Global Living Wage Coalition

Giving workers a decent standard of living The topic of living wage has exploded into public consciousness, from fast food workers in the US to global clothing companies in Bangladesh. A living wage allows a worker to afford a decent standard of living for his or her family, with a little extra “just in case." The legal minimum wage too often falls far short of this concept, leaving workers around the world in poverty. An unprecented collaboration Seven standards systems have made a joint commitment and launched an unprecedented collaboration in the form of the Global Living Wage Coalition, recognising the need for a shared approach to measuring living wage and more coordination in living wage implementation efforts. The long term goal and shared mission of Global Living Wage Coalition members is to see improvements in workers' conditions, including wage levels, in the farms, factories and supply chains participating in their systems. The coalition publishes region specific living wage benchmark reports in many countries using a state-of-the-art methodology developed by coalition partners Richard Anker and Martha Anker. The benchmark and wage gap studies help involve a range of organisations in informed living wage discussions, including supply chain partners, workers and trade unions. These dialogues and the wage-related requirements in coalition members’ standards also encourage stronger action to increase wages. Who’s involved? The coalition is made up of Fairtrade International, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), GoodWeave International, Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), Social Accountability International (SAI), Rainforest Alliance (RA), and UTZ, in partnership with ISEAL Alliance and Richard Anker and Martha Anker.