Consultation document for Hired Labour banana plantations:

Standards Review of Living Wages in Hired Labour settings with particular focus on bananas

Consultation Period 1st September– 30th September 2020

Project Manager Giovanna Michelotto, Project Manager, Standards g.michelotto@fairtrade.net

PART 1 – Introduction

ContentsPART 1 – Introduction..............................................................................................................1

Contents...................................................................................................................................1

1. General Introduction.........................................................................................................1

2. Background......................................................................................................................2

3. Objectives of the Standards Review.................................................................................3

4. Project and Process Information......................................................................................3

5. Confidentiality...................................................................................................................3

6. Acronyms and definitions.................................................................................................4

1. General IntroductionFairtrade Standards support the sustainable development of small-scale producers and workers in the Global South. Producers and traders must meet the relevant Fairtrade Standards for their products to be certified as Fairtrade. Fairtrade International’s Standards and Pricing Unit (S&P) is responsible for developing Fairtrade Standards in line with the Standard Operating Procedure for the Development of Fairtrade Standards and in compliance with all requirements of the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards. A fundamental principle is wide consultation with stakeholders to ensure that new and revised Standards reflect Fairtrade International’s strategic objectives, are based on producers’ and traders’ realities and meet consumers’ expectations.

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You are kindly invited to participate in the consultation on the Standards Review of Living Wages in Hired Labour settings with particular focus on bananas. We urge you to provide input on the topics suggested in this document and encourage you to give explanations, analysis and examples illustrating your comments. All information will be treated with care and kept confidential.

The deadline for completing the survey is 30 September 2020. If you have any further comments, please send them to Giovanna Michelotto, g.michelotto@fairtrade.net.

Following the initial consultation, S&P will compile and aggregate all the comments received and share them anonymously via email and on the Fairtrade International website.

2. Background

“Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself (or herself) and his (or her) family an existence worthy of human dignity.”

(United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948)

Wages are the main factor determining the livelihoods of workers and, while they have increased globally over the years, in many regions and countries workers’ wages are still below a living wage. Inadequate wages are linked to weak labour rights and modern slavery, and in response various countries are legislating to strengthen human rights due diligence in the supply chain.

Fairtrade shares a vision of a world in which justice and sustainable development are at the heart of trade structures and practices so that everyone, through their work, can maintain a decent and dignified livelihood and develop their full human potential (Fairtrade Constitution).

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the insecurity and vulnerability of millions of agricultural workers worldwide, including those working on Fairtrade certified banana plantations. In response, Fairtrade has established the Fairtrade Producer Relief Fund and Fairtrade Producer Resilience Fund to support both producers and workers - but in the long term a Living Wage is the best way to ensure workers can provide for their families and save some money for emergencies.

Closing the gap between prevailing wages and the Living Wage Benchmark is a priority for Fairtrade and part of its strategy, but our proposal to close this gap depends on commitment and collaboration between different actors across the supply chain.

The identified tools to address the wage gap reduction on Fairtrade banana plantations are a Fairtrade Base Wage and the Fairtrade Premium. The Fairtrade Base Wage, which aims to increase wages in countries where the gaps are relatively large, could influence production costs and will therefore be considered in the next banana price review. The Fairtrade Premium cannot be considered as a wage, but cash payments or other individual disbursements from Premium funds can supplement household incomes until Living Wages is reached. Fairtrade believes a Living Wage, negotiated with free and independent trade unions as part of a collective agreement, is the most sustainable way to improve wage.

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Therefore, this is a continuity of the existing requirement 3.5.4. of the Standard for Hired Labour.

In short, Fairtrade International propose that wages must be raised if they fall below the Fairtrade Base Wage, and that the remaining gap to a Living Wage will be closed following a negotiated plan. In the meantime, the Fairtrade Premium can help workers and their families until they receive a Living Wage.

This multi-pronged strategy has been widely discussed and approved in the Fairtrade system. If you have other proposals how to close the living wage gap, please let us know as feedback to this consultation.

To better understand better how Living Wages and the Living Wage Benchmarks are defined please, see Annex 1.

3. Objectives of the Standards Review Develop a framework for banana origins to achieve Living Wages. Develop a proposal for consultation and recommendations to the Standards

Committee (SC) considering two tools: the Fairtrade Base Wage and the distribution of the Fairtrade Premium in cash or in Premium vouchers.

