The British Retail Consortium (BRC) will be directly represented on the board of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) for the next three years.
The consortium’s sustainability adviser Catherine Pazderka has been appointed to the board for a fixed term of three years running until March 2015 after a retailer vacancy became available last month.
She said: “BRC members are responsible retailers, committed to doing all they can to make sure the people who pick the fruit and vegetables or gather the shellfish they sell are treated properly by their employers.
"Being directly represented on the board will allow us to be more effective for members on these important labour issues.”
There are 29 other members on the GLA board drawn from industry and government.