Somerfield has pulled out of the Ethical Trading Initiative, and an article in today’s [May 7] Observer suggests that the move has provoked criticism that the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket chain is “more concerned about profits than about the fair treatment of workers in poor countries”.
The Observer’s article runs under the title “Somerfield gives up on ethics”.
The ETI is an alliance that includes unions and retailers that aims to ensure suppliers in developing countries meet basic labour standards. A statement said: “Somerfield informed us that the decision was taken after the company entered private ownership on December 21, which prompted them to reconsider their short- and medium-term business priorities. We hope Somerfield will remain committed to improving the conditions of the workers around the world who grow, pick, manufacture and pack the products they sell.”
According to the Observer, “the initiative's leaders are frustrated at the slow progress of some retailers in addressing abuses of workers in overseas factories. The pressure on retailers to increase margins and sell, for instance, cheap clothes, is causing a 'race to the bottom' of labour standards that company bosses may be unable or unwilling to resist”.
Bristol-based Somerfield is reported to have said: “Somerfield was a founder member of the ETI. We remain committed to the principles of an ethical trading policy and have incorporated accepted codes of practice across our business.
'We have taken the decision not to renew our membership ... but will continue to invest in our monitoring and audit systems to ensure that we source from suppliers with approved standards of employee welfare. We are currently defining better ways in which we can view and monitor the ethical performance of our suppliers utilising our own IT and supplier audit systems.”
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