In August 2023, Xu Xiao, a 23-year-old migrant worker, was found dead in his dormitory at the Qisda Optronic factory in Suzhou, China. Although his death was not officially classified as work-related, he had worked excessive overtime and consecutive night shifts shortly before his passing. This incident has raised critical questions about working conditions in the electronics industry. Our Impact Story explores what measures have been taken since then, and what challenges still lie ahead.

A new tool helps affiliated public buyers to assess the maturity of their current practices, identify gaps and drive incremental improvement.

The Electronics Watch Annual Report 2023 reflects on a year where collaboration has allowed us to increase our impact for workers in global supply chains. It has laid the groundwork for more mature industry dialogue and more coordinated and strategic activities that to use public buyer leverage to promote and protect workers' rights.

Find out more about our affiliate the City of Copenhagen, and their approach to responsible procurement. They talk about following up labour clauses, national and international site visits, aspirations to support workers to organise and include trade unions in remedy, and more!

The terrible fire of 24 June at the Aricell lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, South Korea, is a tragic reminder of the cost workers pay to provide the world with electronic devices. At least 23 workers have been killed, and many others injured.

Electronics Watch is pleased to announce that the University of Bonn has joined our network of affiliates, furthering their commitment to sustainable and ethical supply chains. A certified Fairtrade University since 2020, they have been at the forefront of fostering a culture of sustainability through initiatives like the Bonn Program for Sustainable Transformation.

Electronics Watch has submitted a statement on toxics in the electronics industry, based on evidence gathered through worker-driven monitoring and extensive expert consultations

We talk to three team members at the Flemish Agency for Facility Operations (Het Facilitair Bedrijf) in the latest installment in our "Meet our Affiliates" series. Find out more about their socially responsible public procurement goals, how affiliation to Electronics Watch is helping to meet those goals, as well as looking as some of their challenges and achievements along the way.

A team from Electronics Watch visited Malaysia in late January 2024 to meet migrant workers and learn more about the workplace issues they are facing, including union busting, recruitment fees, low wages and poor health and safety. Engaging local trade union representatives was another goal of the trip, to look at how we can combine efforts to tackle rights violations and prevent harm to workers.

Over the next five years, this Strategic Plan will guide us and our partners to defend the human rights of workers in global supply chains, to support a just transition and to counter authoritarianism with workplace democracy.