Engage stakeholders to ensure they clearly understand the proposal. Consult with relevant stakeholders on the proposal (and possible alternatives). Develop a system for collecting quality data related to wage improvement at Hired

Labour (HL) set-ups to be used for economic modeling, tracking and evaluation of impact.

Develop guidance, and provide clarity on what does and does not count as a Living Wage, for the implementation of Requirement 3.5.4 of the Hired Labour Standard on Wage Level Increases

4. Project and Process InformationThe project started in January 2019 with the launch of the project assignment which is available on the Fairtrade International website.

The progress to date and next steps are described below:Activity TimelineScoping January 2019Research Q1 – Q3 2019Internal consultation (only for plantation and workers) November 20191st round of public Consultation 1st – 30th of September 20202nd round of public Consultation (if needed) None To be confirmedDrafting final proposal Oct – Nov 2020 To be confirmedSC decision November 2020 To be confirmedPublication December 2020 To be confirmed

After the first round of public consultation, the Project Team will discuss these results and decide on next steps, including whether a second round of consultation is needed and when to bring proposals for the SC for decision.

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5. Confidentiality We value your input and will analyse all responses carefully to inform the final proposal. All information will be treated with care and confidentiality, and the results will only be communicated in aggregated form. However, in order to make the best use of the data, we do need to know which responses are from producers, traders, licensees, etc., so we kindly ask you to provide us with information about your organization.

6. Acronyms and definitions Acronyms:CLAC Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade Small Producers and

WorkersCLW Cash Living Wage FBW Fairtrade Base WageFMP Fairtrade Minimum PriceFP Fairtrade PremiumFPC Fairtrade Premium CommitteeFTA Fairtrade AfricaGLWC Global Living Wage CoalitionHL Hired LabourIKB In-kind benefitsLW Living WageLWB Living Wage BenchmarkLCU Local Currency UnitNFO National Fairtrade OrganizationPN Producer NetworkPO Producer OrganizationSC Standards CommitteeS&P Standards and Pricing Unit

Definitions:

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Cash Living Wage (CLW) is the value of the Net Living Wage Benchmark based on the Anker methodology without considering the in-kind benefits. It is only used as a reference when setting the values for the Fairtrade Base Wages.

Fairtrade Base Wage (FBW) is defined as a minimum wage to be paid in cash to workers on Fairtrade certified plantations. It is based on a percentage of the Cash Living Wage.

In-kind benefits (IKB) are all non-monetary benefits provided by companies to workers as a component of their wages.

Living Wage (LW) is defined as the remuneration received for a standard work week by a worker in a particular place sufficient for the worker and her or his family to afford a decent standard of living. Elements of a decent standard of living include food, water, housing, education, health care, transportation, clothing, and other essential needs including provision for unexpected events. It can be presented in net or gross values.

Living Wage Benchmark (LWB) is defined as the value of a Living Wage for a specific country based on the Anker methodology for measurement of Living Wages.

Living Wage cash gap is defined as the difference between the lowest net cash wage paid in a company and the Net Cash Living Wage.

Living Wage gap is defined as the difference between the lowest net wage paid in a company and the Net Living Wage.

Premium Vouchers are defined as coupons given to workers when cash disbursements from the Premium are too taxed, being a non-advantageous option to workers.

Workers are defined as all workers including migrant, temporary, seasonal, sub-contracted and permanent workers. Workers are waged employees whether they are permanent or seasonal/temporary, migrant or local, sub-contracted or directly employed. Workers include all hired personnel whether they work in the field, in processing sites, or in administration. The term is restricted to personnel who can be unionized. Therefore, middle and senior management and other professionals are generally not considered workers.

7. Pre-reading on the proposals

7.1 Fairtrade base wageWages paid to workers on banana plantations vary widely across banana origins. These differences relate – among other things – to the level at which legal minimum wages are set, banana costs of production and prices, and the existence of collective bargaining in the local banana sector. In order to reduce the Living Wage gap (the difference between the lowest wages and the Cash Living Wage), a Fairtrade Base Wage is proposed.

The Fairtrade Base Wage will be set as a percentage of the Cash Living Wage with the aim to increase the lowest wages paid in a company. The Cash Living Wage is used as a reference to avoid the complexity of monetizing the In-Kind benefits. The percentage of the Cash Living Wage will be the same for all countries. This measure is meant to raise wages

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particularly in those origins where the legal minimum wage is relatively low and/or collective bargaining is lacking. It is also a mean to establish a level playing field for all origins intended to reduce competition on the back of low wages.

