I am Isidor Boix, a collaborator with the International Secretariat of the Federation of Industry of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions of Spain (Industria-CCOO). Over the years, I’ve worked closely on international trade union action, particularly with multinational company supply chains and Indigenous Peoples in hydrocarbon exploration areas. One of my most significant roles was as the General Coordinator of IndustriALL Global Union on the Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with INDITEX. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Amman, Jordan, to explore social dialogue and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, and the experience gave me some interesting perspectives.
Initially, my main goal for this visit was to share the trade union experience, especially our work with the Inditex GFA in the field of CSR and human rights. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite happen as I had hoped. The structure of the visit was heavily focused on institutional meetings and visits to the Industrial Free Zone and a couple of factories. There wasn’t enough space to integrate discussions on union experiences. Still, it wasn’t all lost — I gained valuable insight into how social dialogue is playing out in Jordan.
One thing that stood out was how innovative the Inditex GFA model is, especially in the Jordanian context. The agreement itself has proven to be a strong tool for ensuring CSR initiatives align with workers’ rights, and I saw how effective it has been in the Jordanian industries we visited. These interactions deepened my understanding of how social dialogue functions in a different cultural, social, and economic environment, and it gave me a lot to think about.
However, I did notice some challenges. One of the biggest issues in Jordan is that there seems to be limited interest from both businesses and trade unions in pushing CSR and human rights within the framework of social dialogue. In comparison to Europe, where these topics are becoming central to labor relations, there’s a real gap in advancing them here. It’s essential to develop these frameworks across the Mediterranean, as they will be crucial in ensuring labor rights are respected in the long run.
The SOLiD initiative, which focuses on social dialogue in the Mediterranean region, is something I see as incredibly important. It offers a way to connect human rights and CSR commitments, particularly in supply chains of European multinational companies. It’s already sparked my interest, especially because I believe it can be coordinated with other, more advanced social dialogue experiences. That’s something I’m keen to explore further.
Moving forward, I plan to keep the relationships and knowledge exchange alive. The review we’ll conduct in July will be an excellent opportunity to dive deeper into the concerns raised during this visit, and I intend to distribute the insights gained with others in my network.
For me, one of the most impactful moments was visiting the Industrial Free Zone. It reinforced the importance of ensuring that our work — whether in Jordan or elsewhere — focuses on the real challenges workers face in these environments. There’s so much complexity involved, but that’s also where the opportunity lies for us to make a meaningful difference.
