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Human Rights Watch report, Aug 2011. Workers in Western Cape province who help produce South Africa's renowned wines and fruit are denied adequate housing, proper safety equipment, and basic labor rights, HRW said in a report released today. The government of South Africa, along with the industries that employ these laborers, should take immediate steps to improve their working and housing conditions, HRW said. The 96-page report documents conditions that include on-site housing that is unfit for living, exposure to pesticides without proper safety equipment, lack of access to toilets or drinking water while working, and efforts to block workers from forming unions. While the Western Cape's fruit and wine industries contribute billions of rand to the country's economy, support tourism, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world, their farmworkers earn among the lowest wages in South Africa. The report also describes insecure tenure rights and threats of eviction for longtime residents on farms.

2011 US State Dept analysis of human rights situation country-by-country. Includes labour rights.

"World Report 2014 is Human Rights Watch's 24th annual review of human rights practices around the globe"

This report examines the role of commodity buyers, food processors and retailers inthe realization of the right to food. These actors play a key role, as they connect producersto consumers, and as they transform raw commodities into edible food. But the vastmajority of those who are hungry in the world today are part of the food system; smallindependent food producers or waged agricultural workers working on farms in the formalor informal sector represent over half of the billion who go hungry today. The reporttherefore asks how the sourcing, pricing, and wages policies of commodity buyers, foodprocessors and retailers impact the right to food. The report seeks to contribute to a betterunderstanding, by agribusiness corporations and States alike, of their respectiveresponsibilities and obligations under international law. It ends with 10 recommendationsto States and the agribusiness sector to ensure that the current transformation of the foodchain will contribute to the realization of the right to food. The recommendations relate to arange of areas, including codes of conduct and international framework agreements,cooperatives, marketing boards, public procurement, and competition law.

"This report digs underneath the façade of social auditing and certification schemes to reveal a deeply disturbing abdication of responsibilities on the part of both governments to protect human rights at the workplace and of companies to respect these rights by exercising due diligence regarding the impact of their business activities and their business relationships."

"The BSCI Code draws on important international labour standards protecting workers' rights such as International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, declarations of the United Nations (UN) as well as guidelines of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It sets out 11 core labour rights, which our participating companies and their business partners commit to incorporating within their supply chain in a step-by-step development approach. The 2014 version has been reinforced with new principles such as 'No Precarious Employment' and 'Ethical Business Behaviour'. "

"In contrast to the results reported in the 2010 Global Report... the newest estimates show that real advances have been made in the fight against child labour, particularly over the last four years. This means governments, workers and employers organisations, and civil society are on the right track and moving in the right direction. The investment, experience and attention paid to the elimination of child labour, with priority given to its worst forms, are clearly paying off. However good this news is, it has to be accompanied with an immediate reminder that success in this field can only be relative. As the assessment of the previous Global Report underlined, the progress is still too slow and its pace needs to pick up if the world community is going to come anywhere near to meeting the 2016 goal which it aims to achieve"

Conflict zone pressure rises on companies By Hugh Williamson in LondonPublished: January 12 2011 13:17 | Last updated: January 12 2011 13:17 Multinational companies are facing new pressure to tighten their operating standards in developing countries and conflict zones, including better risk assessments and grievance mechanisms, according to the leading global expert in the field. John Ruggie, United Nations special representative for business and human rights, told a London audience on Tuesday evening that a framework of tougher standards he had drafted "has acquired a life of its own" even before it is voted on in the UN's Human Rights Council in June.

ITUC's annual country-by-country survey of the state of trade union rights

Update report on dissemination of the UN Principles and proposed work to promote it over the next year, including projects and case studies

Historic agreement has been signed regarding trade union rights in factories in Indonesia. The pact was signed by Indonesian textile, clothing and footwear unions, major supplier factories and the major sportswear brands, including Adidas, Nike and Puma.

Annual ITUC global survey, with country by country analysis