This new requirement is complementary to the existing Requirement 3.5.4 in the Hired Labour Standard on Wage Level Increase.

Note that the Fairtrade Base Wage is to be paid regardless of the percentage of sales made on Fairtrade terms. Please find below the Cash Living Wage1 values for each country, which are used for the analysis and estimations of wage gaps. Cash Living Wage values take into account all the cash paid to workers during the year but not the non-monetary benefits.

Table 1 Indicative monthly figures of Cash Living Wage per country updated for March 2020 in Local Currency Unit (LCU)

Country Monthly Cash Living Wage per worker in

LCU

Local Currency Unit

Ghana 1,036 Ghanaian CedisDominican Republic 15,715 Dominican PesosColombia 1,368,563 Colombian PesosEcuador 434 USDNicaragua 7,385 CordobasCôte d’Ivoire 81,337 Franc CFA (XOF)Mexico 10,218 PesosPeru 1,098 SolesCameroon 82 706 Franc CFA (XAF)Panama 456 USD

1 Cash Living Wage s presented below are updated to July 2019 using inflation rate. Values are calculated as follows: Net Living

Wage Benchmark, as published in the Anker reports, deducting the value attributed to the non-monetary benefits*. For countries without an official Living Wage Benchmark, an Anker reference value has been used. The Anker reference values were calculated through a multivariate regression of the existing benchmarks. The value of the in-kinds benefits of the reference values has been set at ten percent which is the average statistical contribution of in-kind benefits to the Living Wage Benchmark.

*In-kind benefits are not considered when calculating the Cash Living Wage as they significantly vary between companies, monetization is complex, and verification is highly time-consuming and prone to disagreements.

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PART 2 Draft Standard ConsultationsThis consultation is divided into the following sections:

0. Information about your organization..............................................................................9

1. Fairtrade Base Wage..................................................................................................10

2. Partial distribution of Fairtrade Premium as cash........................................................12

3. Compulsory data reporting..........................................................................................14

4. Stakeholders’ comments / feedback on the present consultation...............................15

Annex 1..............................................................................................................................16

The target groups of this consultation are:

Workers at Hired Labour banana plantations certified under the Fairtrade Standards for Hired Labour Organizations and for Fresh Fruit.

Hired Labour banana plantations certified or interested in becoming certified under the Fairtrade Standards for Hired Labour Organizations and for Fresh Fruit.

Licensees and traders certified or interested in becoming certified under the Fairtrade Standard for Hired Labour Organisations and for Fresh Fruit.

Producer Networks (PNs), National Fairtrade Organizations (NFOs), Fairtrade International, FLOCERT, NGOs, researchers, etc.

For each question, stakeholders are invited to comment on the description of the topic and to share their views on the question. Stakeholders are also invited to suggest additional ideas to address the topic and proposals to close the living wage gap.

During this round of consultation, Standards and Pricing (S&P) together with Producers Networks CLAC in Latin America/Caribbean and Fairtrade Africa (FTA) might conduct separate workshops with workers and plantation management to discuss the topics in this questionnaire. Workshops will depend on the local situation and mobility restrictions of the pandemic COVID 19.

The amount of time you spend answering the questionnaire will depend on how detailed your answers are. Your input is very important, so please take your time.

Please note that workers are also being consulted regarding the distribution and use of the Fairtrade Premium.

Please take as much space as you need to respond to the questions.

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0. Information about your organizationPlease complete the information below:

Q 0.1 Please provide us with information about your organization so that we can analyse the data precisely and contact you for clarifications if needed. The results of the survey will only be presented in an aggregated form and all respondents’ information will be kept confidential.

Name of your organization      

Name of contact person      

Email of contact person      

Country      

FLO ID (if any)      

Q 0.2 What is your responsibility in the supply chain? Please tick all that apply.

Workers

Producer

Trade union or workers’ organization

Exporter

Importer

Processor

Retailer

Licensee

Other (e.g. CLAC, FTA, NFO, FLOCERT, Fairtrade International, researchers, NGO)

If other, please specify here:      

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1. Fairtrade Base Wage

The proposal aims to:

Set the Fairtrade Base Wage as a percentage of the Cash Living Wage to be paid to workers as the minimum acceptable compensation to workers on banana plantations. The intention is to increase the lowest levels of wages in the origin while contributing to a decent standard of living for workers and their families and reducing the Living Wage cash gap.

