Fair Wear at ETI conference on Living Wages

FWF director Erica van Doorn and FWF consultant on Living Wages Anne Lally visited a conference on Living Wages in London, organised by Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and Global Compact Network UK. Attendees were challenged to think about practical steps that can be taken towards better wages.

During the conference, Erica highlighted the case of FWF member Mayerline. The Belgian brand was involved in a process that led to the establishment of the first Collective Bargaining Agreement in a Turkish knitwear company. The case illustrates the importance of social dialogue in achieving living wages for workers.

Living Wage Foundation

Speakers at the conference included the Archbishop of York, the General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union and the Executive Director of Oxfam GB. Erica described the day’s talks: ‘A range of topics was discussed such as functional industrial bargaining systems and wealth not being distributed well throughout the supply chain.’

Many discussions during the conference revolved around living wages in the UK and the Living Wage Foundation. Oxfam GB published an insightful blog about the successes and limitations of the Foundation on FWF’s Living Wage Portal recently. Erica: ‘It would be great to see some of the useful lessons learned spilling over to global supply chains.‘

Throughout the day, FWF’s work was cited regularly. ‘Compounding price escalation, was brought up quite a lot’, says Erica.
FWF introduced this term in the 2012 report Climbing the Ladder to Living Wages.