Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support trade unions and workers rights in the Asia Pacific region.

The FCDO is fully committed to the objective of full and productive employment and decent work for all as enshrined by the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8). Through programming, diplomacy and initiatives such as the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) to improve workers' rights in global supply chains, the FCDO engages with trade unions and on workers rights across a number of fora. For example, the FCDO is part of the Sustainability Compact in Bangladesh, which brings together Government Secretaries, Ambassadors/High Commissioners, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for influential discussions on progress on labour rights conditions, workplace safety and responsible business practices. Another social dialogue programme works in 77 factories in Bangladesh, bringing together companies, suppliers and local trade unions, to improve conditions for more than 169,000 workers. Through our multi-year Work in Freedom programme with the ILO, the FCDO also works through local unions to promote workers' rights in South Asia and the Middle East, for example in the last financial year helping over 41,000 women migrant workers to organise and access support. These examples are underpinned by our wider efforts to support inclusive economic development in the region.