The proposed change is:1.1 To introduce a Fairtrade Base Wage to be set as the lowest wage paid to workers on

Hired Labour banana plantations, regardless of the amount of Fairtrade sales, from 1st

July 2021 onwards.Applies to: Banana companiesCore Your company ensures that a Fairtrade Base Wage is the lowest wage paid to workers in

cash after taxes and mandatory deductions. As of 1st July 2021, the Fairtrade Base Wage does not fall below 70 percent of the Cash Living Wage applicable for your country. As of 1st January 2023, the Fairtrade Base Wage does not fall below 75 percent of the Cash Living Wage.Requirements 3.5.4, 3.4.11 and all other relevant sections of the Hired Labour Standard continue to apply. You ensure that no benefits have been worsened/reduced after the introduction of thisrequirement except when formally agreed with a trade union that has the right to bargain.

Year 0Guidance: Fairtrade, as a member of the Global Living Wage Coalition, defines a ‘living wage’ as the remuneration received for a standard work week2 by a worker in a particular place sufficient for the worker and her or his family to afford a decent standard of living. Elements of a decent standard of living include food, water, housing, education, health care, transport, clothing, and other essential needs including provision for unexpected events.

Workers are defined as waged employees (permanent or seasonal/temporary, migrant or local, sub-contracted or directly employed) whether they work in the field, in processing sites, or in administration. The term is restricted to personnel who can be unionised, meaning middle and senior management and other professionals are generally not considered workers.

Cash Living Wage s will be periodically updated by Fairtrade International.

Rationale: As achieving Living Wages is a priority for Fairtrade, the Fairtrade Base Wage is proposed as one of the tools for moving towards reducing the existing living wage gaps. An incremental approach is proposed, i.e. 70 percent as of July 1st 2021 and 75 percent as of January 1st 2023, as a way to enable companies to smoothly adapt their payrolls. The 70 percent and 75 percent targets have been proposed on the basis of the economic analysis done in countries where the living wage gaps are widest.

Implications: If workers earn wages below the given percentage of the Fairtrade Base Wage,

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plantation owners will need to increase wages. Fairtrade Base Wage is to be paid to workers regardless of the volume of Fairtrade sales. During the price review in 2021, cost of sustainable production will be collected; eventual cost increases due to the payment of the Fairtrade Base Wage will be assessed.

The table below presents the different Cash Living Wage values for each country in the Local Currency Unit (LCU)3.

Country Monthly Cash Living Wage

(LCU)

70% of the Cash Living Wage

(LCU)

75% of the Cash Living Wage (LCU)

Ghana 1 036 725 777Dominican Republic

15 71511 001 11 786

Colombia 1 368 563 957 994 1 026 422Ecuador 434 304 326Nicaragua 7 385 5 170 5 539Côte d’Ivoire 81 337 56 936 61 003Mexico 10 218 7 153 7 664Peru 1 098 769 824Cameroun 82 706 57 894 62 030Panama 456 319 342

Q 1.1 Do you agree that the Fairtrade Base Wage (net, in cash) paid to workers does not fall below 70 percent of the Cash Living Wage as of July 1st 2021?

Strongly agree

Partially agree

Disagree

If you partially agree or disagree, please explain why and suggest an alternative proposal.

      Q 1.2 Do you agree with the following implementations date: 70 percent as of July 1st

2021?

Yes

No, because      

If you disagree, please suggest an alternative proposal      

3 To better understand how far your company is from your country’s Cash Living Wage and to assess the wage gap, please do the following steps:

1st) Take the lowest Cash-Gross salary paid per month 2nd) Deduct the share of withholdings* and deductions* and add the share of contributions*, that affect the cash part of the salary. These values have to be pro-rated, on a monthly basis. If performance bonuses are received as cash by the vast majority of the workforce, its monthly share shall be added as well.3rd) Deduct the outcome from the monthly Cash Living Wage, which is provided for your country in table below.

*Withholding, deductions and contributions varies according to the statutory labor legislation of countries and agreement with unions. If the 13th month pay is stated as compulsory by law, then it is an statutory social benefit; but if it is a voluntarily non-compulsory payment, then it is a contribution.

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Q 1.3 Do you agree that the Fairtrade Base Wage (net, in cash) paid to workers does not fall below 75 percent of the Cash Living Wage from January 1st 2023 onwards?

