Standards to illuminate how organisations respond to disclosure expectations on crucial labour rights issues across the value chain are being updated, with a global consultation now underway.
Launched on International Human Rights Day, this public comment period will conclude GRI’s review of all labor-related disclosures and is open until 9 March 2026. Following approval by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), feedback is sought on updates to four Topic Standards that span workers’ rights and protections:
- Workers in Business Relationships (GRI 414)
- Forced Labour (GRI 409)
- Child Labour (GRI 408)
- Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (GRI 407)
The revamp responds to persistent challenges in labour markets worldwide – including worker poverty, rising informal work, entrenched gender inequalities, and slow progress in ending child and forced labour. They also reflect growing demands for organisations to tackle negative impacts on workers in their value chains.
The exposure drafts increase coverage on labour rights and working conditions, including due diligence processes, incident reporting, grievance mechanisms, and engagement with worker representatives. New disclosures are proposed on policies and assessments that span an organisation’s activities and business relationships, with stronger requirements for incidents reporting, prevention, and remediation actions.
Harold Pauwels, GRI Standards Director, said: “Respect for workers’ rights is non-negotiable for any organisation that claims to do business responsibly. Our revised Standards aim to set clearer expectations for how companies identify their labour-related impacts and risks, involve workers, and make improvements in their own operations and across value chains. We encourage all stakeholders to share their views through the public comment, so the final Standards are ambitious, effective, and fully grounded in international best practices.”
The key changes to the draft Standards will be shared, with opportunities for Q&A, through two global webinars. Registration is open for sessions in English on 16 December 2025 (09:00 CET) and 18 February 2026 (17:00 CET, with Spanish and Portuguese translation).
