Living wage

CNV Internationaal is committed to a living wage for every worker. Over the past few years, attention for living wages has grown. More and more companies have come to realise that not having a living wage is a significant human rights risk in their international supply chains. One which they need to take seriously and address. 

However, in order to achieve living wages in a sustainable way, CNV Internationaal emphasises that it’s crucial to involve the workers and their unions in this process from the very start.

A living wage is the amount necessary for a worker to meet his and his family’s basic needs. You must be able to eat, for example, and send your children to school and pay for health care.

It is not the same as the minimum wage which is legally set by governments.

The hourly wage of many workers is too low to make a living. A normal working week doesn't allow them to make ends meet. Many people have to work extra hours because a 'normal' working week is not financially viable. 

Moreover, when parents aren’t paid enough , there is an increased risk of child labour. 

To be able to improve labour conditions such transparency and good data are vital. In order to represent workers properly, unions can use the 100% Fair Work Monitor developed by CNV Internationaal. A living wage and a safe working environment are important topics for unions when negotiating with employers.  The monitoring tool plays an important part in mapping the gap between the wage that is being paid to workers and a living wage.

Local unions can use the tool to make their own survey. Workers can complete this survey, easily and anonymously, on a tablet or phone. This way local unions know exactly if workers earn a living wage and if they feel safe. 

In the sugar sector, harvesters, women in particular, usually do not have a permanent contract.

Men and women are often not offered a permanent contract – or any contract at all. Because of this lack of job security, most workers do not feel secure enough to negotiate a fair wage; they can be easily replaced by someone else. In the direst situations where labour is scarce, workers are forced to do the work for even lower wages or deferred payment.

The dependent position of the worker makes it impossible for him/her to say no to insufficient wages. Particularly migrants who depend on company living quarters experience forms of disguised forced labour. Sometimes their passport is taken away so that the worker isn't able to leave. 

In addition, men and women are often paid unequally.

In Asia in the garment industry CNV Internationaal has developed the succesfull multi-Company Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) project.

In a multicompany CBA, workers (unions), employers and government  in a specific region or industry, enter into a collective bargaining agreement that improves working conditions and production. Thus, together the step towards fair work is taken. The MCCBAs are a sustainable approach to reduce supply chain risks. 

Steps are taken but millions of people working in the textile industry still don't earn enough to pay for housing, food, school and medical care. 

 In Latin-America CNV Internationaal successfully monitors the sugarcane industry, through a Labour Rights Observatory we launched in 2021. We started conducting a groundbreaking survey using digital tools. 

More than 800 men and women workers from the sugar industry were able to participate, providing us with data and vital information on labour conditions in the value chain. 

We're presenting the results of the first year through a Dashboard with clear graphs so you can explore some of the most relevant findings.
 

European investors in the international sugar chain also want to make the sector more socially sustainable and improve labour conditions. Therefore, they too support the inclusion of a living wage in the Bonsucro Standard. Together with CNV Internationaal they presented the roadmap a living wage throughout the cane sugar supply chain' on 28 October 2021 >.

Their aim is to motivate the different actors in the chain to cooperate in various ways, including the use of social dialogue and pilot projects, to progressively achieve a living wage for workers in the sugar sector.

CNV Internationaal works together with companies, governments and foundations. Learn more on the possibilities in this project proposal. 

Get in touch if you want to explore opportunities for collaboration to reach 100% Fair Work. 

Contact Daantje Bras, fundraiser and partnerships coordinator at CNV Internationaal, d.bras@cnv.nl or phone +31 6 43573117.