A/79/159 collective bargaining in line with core ILO conventions. 48 Furthermore, workers’ organizations in Spain have taken legal action in order to improve the working conditions of platform workers, which eventually led to the adoption of a new “riders’ law” 49 designed to promote and protect their rights. 15. A number of policy changes have also been achieved as a result of advocacy by workers’ organizations. In Palestine, campaigns by the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions have contributed to an increase in the national minimum wage 50 and the International Transport Workers’ Federation achieved the elimination of the transit visa for migrant crews on United Kingdom flagged fishing vessels. 51 Several workers’ organizations in the United States, including the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, lobbied for the issuance of a Withhold Release Order for goods suspected of being produced as a result of forced labour from the Dominican Republic 52 and in Italy, the Federazione Lavoratori Agro Industria was involved in the drafting of the “National Guidelines on the Identification, Protection, and Assistance to Victims of Labor Exploitation in Agriculture”, aiming to establish minimum common standards and general principles for a public-driven mechanism to intervene in labour exploitation. 53 C. Empowerment of workers particularly vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery 16. Workers’ organizations are instrumental in empowering workers, particularly those who are at a heightened risk of exploitation in contemporary forms of slavery. 54 For instance, migrant workers who face challenges in organizing due to legal, language and other barriers are assisted by workers’ organizations globally, including in regions and countries with very limited civic space. One such initiative is Shramik Sanjal, an association led by Nepali migrants, which aims to empower migrant workers in construction, hospitality, retail, domestic work, and facility management throughout the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and Malaysia. 55 In North Africa, the Tunisian General Labour Union grants migrant workers membership, allowing them to stand up against labour rights violations, 56 and the Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (Ijuren) established a network of workers’ organizations and other non-governmental organizations to support __________________ 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 8/21 https://www.ituc-ap.org/news-and-updates/historic-victory-for-workers-rights-as-maldivespasses-industrial-relations-and-occupational-safety-and-health-bills. Royal Law Decree N. 9/2021, 11 May 2021; and https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2021/05/12/pdfs/BOE-A-2021-7840.pdf. Submission by York Centre for Applied Human Rights. Submission by International Transport Workers’ Federation. Submission by Corporate Accountability Lab; and a statement submitted to the Government of the United States of America by several workers’ organizations and civil society, available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5810dda3e3df28ce37b58357/t/636a9b9f459fe04fe6a21810/ 1667931039708/CSO+Sign+on+Letter+re+DR+Sugar.pdf. Submission by Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro. Submissions by Swiss Trade Union Confederation, Federation of Korean Trade Unions, Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), Gifu General Labor Union, Japanese Federation of Textile, Chemical, Food, Commercial, Service, and General Worker’s Unions (UA zensen), Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras, Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO Norway), Swiss Trade Union Confederation, Women’s Initiatives and Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, Trades Union Congress Ghana, Confederación Genera l del Trabajo de la República Argentina, Sex Workers and Survivors, Nigeria Labour Congress, and the International Domestic Workers Federation. Submission by Migrant-Rights.org. Business and Human Rights Resource Center, “Tunisia: General Trade Union grants migrant workers union membership, standing against racial discrimination” available at https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/tunisia-general-trade-union-grants-migrantworkers-union-membershi-re-iterating-the-organisations-positon-against-racial-discrimination/. 24-13043