The Fair Labor Association (FLA) published War and Workers: Navigating Labor Rights and Supply Chain Risks During Active Conflicts (March 2026). The report provides guidance for companies and suppliers operating in or sourcing from conflict-affected areas, especially in the textile, garment, food and agriculture sectors.
Human Level’s Take:
- With the current conflict in the Gulf States and ongoing conflicts creating instability elsewhere in the world, supply chains are under significant pressure… and workers are bearing the brunt of it. The essential question: how can companies manage both risks to business and risks to people?
- The immediate priority for managing human rights risks of conflict: protect worker safety. Secure workplaces and housing, enable safe evacuations, train workers in emergency protocols, and support those in transit, for example by paying the costs of repatriation and paying owed wages before workers depart.
- There is also a heightened risk of forced labour and unethical recruitment in conflict settings, which requires stronger safeguards, including monitoring recruitment processes and ensuring workers don’t bear employment costs.
- Companies and their suppliers can help uphold labour standards during instability by supporting worker voice and consulting unions on changes affecting wages, working conditions, mobility or contracts.
- For buying companies, it’s also critical to adopt responsible purchasing practices, like extended delivery timelines and waiving penalties for delays, to avoid pushing risks onto suppliers and workers, and ensure wage protection. If termination of a contract becomes unavoidable, companies can conduct phased volume reductions, ensure all wages are paid before the contract closes, and consider providing livelihood support to workers.
- Finally, collaboration is key. Companies and suppliers can work together to share information and manage risks jointly. Companies can also work with their peers sourcing from the same places to align safety and payment standards, share resources, and consolidate reporting, reducing suppliers’ burden.
Some key takeaways:
- Protecting worker safety and mobility: The ongoing conflict in the Gulf States, compounding post-COVID fragility and trade tensions, risks cascading global economic disruption. We’re seeing spiking energy prices, broken supply chains, and restricted migrant labour flows. Beyond the immediate human toll in the region, the knock-on effects threaten workers worldwide through rising unemployment and a worsening cost-of-living crisis. One key need is to manage the immediate safety of workers amid conflict. This includes ensuring safety and security in workplaces and worker housing, preparing for safe evacuations if needed, and training workers and their representatives on emergency protocols in their own language. FLA also advises suppliers to manage the potential risks to workers in transit, for example those who are returning home or returning to work. As part of this, suppliers can provide support to workers in transit, covering the costs of repatriation for migrant workers and paying all wages owed to workers before they depart, among other steps. The report cautions that instability and conflict can increase the risks of forced labour, debt bondage and unethical recruitment. It’s critical to implement safeguards like close monitoring of recruitment processes and third-party labour fees, and ensuring that workers do not pay for the costs of travel and employment.
- Ensuring fair labour standards and employment terms: FLA also outlines steps for companies and their suppliers to ensure that labour standards and employment terms meet human rights requirements during conflict. For example, worker voice becomes increasingly important in times of instability, meaning that suppliers are expected to consult workers and unions when implementing emergency measures that could impact wages, working conditions, housing or mobility. Buying companies also have a major role to play. Conflict is likely to disrupt supply chains, leading to production delays and missed delivery windows. It’s essential that companies implement responsible purchasing practices to make sure these challenges don’t negatively impact workers, for example by driving suppliers to cut wages, mandate excessive overtime or weaken safety standards. Examples of responsible purchasing practices can include working with suppliers to create production or harvest plans that account for conflict risks, granting extensions and waiving penalties for delays, and categorising conflict-related disruptions under force majeure contract clauses, ensuring the burdens are not pushed down to supply chains. Buying companies can ensure that workers’ wages are sufficient to meet conflict-related cost-of-living increases, for example considering stipends, ensuring wage protection if work is suspended, and ensuring wages are paid on time and in a secure way.
- Collaboration becomes essential: Company-supplier collaboration becomes increasingly vital in times of instability. Companies can maintain open lines of communications and establish a safe disclosure environment where suppliers can report disruptions without fear of commercial retaliation. They can also work collaboratively with suppliers to assess financial vulnerabilities and manage risk, which ultimately protects workers’ livelihoods. Companies can also work collectively with peers to establish practices that reduce burdens on suppliers, for example designing aligned safety and payment standards, shared resource allocation and consolidated reporting. In addition, companies will need to be prepared to manage rising operational risks with respect for human rights. For example, if there is a need for downsizing or factory closures, buying companies can avoid sudden, “cliff-edge” cancellations by implementing phased volume reduction, ensure workers receive all payments before final contract closure, and consider livelihood support. Similarly, conflict-related disruptions will require non-punitive performance management, which can include adjusting suppliers’ performance metrics, implementing flexible sourcing timelines and sharing increased costs with suppliers.
