The new bespoke project involves assisting the Swedish Regions' Secretariat for Sustainable Public Procurement as they follow up contract compliance of a med-tech subcontractor in Taiwan. The project will assess how far the factory complies with the Swedish Regions' Code of Conduct, focusing on forced labour, the working and living conditions of migrant workers, and occupational health and safety.

The first phase of our work will involve conducting an independent onsite assessment of working and living conditions in the factory, with interviews with migrant workers held in their native languages. A jointly agreed corrective action plan will address the key issues found within an agreed timeframe, with follow up actions to address medium and longer-term issues. In the second phase, a series of multistakeholder meetings will help to build the foundations for long-term prevention of forced labour through ongoing dialogue, and mechanisms to raise and resolve issues as and when they arise.

The project will include a visit by public buyers from Swedish Regions, one of the key suppliers in Sweden, and the Electronics Watch project lead Cindy Berman, to meet with stakeholders in Taiwan.

Ultimately, the project aims to prevent forced labour by increasing trust among stakeholders, establishing processes for regular social dialogue, grievance mechanisms, and ensuring greater collective negotiation power for workers in the med-tech supply chain.