Supplementary memorandum submitted by
Sainsbury's plc
Following my submission of oral evidence to
the International Development Committee on 13 March 2007, I promised
to write regarding the two specific aspects raised by Richard
Burden—the use of independent auditors to inspect our suppliers
and examples of how we work with our suppliers to ensure workers
have freedom of association.
1. THE USE
OF INDEPENDENT
AUDITORS TO
INSPECT OUR
SUPPLIERS
In answering this question, I thought it would
be helpful if I outlined our approach to ensure the ethical treatment
of workers in our supply chain. Wherever our suppliers are, either
in the UK or overseas, we expect them to conform to our Code of
Conduct for Socially Responsible Sourcing. This sets out the labour
standards we expect our suppliers to meet, including fair terms
of trading, protection of children, worker health and safety,
equal opportunities, freedom of association, freedom of employment
and hours of work and wages. We are also founding members of the
Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), an alliance of companies, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and trade union organisations. It exists
to promote and improve the implementation of corporate codes of
practice, which cover supply chain working conditions.
In the rare occasions when issues around the
treatment of workers arise, we find that it often results in a
more constructive outcome for the workers of the company involved
if we work with the supplier and help them to resolve the issue
rather than de-listing them. However, we do reserve the right
to strike off those suppliers who consistently fall below agreed
standards and will take action against those found to be in violation
of our agreed code of practice on treatment towards workers and
the ETI's Base Code.
In 2004 we became founder members of Sedex (Supplier
Ethical Data Exchange), an internet based system for facilitating
the effective sharing of ethical audit data. It has potentially
significant benefits for producers in that it has helped harmonise
standards and strip out duplication.
As part of this commitment to socially responsible
sourcing, we also use independent auditors to inspect our suppliers.
In 2005 we were instrumental in getting the major audit companies
together to agree a common standard for auditing which ultimately
led to audit companies becoming members of Sedex. Seven organisations
are currently in this membership category—ITS, SGS, CSCC,
Bureau Veritas, WIETA, Africa Now and Verite[acute]. In specific
regards to Mr Burden's question about the cotton supply chain
visit, we can confirm that in this instance, we used ITS.
2. EXAMPLES OF
HOW WE
WORK WITH
OUR SUPPLIERS
TO ENSURE
WORKERS HAVE
FREEDOM OF
ASSOCIATION
Fairtrade banana conversion and Costa Rica:
We have worked with Banana Link on labour issues
in Costa Rica on which, in the past, there appeared to be very
little progress. These primarily revolved around the willingness
of suppliers there to truly engage with trade unions. As I said
at the oral evidence session and have detailed above, we have
always adopted a stance of working with our existing suppliers,
wherever possible, because we feel we can ensure a positive outcome
for the workers if we work with the supplier and help them to
resolve the breaches in our Code of Conduct rather than de-listing
them and in this instance we used conversion to Fairtrade as a
catalyst for change.
A senior Sainsbury's manager drew up a significant
project plan to address the necessary planning, obstacles and
challenges of scale, along with two on the ground meetings in
Costa Rica to help facilitate dialogue and move the process forward.
We managed to bring together the relevant stakeholders and set
about a process to ensure that our supplier is engaging with the
trade unions locally and that workers are being offered the representation
that they deserve and will serve them well.
UK strawberry pickers:
Our supplier S&A Produce in Herefordshire
employed 4,000 migrant workers to pick strawberries. Working with
S&A and the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G),
we have agreed a substantial plan to ensure that workers are offered
the representation that they have a right to. Not only did we
chair the first remediation meeting with S&A and the T&G,
but also held a conference call for workers so that they could
speak to us directly, anonymously and in confidence, enabling
us to understand their perspective first hand. We have fully supported
the subsequent remediation process and remain committed to seeing
this through.
Judith Batchelar
Director of Sainsbury's Brand
March 2007
| 
