10 Human Rights Priorities for the Transport and Logistics Sector

1: Occupational Health and Safety

The most prevalent risk for workers in the T&L sector is to their physical and mental health and safety at work. This ranges from the risks of physical injury (e.g., machine-related incidents aboard ships or in terminals and road accidents) to long-term health impacts (e.g. from exposure to hazardous substances or physically strenuous work) but also includes mental health impacts and “psychosocial” risks linked to pressured working conditions or the increased technological automation of processes. Workplace violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, is also common in the T&L sector—notably in the maritime industry where women make up an extreme minority of the workforce. Finally, climate change is exacerbating risks linked to working in extreme weather conditions (e.g. heat, rain), including impacts to the working environment (e.g. warped roads and worsened storms).

2: Fair Working Conditions

In every sector, global expansion, technological progress, and consumer expectations have pushed companies to compete on flexibility and responsiveness. While this has enabled economic development in many places, it has also applied downward pressure to reduce wages and benefits, while increasing the expectations placed on workers. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of the unfair conditions placed on T&L workers, including excessive working hours for seafarers and inadequate rest times and facilities for road transport workers. Many warehouse workers are employed on precarious contracts for very low wages (that oftentimes fall short of a living wage) and required to work irregular shifts that may be detrimental to their health and family life. Gig workers involved in last-mile deliveries frequently face exploitative contract terms and lack employee benefits.

3: Forced Labor and Human Trafficking

T&L companies rely on large, low-skilled workforces and often use recruitment agencies to find and train employees (e.g. manning agencies in shipping and third-party or temporary labor agencies in warehouse logistics). These agencies, especially in countries with weaker labor laws or enforcement, or more informal economies, are at high risk of employing workers under forced labor conditions. Such workers may be coerced into paying recruitment fees, may work illegally without visas, or may have their passports confiscated and wages withheld. Careful due diligence of labor agencies is critical to minimize these risks. There have also been instances of forced labor in the road transport industry, for example resulting from the pressure to compensate for local driver shortages in Europe through migrant labor. The T&L industry also has frontline exposure to human trafficking activities, which rely on transportation to traffic victims around. While these activities may not be caused by T&L companies’ core operations, the companies may still have an opportunity to contribute to the detection and prevention of trafficking.

4: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

In many countries where T&L companies operate, the freedom of workers to associate and collectively bargain through independent trade unions is not protected, and may even be prohibited by law. These rights are not exclusively exercised through formal trade unions and may be exercised through other forms of worker organization and representation (e.g., work councils, employee associations, state-sponsored unions). However, local laws or socio-political norms (such as anti-union sentiment in Southern United States) may restrict their exercise by workers without proactive encouragement from their employer. This risk is heightened in countries where independent contractors (e.g. truck drivers) or subcontracted labor (e.g. temporary warehouse workers or informal day workers) have limited access to collective representation and other labor protections. For example, in some countries truck drivers do not have employment contracts allowing them to join trade unions, and last-mile delivery drivers operating as “gig workers” are excluded from labor protections reserved for employees.

5: Collective Bargaining

As seen above, competitive pressures affect the workplace in myriad ways. In recent years, this has become especially acute for the issue of collective bargaining. In many countries, independent unions are not only rare, but illegal. This applies still more pressure on employers—and their suppliers—to restrict the ability of workers to voice their concerns and identify workplace violations. Regardless of the extent of their outsourcing or use of contractors, T&L companies should ensure that workers have access to effective means of collective bargaining, whether through a union, works council, or employee association.

Reference: UDHR Article 20, 23

6: Discrimination

The T&L sector has historically been a male-dominated industry, which has at times resulted in unfair hiring practices, pay disparities, workplace harassment, and unfavorable treatment for minority groups in promotion and professional development. For companies operating in global markets, respecting employees’ rights means guaranteeing equal opportunities for every member of their diverse workforces.

Reference: UDHR Article 2, 23

7: Security Forces

The T&L sector relies heavily on private security companies to protect staff and inventory. If local security staff are not vetted, trained, and accountable to their employer’s social values, they represent a severe risk to local communities. T&L companies should ensure that they avoid security abuses by private contractors by actively engaging with them to ensure their practices, training, and equipment are compliant with human rights.

Reference: UDHR Articles 3, 5

8: Land Acquisition and Resettlement

Infrastructure is critical to the T&L sector. Roads, ports, canals, and other transport networks are often built by third parties, however, and may be developed without adequate consultation and compensation for land expropriated from local communities.

Reference: UDHR Articles 8, 12, 17, 25

9: Grievance Mechanisms and Remedy

The UN Guiding Principles not only require companies to identify and manage their human rights risks, but to actively engage with the people who may be affected and ensure that victims have access to effective remedies. For the T&L sector, this means installing grievance mechanisms that allow workers and communities to point out how the company is impacting them. For some companies, this may be a hotline for employees. For others, it will be a town hall meeting for communities near an infrastructure project. Regardless of the form they take, effective grievance channels are essential for preventing human rights violations and providing remedy to affected parties if they are harmed.

Reference: UDHR Article 8

10: Bribery and Corruption

The T&L sector engages with government extensively, from single vans passing through customs checkpoints to fleets of ships accessing government-owned canals and ports. This makes the sector a high risk for both grand corruption and petty bribery. These acts are inherently human rights violations, as they skew government attention and resources away from the needs of the people they are entrusted to serve. Almost every link in the logistics chain, from where a road is built to how a procurement contract is awarded, contains risks of corruption.

Reference: UDHR Articles 1-28