Global Networks - 2022 - Hughes - Global value chains for medical gloves during the COVID%E2%80%9019 pandemic Confronting forced.pdf (511.66 kB)
Global value chains for medical gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic: confronting forced labour through public procurement and crisis
Version 2 2023-06-13, 15:31
Version 1 2023-06-10, 02:04
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-13, 15:31 authored by Alex Hughes, James A Brown, Mei TruebaMei Trueba, Alexander Trautrims, Ben Bostock, Emily Day, Rosey Hurst, Mahmood BhuttaMahmood BhuttaThis paper evaluates ways in which labour issues in global value chains for medical gloves have been affected by, and addressed through, the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on production in Malaysia and supply to the United Kingdom's National Health Service and draws on a large-scale survey with workers and interviews with UK government officials, suppliers and buyers. Adopting a Global Value Chain (GVC) framework, the paper shows how forced labour endemic in the sector was exacerbated during the pandemic in the context of increased demand for gloves. Attempts at remediation are shown to operate through both a reconfigured value chain in which power shifted dramatically to the manufacturers and a context where public procurement became higher in profile than ever before. It is argued that the purchasing power of governments must be leveraged in ways that more meaningfully address labour issues, and that this must be part of value chain resilience.
Funding
Tackling Modern Slavery in Malaysian medical gloves factories, using a whole system approach to the supply chain; G3300; AHRC-ARTS & HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL; AH/V008676/1
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- Published
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- Published version
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Global NetworksISSN
1470-2266Publisher
WileyExternal DOI
Page range
1-18Department affiliated with
- Global Health and Infection Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2022-01-04First Open Access (FOA) Date
2022-01-24First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-01-10Usage metrics
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