When workers are silenced for exercising their rights: Countering criminalisation and advancing corporate responsibility for remedy
Feb 9, 2026 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Description
Organised by Worker Rights Consortium (WRC)
Across Asia’s garment and footwear sector, workers who exercise their fundamental rights are criminalised as a form of retaliation and repression. This session examines how the use of SLAPP tactics and criminal complaints creates a structural barrier to the enabling right of workers to organise. From false criminal cases against workers in Bangladesh and Thailand to the imprisonment of unionists in Myanmar and Cambodia, women union leaders will detail how shrinking civic space, ineffective human rights due diligence, and weak corporate responses to violations leave workers dangerously unprotected. Drawing on recent WRC case studies, panelists will illustrate how successful interventions to secure remedy can strategically raise the standard of corporate responsibility and counter the chilling effect of criminalisation. The session will explore what these cases reveal about gaps in identifying risk in repressive contexts and consider best practices for protecting freedom of association.
Languages: English with simultaneous translation to Khmer, Bangla and Burmese
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