IndustriALL and IF Metall mark 10 years of landmark global framework agreement with H&M Group

Signed in 2015 and renewed in 2024, the GFA has helped empower workers and trade unions, prevent and resolve conflicts at factory level and improve conditions for thousands of garment workers worldwide. National Monitoring Committees (NMCs) from Bangladesh, Türkiye, Cambodia, India and Indonesia gathered in Stockholm to review progress, share best practices and strengthen protocols for dispute handling, factory access and collaboration.

"Our global framework agreement with H&M has been continually developed since it was first signed ten years ago. It stands as a benchmark for sound industrial relations, which are essential for advancing living wages and decent working conditions in the industry. Yet nothing comes easily-both parties must continue working hard on this important journey toward justice for textile workers across H&M's supply chain,"

says IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie.

Key achievements over the decade include:

• Promotion of collective agreements at factory, company and industry level.
• Protection of workers' representatives from discrimination and support to carry out their roles.
• Training for management and union representatives on workers' rights, industrial relations, collective bargaining and conflict resolution.
• Co-creation of a Gender-Based Violence and Harassment guideline with independent expert Jane Pillinger.
• New Occupational Health and Safety Guideline for suppliers with input from IndustriALL and IF Metall.
• Every year, H&M Group suppliers receive training on the GFA. This year, training at 326 tier-one manufacturing units to refresh the GFA's scope and expectations.
• Three new collective bargaining agreements, backed by H&M Group through the ACT process, were signed in Cambodia in 2025. These agreements resulted in increase wages and improved conditions.

"This is one of our most important agreements in our supply chain, and one that I am deeply proud of. For ten years, we have built a strong, long-lasting collaboration that is delivering real, positive impact for thousands of garment workers every day. But it also shows that well-functioning industrial relations are the way forward to improving working conditions and wages in the countries where we source our products,"

says Leyla Ertur, chief sustainability officer for H&M Group.

"We are proud to mark ten years of partnership through the global framework agreement. This milestone shows that global companies and trade unions can work together for lasting change. We know that strong social dialogue, including collective bargaining, is essential for achieving safe and fair working conditions in the textile and garment supply chain. Empowering workers and strengthening trade unions at the factory level is not just crucial - it is the foundation for sustainable progress,"

says Marie Nilsson, president of IF Metall and IndustriALL.