins so thin there’s little room to pay cleaners their legal entitlements.

The Cleaning Accountability Framework, with the help of a group of business, law and IT researchers, is making inroads into what has seemed at times an intractable problem.

Dr Martijn Boersma, who lectures in industrial relations and business ethics at the University of Technology Sydney Business School, has been working with CAF and says non-compliance with labour standards has been a big issue in the cleaning industry.

Continue reading How an Industry Known for Exploiting Workers is Cleaning Up its Act →

Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Supply Chains

August 9, 2015UncategorizedCorporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, ethics, governance, labour, labour standards, Martijn Boersma, Supply Chain, supply chains, Sustainability, transparency, UTS, UTS Business School, Value Chainmartijn

Modern supply chains are long, complex and global, making it harder for businesses to know who they’re really dealing with, and for consumers to feel confident they’re buying ethically. The negative consequences of that complexity can be as devastating as the deadly Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, which galvanised public opinion about the conditions under which our clothing is produced. Revelations about Australia’s food industry in a recent ABC Four Corners report show there are issues to be addressed at home too. So, the conversation has turned to the need to build responsible supply networks and the challenges in doing that. That’s the focus of the Sustainable Supply Network Initiative at UTS Business School and this #think public lecture.

Continue reading Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Supply Chains →

Ethical Supply Chains

July 10, 2014UncategorizedAustralia, Catalyst Australia, Corporate Governance, labour standards, Martijn Boersma, supply chains, Sustainability, UTSmartijn

Continue reading Ethical Supply Chains →

The Australian Supply Chain Disclosure Imperative

October 2, 2013UncategorizedAustralia, catalyst, Corporate Governance, CSR, Global Reporting Initiative, Reporting, Supply Chain, Supply chain management, Sustainability, UTSmartijn

The newly introduced G4 guidelines provide a great opportunity for Australian companies to showcase their supply chain performance, but the issue is to disclose supply chain issues that might not be on the radar of the Australian public, says CSR researcher Martijn Boersma.

The Australian annual general meeting (AGM) season is upon us, and has been preceded by the release of annual reports outlining the financial performance of companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. In addition to financial results, many companies will be outlining their sustainability performance, either through integrated reporting or via stand-alone sustainability reports.

Continue reading The Australian Supply Chain Disclosure Imperative →

2SER Radio Interview about the Catalyst CSR Dashboard and Corporate Reporting

June 21, 2013Environment, Gender, Politics, Society, World2SER, Bangladesh, Catalyst Australia, Corporate Governance, CSR, Guidance, ILO, labour standards, Martijn Boersma, NGOs, OECD, Radio Atticus, Rana Garment Factory, Reporting, supply chains, Sustainability, Unions, UTSmartijn

Annamarie Reyes from 2SER’s Radio Atticus talks to Martijn Boersma, Researcher at Catalyst Australia and the University of Technology Sydney, about the Catalyst CSR Dashboard and the poor corporate reporting on labour standards and supply chains.