Strongly agree

Partially agree

Disagree

If you partially agree or disagree, please explain why and suggest an alternative proposal.

      Q 1.4 Do you agree with the following implementations date: 75 percent as of January 1st

2023?

Yes

No, because      

If you disagree, please suggest an alternative proposal      

Q 1.5 Do you have any other proposal on how to close or reduce the living wage gap? If so, please develop below how it would be with as much as details possible.

     

2. Partial distribution of Fairtrade Premium as cash

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The proposal aims to:Introduce a mandatory allocation of a percentage of the Fairtrade Premium to be disbursed as cash to workers as an additional contribution towards achieving a Living Wage. This would reduce the wage gap, proportionally to Fairtrade sales, where the wages are not enough to reach the Living Wage.

In countries where the payment in cash implies in significant taxes payments, Premium disbursements can be use as vouchers.

The proposed change is:

2.1 To allocate a percentage of the Fairtrade Premium for individual benefits available to workers as cash on Hired Labour plantations if Living Wages are not reached.

Applies to: workers at Banana companies

Core

Year 1

Guidance: If the gap between the lowest wages and the LWB can be bridged using less than 30 percent of the Fairtrade Premium, the percentage for mandatory payout must be reduced accordingly. In addition to the mandatory disbursement of 30 percent of the Fairtrade Premium, the option to disburse 20 percent of Premium funds in cash remains (see Requirement 2.1.20 of the Hired Labour Standard). Consequently, workers could disburse up to 50 percent of the Premium in cash if they so choose.

Premium vouchers may be disbursed in cases where the disbursement in cash is not an advantageous option - for example, where disbursing the Premium in cash could result in significant tax payments. Premium vouchers can be used for essential needs that contribute to a decent livelihood, such as: home construction or renovation, education fees, and regular household items. The nature and frequency of disbursements must be consulted upon with local trade unions or in their absence with other elected worker representatives, to ensure that collective bargaining is not undermined. Premium vouchers cannot be used for goods or services which companies are required to provide by law, by Fairtrade Standards or by collective bargaining agreements, or to those customarily provided by the company. Premium vouchers cannot be used for visas or work permits for migrant workers; clothing or equipment for work; dormitories or shared housing for seasonal workers; drinking water; land for kitchen gardens; charitable contributions to the community that do not go exclusively to workers; employers’ contributions to social security and time off work for vacations; sick leave or maternity leave; and other non-statutory expenses provided continuously, such as work meals and transport to and from work, childcare, etc.

Rationale: For workers to have an income at least at the level of a Living Wage, the proposal is that a percentage of the Fairtrade Premium – beyond the 20% already possible – to be used individually by workers to meet essential needs. It is important to mention that the Fairtrade Premium is not considered as part of the wage paid by the company, but as a bonus paid by other stakeholders in the value chain and varies according to Fairtrade sales.

The use of the Fairtrade Premium in cash to help reduce the Living Wage gap is a temporary measure until the wages paid reach the Living Wage Benchmark level. Currently, requirement 3.5.4 of the Hired Labour Standard stipulates that companies negotiate with trade unions or, in their absence, with other elected worker representatives (excluding members of the Fairtrade Premium Committee) a pathway towards the Living Wage comprised of a timeline and incremental steps. This requirement has been put on hold until LWB for all HL origins were available, and will now be implemented from 2021.

To avoid confusion with wages, and since the Premium depends on Fairtrade sales that vary from week to week, Premium cash disbursement should be only happen occasionally during the year.Premium vouchers must be of an equivalent value of the Premium disbursed in cash and can be

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only used in cases where the disbursement in cash is not worthy, for example, when legal and tax restrictions are imposed on Premium payments that are distributed as cash.

Premium vouchers should not be provided to cover costs that the companies are required to meet by law, Fairtrade Standards or collective bargaining agreements; or those that are provided continuously (such as work meals, childcare or transport from and to work).

Implications: The Fairtrade Premium Committee would need to calculate the 30% of the total Premium received in a chosen period while receiving from the company, prior to making its decision on Premium use, the wage gap figure for workers receiving less than the Living Wage Benchmark itself. Based on the biggest Living wage gap, the FPC would then need to allocate the 30% of the total Premium received equitably and in accordance with time worked among workers. In case 30% of Premium is more than what is needed to close the wage gap, then only the required percentage of the Premium should be used. The Fairtrade Premium Committee will disburse this amount as agreed in the General Assembly. Written reports and transparent recording of cash receipts or Premium voucher receipts are required and are sent to management to demonstrate compliance.

