The IDH (The Sustainable Trade Initiative) has allied with ten global companies to ensure workers’ living wages throughout their supply chains. The participating companies include Aldi Nord, Aldi Sud, Eosta, Fyffes, Fairphone, L’Oreal, Schijvens, Superunie, Taylors of Harrogate, and Unilever, as stated on IDH’s Call to Action: Better Business through Better Wages. The call to action also mentions that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how vulnerable our societies are, and now is an opportunity to change the way business models operate to benefit a broader range of those in the community, interrupting the cycle of poverty and strengthening the foundations of the global economy. 

“To eradicate poverty, a living wage is the first step,” says Daan Wensing, CEO of IDH. “Helping workers achieve a living wage is a shared responsibility across the entire supply chain, but the business community must be a driving force. We are proud that 10 companies already will work together towards living wages and encourage other businesses to join the call to action and do the same.” Paying a living wage to workers will provide a good standard of living for them and their families and have been shown to reduce worker turnover and improve motivation and morale.

Unilever has also made a statement to commit to building a more inclusive society. Unilever’s main commitments include:

• Ensuring that everyone who directly provides goods and services to the company earns at least a living wage or income by 2030

• Spending €2 billion annually with suppliers owned and managed by people from under-represented groups, by 2025

• Pioneering new employment models for our employees and equipping 10m young people with essential skills to prepare them for job opportunities by 2030

Alan Jope, Unilever CEO, explained, “The two biggest threats that the world currently faces are climate change and social inequality. The past year has undoubtedly widened the social divide, and decisive and collective action is needed to build a society that helps to improve livelihoods, embraces diversity, nurtures talent, and offers opportunities for everyone.”

The IDH Roadmap on Living Wages develops and scales solutions for workers in the global supply chain for a living wage. The companies that joined the Call to Action will work with the Roadmap to develop and scale solutions for workers in global supply chains with the ultimate goal of achieving a living wage. The ten action steps on the roadmap include:

1. Identifying living wage gaps in their operations and supply chains.

2. Establishing shared frameworks with supply chain partners to close the gap.

3. Join multi-stakeholder partnerships that target areas with significant living wage gaps.

4. Building awareness and understanding among consumers of how they contribute to better livelihoods. 

5. Implementing practical solutions to remove barriers and close living wage gaps, and share costs in an equitable way. 

6. Support freedom of association with robust social dialogue and wage-setting mechanisms.

7. Adopt sustainable procurement and trading practices. 

8. Ensuring that value created reaches workers. 

9. Transparently reporting on progress towards a living wage. 

10. Sharing learnings, challenges, and solutions to inform and elevate all efforts as they find new pathways for reaching living wages.