ACT

We are part of the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) initiative. ACT is a joint initiative between global brands and the Global Union Federation IndustriALL. Their goal is to ensure the appropriate living wage is paid to workers in the garment, textile and footwear sector. They achieve this through national collective bargaining agreements which are supported at an industry level by the ACT member brands.

For more on our work with ACT and in protecting human rights click here.

Our approach to ACT:

In our non-food business we have taken an important step towards promoting living wages, specifically within our own-brand textile supply chain. Within this supply chain the challenge is vast; on average workers earn 42-55% of what is understood to be the living wage benchmark. To tackle this issue in a systematic and collaborative way, we became the first discount food supermarket to join the Action Collaboration Transformation Initiative (ACT). This initiative is the first global agreement between global brands, retailers and trade unions to achieve living wages for workers through collective bargaining at industry level, connected to purchasing practices. As a member of ACT we have committed to establishing and upholding industry-wide collective bargaining agreements agreed between employers, trade unions and governments, thereby contributing towards living wages. Together with other global brands and retailers, we are committed to integrating wage levels agreed through the collective bargaining process into our buying contracts, starting initially in the key sourcing countries of Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Turkey.