A petition by the Supply Chain Act Initiative to “preserve” the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has, according to the organizers, collected more than 210,000 signatures. Together with trade unionists and scientists from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries the initiative handed the petition to the Federal Chancellery on October 8, as reported in a press release.
Whoever weakens the Supply Chain Act endangers human rights, the environment, and fair competitive conditions, explained Sofie Kreusch of the Supply Chain Act Initiative. And further: “Instead of deregulation, there is now a need to strengthen the law – in Germany and
Europe.”
Improvements in occupational safety already achieved
According to Franziska Humbert, expert on economy and human rights at Oxfam, the Supply Chain Act already has a concrete benefit for those affected. Grievance cases of the human rights organization together with the unions ASTAC and SITRAP from Ecuador and Costa Rica would have led to higher wages, greater respect for union rights and improvements in occupational safety in handling pesticides, Humbert is convinced. “A dilution would endanger these successes,” she said.
Amirul Haque Amin, president and co-founder of the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF), recalls the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh and Ali Enterprises in Pakistan:
„Thousands of workers
have lost their lives because safety standards were ignored. The German Supply Chain Act is a direct lesson from such tragedies: It creates responsibility for companies and protects people.“
Zehra Khan, Secretary General of the Home-Based Women Workers’ Federation (HBWWF) in Pakistan, emphasizes:
„Those who now want to abolish or weaken the Supply Chain Act risk that catastrophes like Rana Plaza will repeat themselves – with immense suffering for the affected and their families. Those who act as if this law is too bureaucratic are knowingly accepting this.“
Background to the petition: The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettengesetz, short LkSG) has been phased in since January
2023 and obliges large companies in Germany to respect human rights and some selected environmental standards in their supply chains. In May 2024 the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) was adopted, which partly goes far beyond the LkSG. The Chancellor intends to weaken the law and the directive, according to the Supply Chain Act Initiative.
The draft bill to amend the LkSG is to be introduced in the Bundestag in the coming weeks. At EU level, the so-called omnibus proposal is currently being discussed, which provides for massive weakening of the CSDDD. A landmark vote of the Legal Affairs Committee of the EU Parliament is scheduled
