Time and again, workers around the world have used supply chain data to expose labour abuses and pressure multinational companies in fashion, food, and tech to clean up their act. These stories regularly make headlines. Yet one of the biggest levers for change remains hidden in plain sight: public procurement.
So, what exactly is public procurement and why does it matter?
Put simply, it’s the way governments spend public money on the goods and services we all rely on. And the scale is enormous. Every year, billions are spent through procurement contracts, shaping everything from what is eaten in schools, hospitals and prisons, to the uniforms, medical equipment and IT, as well as the solar panels powering public buildings and their construction and maintenance. In the UK alone, public procurement expenditure is about £434 billion for 2024–25.
Because of this scale, public procurement isn’t just about delivering services to the public; it also sets the rules of the market. The choices public bodies make, what to buy, who to buy from, and under what conditions, shape which industries grow, which companies thrive, and which labour and environmental standards are rewarded.
How our taxes can fuel abuse in global supply chains
UNISON’s 1.3 million members, who work across nearly every part of UK public services, have no choice but to rely on goods and services linked to abusive global supply chains.
Take a nurse in the National Health Service (NHS). They arrive each day ready to save lives, but many of the tools they use come from supply chains where workers’ rights are systematically violated. Investigations have shown that electronic devices and rubber gloves used in our hospitals are often produced in factories where workers face forced labour and union busting. Solar panels powering those devices have been linked to systemic forced labour, and worse, in China, while surgical instruments such as scalpels have been documented as being produced with child labour in Sialkot, Pakistan.
And the problems do not end in the operating theatre. Low-emission vehicles used to transport patients rely on critical minerals that are frequently extracted by exploited workers, in ways that devastate local communities and ecosystems. In private care homes, workers may face severe exploitation, as many reports have documented. Even the food served in these facilities can be traced back to seasonal farm work in the UK, where investigations have uncovered forced labour.
This is the uncomfortable reality: the tools of public service, from hospitals to care homes to farms, are too often entangled in global supply chains where exploitation thrives.
As a proudly internationalist union, UNISON and its members are clear: public money must never bankroll exploitation. It should uphold rights, dignity, and justice, at home and across the globe.
How to Scale the Supply Chain Transparency We Need
Labour abuses always thrive in opacity. Layers of subcontracting, deliberately complex supply networks, and claims of “commercial confidentiality” allow employers to evade responsibility for working conditions. When governments and the public can see where goods are made and on what terms, there is nowhere to hide. That is why supply chain transparency matters: it exposes where forced labour, union busting, and environmental harm take root.
As trade unionists, we know the power of transparency when it comes to winning with and for our members. Initiatives such as Electronics Watch, which helps public-sector buyers use their purchasing power responsibly, have demonstrated how supply chain data can support worker-driven monitoring and remedy. By putting transparency into practice, they have helped workers and unions defend not only labour rights but also trade union rights in sectors like electronics and low-emission vehicles.
These examples prove that transparency works. The question now is how to scale it beyond one sector or geography. That’s where Open Supply Hub (OS Hub) comes in: a free, open-access platform built on principles of shared governance and open standards. OS Hub already contains data on over 1.9 million production locations across more than 130 countries, spanning garments, electronics, agriculture, and more. Unlike proprietary databases controlled by corporations, it is built on principles of shared governance and open standards. By providing a global, cross-sector platform with a common data standard, OS Hub enables public authorities, unions, and civil society to map supply chains together and access information that would otherwise remain locked in corporate or government silos.
Open supply chain data, stronger unions, responsible procurement
Open data transforms supply chains from hidden networks into systems of trade that are accountable to workers and the wider public. With transparency, everyone benefits.
For unions: Easy access to reliable supply chain data helps unions map and spot labour violations faster. Right now, they may spend weeks digging through scattered websites or government records just to link brands to factories with labor violations. When that information isn’t available, workers and allies often have to take risks, from whistleblowing to covert documentation, just to uncover the truth. A platform like OS Hub, where brands, suppliers and multi-stakeholder bodies openly share their supply chain data, makes this work far easier. Unions can quickly see where goods are made, who’s buying from those factories, and act when problems arise. That frees up time and resources to focus on organising, bargaining, building global solidarity, and advocacy.
For public buyers: Transparency leads to better decisions. If buyers learn, for example, that a school-uniform supplier is linked to factories that break up unions and exploit workers, they can demand fixes before awarding public money, or push for worker-led solutions if a contract is already in place. If that fails, they can end the contract responsibly. With supply-chain visibility, procurement can being to move beyond a tick-box exercise and become a tool to improve labour standards across whole industries.
For society: Open data strengthens freedom of association and democratic accountability. When supply chains are visible, communities and unions can better challenge union-busting and unsafe work. Stronger unions don’t just create safer workplaces, they nurture civic participation and collective voice, which research shows are foundations of healthier democracies.
The way forward: public money for public good
In the UK, the 2015 Modern Slavery Act is widely seen as inadequate because it relies on voluntary corporate reporting and allows companies to issue vague statements without real change in their supply chains. UNISON has been campaigning for years, with coalition partners, for a UK Business, Human Rights and Environment Act. If we are successful, public authorities would be mandated to disclose supply chain data. With the government now conducting a National Baseline Assessment and a Responsible Business Conduct Review, momentum is building for stronger laws to hold companies and public authorities accountable for abuses in their supply chains. But nothing is certain.
The good news is that public authorities do not have to wait for new legislation. By sharing supplier data openly on platforms like OS Hub, they can immediately show who makes what, under what conditions, and work with unions and civil society to monitor risks and address abuses.
Public procurement is funded by all of us. Every contract signed with taxpayer money is a choice – will it reinforce exploitation, or help build a better world? Our call is simple: we urge all public procurement authorities to share their supplier data on OS Hub so that public money works for the public good, delivering vital services at home while advancing decent work, equality, and justice at home and abroad.
