Protecting Workers in Global Value Chains: Challenges and Emerging Regulatory Solutions

This chapter examines the challenges that global value chains (GVCs) pose to the effective protection of workers' rights and explores the emerging regulatory responses aimed at strengthening corporate accountability. It argues that the fragmentation of production, the geographical dispersion of economic activities, and the mismatch between corporate power and legal responsibility have weakened traditional labour law mechanisms and created significant gaps in workers' protection. Against this background, the chapter analyses the evolution of the European framework on sustainable corporate governance, focusing on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), while also considering the implications of the recent Omnibus Package. It highlights the growing shift towards a model of corporate responsibility based on human rights due diligence, stakeholder interests, and sustainability. Finally, the chapter discusses the opportunities and controversies surrounding the emergence of an extraterritorial approach to labour protection, assessing its potential to improve accountability across global value chains while acknowledging its legal and practical limitations.