The implementation of this change requires capacity building with the companies, and particularly with the Fairtrade Premium Committee, not only to ensure the transparency and accountability of the Fairtrade Premium but also to strengthen the decision-making processes of the Fairtrade Premium Committee and the workers in relation to their Fairtrade Premium investments (e.g. investments of Premium funds as a bonus pending the achievement of a Living Wage vis-à-vis other investments for collective projects).

Q 2.1 Do you agree that as of 1st January 2021, 30 percent of the Fairtrade Premium is distributed in cash as an additional contribution for household incomes if the relevant Living Wage Benchmark is not reached? Note: the 30 percent is to be used in addition to Requirement 2.1.20 in the Hired Labour Standard that allows workers – if they so choose – to distribute 20 percent of the Fairtrade Premium in cash. Depending on local tax rules, workers may choose to receive the Premium bonus in vouchers, instead of cash.

Strongly agree

Partially agree

Disagree

If you disagree, please suggest an alternative proposal      

Q 2.2 Do you agree to apply this requirement to the Premium received from Fairtrade sales as of 1st of January 2021 onwards? This requirement does not apply to Fairtrade premium from 2020 received in 2021 and any savings from the Fairtrade premium from 2020.

Yes

No, because      

If you disagree, please suggest an alternative proposal      

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3. Compulsory data reporting

The proposal aims to:Improve the transparency of wages paid to workers, to monitor progress on closing the Living Wage gap and to define prices that better reflect the costs of sustainable production. In order to model, track and evaluate impact, Fairtrade needs access to farm level data in order to better communicate progress towards Living Wages and to support price-setting.

The proposed change is:3.1 To introduce a new requirement on data reporting on an annual basisApplies to: Banana companiesCore You report data to the Standards and Pricing Unit at Fairtrade International every year. The

data is presented using the template available in the Fairtrade webpage and may include:

01. Number of workers (field workers, pack-house workers, other workers)

02. Lowest gross salaries (field workers, pack-house workers, other workers)

03. Number of hectares under banana production and harvested (in hectares/year)

04. Total production and sales volumes (breakdown by Fairtrade, non-Fairtrade, organic and conventional), split into export volumes and for local markets

05. List of cash social benefits (statutory and non-statutory ones) provided by plantation owners to workers, which increase or reduce the net salary received as cash by workers. Examples of monetary social benefits are: 13th month pay, birthday bonus, etc.

Year 1

Guidance: To report data, Fairtrade will provide a template on its website.

Rationale: With the exception of reports on Premium use, requesting data from plantations has not been compulsory so far. Fairtrade needs this information to be able to enhance the robustness of price-setting, to improve the work on Living Wages and to showcase and better communicate the progress being made by producers towards the achievement of Living Wages.

Implications: Plantations will need to fill in the template provided with the information requested and send it back to Fairtrade International at least once a year.

Q 3.1 Do you agree that plantations must report data on an annual basis as of 1st January 2021?

Yes

No, because      

If you disagree, please suggest an alternative proposal      

4. Stakeholders’ comments / feedback on the present consultationIn this section, you are invited to provide additional feedback regarding the Standards Review on Living Wages in Hired Labour settings with particular focus on bananas.

Topic Comments/ feedback/ suggested improvements

           

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If you need more information before commenting on this document, please do not hesitate to contact Giovanna Michelotto at g.michelotto@fairtrade.net

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Annex 1

How are Living Wages and the Living Wage Benchmarks defined?

Fairtrade is a founding member of the Global Living Wage Coalition, which includes ISEAL and wage experts Richard and Martha Anker as partners and with Rainforest Alliance, Social Accountability International and GoodWeave as fellow members. The Global Living Wage Coalition has committed to a single definition and methodology for measuring Living Wages developed by the Ankers together with the coalition4. This methodology also includes principles for assessing the value of actual pay and benefits to ensure that organizations using the Anker methodology have a common understanding of how to determine the gap between Living Wages and actual wages.

4 The methodology is described in the manual for measurement Living Wages Around the World (Anker and Anker, Edward Elgar, 2017) and can be freely accessed viahttps://www.elgaronline.com/view/9781786431455/9781786431455.xml

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