Evaluating Corporate labor practices and decent work disclosure aligned with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Standards

Abstract

This paper explores corporate labor practices and decent work disclosure by adopting a framework of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards among listed manufacturing firms in Pakistan. For this purpose, the data collected from PSX-listed manufacturing companies over a five-year span started from the fiscal year 2017 through 2021. For this purpose, this study utilized 15 sub-dimensions of social sustainability based on the Global Reporting Initiative as benchmarks for corporate labor and decent work disclosure. The findings demonstrate that the TAI score of labor and decent work disclosure increased year over year by 18.40 in 2017 and reached 22.30 in 2021. Companies' annual or CSR repost encompasses labor practices and formally reports them. The checklist item "Employment" in this study's focused point and commonly disclosed element. Companies disclose less information regarding "labor-management relations" and "diversity and equal opportunity" issues. Only six companies, Fauji Fertilizer, Fatima Fertilizer, Atlas Honda, Crescent Steel, ICI Pakistan, and Akzo Nobel, have fully GRI-based disclosure practices, according to the brief document analysis. In contrast, other companies are on the way to following the GRI guidelines, SDGs, and labor laws. The findings imply that stakeholder theory and legitimacy are relevant in explaining labor disclosure (LAD) information.