Living Wages in Global Supply Chains

A new agenda for business

In this report, the Ethical Trading Initiatives of Denmark, Norway and UK aim to reposition the debate on living wages for companies within global supply chains. Instead of asking ‘how can I calculate living wage levels in my supply chain?” and “how can I get my suppliers to pay living wages?” it aims to help companies understand the wider wages landscape and their position and leverage within that landscape. Building on and complementing the 2013 European Conference on Living Wages Action Plan, it aims to steer companies towards collaborative action at industry level that will help create conditions for the continual and lasting improvement of wages. Key among these conditions, we strongly believe, is the existence of mature and effective freedom of association and collective bargaining alongside robust, transparent, and predictable mechanisms for regularly reviewed, adequate national minimum wage levels set by tripartite negotiation. [In English and Spanish]

Living wages in global supply chains