Labor rights in Vietnam: Unilever’s progress and systemic challenges

In 2011, Oxfam published a study into the gap between Unilever’s high-level policies on labor rights and the reality on the ground for workers in Vietnam. Oxfam has reviewed the progress made since 2011 and found that the company’s overall commitment to respecting human and labor rights has been strengthened as a result of effective leadership across the business.

In this report, Oxfam identifies three key issues that need to be tackled for Unilever to move to the next level of social impact and responsible sourcing and for the good intentions of their policies to translate into real impact for the lives of workers throughout their supply chain.

• Unilever’s suppliers in Vietnam have not yet bought into the business case for changes in labor rights and improved standards.
• Further work is needed to improve incomes and gender diversity.
• The systemic issues covered in this report affect entire sectors. Unilever understands this and has committed to tackle the root causes of negative human rights impacts and to report its progress publicly.