Latest Information

With the Dubai Centre for Responsible Business‘s ‘Responsible Business Dialogue’ on Monday, the UAE Ministry of Labour’s ‘Labour and Human Rights Conference‘ on Tuesday and the ‘GCC Leadership Summit on Labour Management‘ on Wednesday, it has been a busy week for Impactt MENA! As you will have seen from our blogs of the past few [...]

Last week Impactt attended an interesting event called ‘Putting market access into practice: Reaching the bottom billion through corporate supply and distribution chains.’ The event, organised by ODI, DFID and Business Action for Africa explored how supply and distribution chains can be harnessed to expand opportunities for the poor while delivering key business benefits. Speakers [...]

As you will have seen from the Impactt newsfeed and blog, there has been significant coverage recently on the conditions for migrant construction workers in Dubai and the UAE. What it often not realised however, is that there is also a thriving manufacturing industry in operation here which is well placed to serve global markets. [...]

7 Days, (Dubai’s equivalent of the UK’s free morning paper the Metro), reported yesterday that workers employed by Gunal Construction Trading and Industry in Dubai refused to work over the weekend because of the substandard conditions in which they are living. The article reports that raw sewage was overflowing from septic tanks in workers’ accommodation [...]

New Look has been working with Impactt on a series of projects developing innovative solutions for sustainably improving working conditions in the supply chain. The projects demonstrate that improving working conditions can result in more productive and profitable factories, as well as happier and better-rewarded workers. We are currently working with New Look, one of [...]

Following the publication of Impactt’s 10th Anniversary Report, “Progress Not Perfection“ last year, we are delighted to publish our first annual report “Getting Smarter: Ethical Trading in the Downturn“. High energy prices, food inflation, financial turmoil, recession and consumers tightening their belts – 2008 proved to be a challenging year.  The situation poses obvious but [...]

Following the Panorama programme last week, and the widespread media coverage of the fate of Dubai construction workers, the UAE Ministry of Labour has announced a series of initiatives to address the issues raised. A spokesperson from the Ministry reported on Friday that they are conducting an education programme for migrant workers. This is said [...]

Gone are the days when ethical trade was considered at best a ‘luxury’ and at worst, the preserve of sandal-wearing weirdos. In 2007, Impactt blogged about WWF’s ‘Deeper Luxury’ report which investigated the performance of 10 luxury brands against issues such as ethical trade, environment and stakeholder engagement. None of the brands achieved an A [...]

After last year’s Primark on the Rack, BBC Panorama has been investigating labour standards again. This time the BBC exposé focuses on the conditions of migrant workers building luxury estates in Dubai. Dubai is a by-word for 1st world seven-star living, with developments endorsed by footballer Michael Owen, cricketer Andrew Flintoff and celebrity chef Jamie [...]

From the 6th April the Gangmasters Licensing Authority will be working to a revised set of licensing standards, which seek to improve the Authority’s ability to hold licence holders to account. The new standards are the first revision of the GLA’s standards since its inception in 2004 and come following a period of review last [...]