This question becomes really interesting when applied to gig work. There are countless attempts to create business models NOT predicated on exploding/chapening/commoditizing the workforce. Those three principles have become core for mainstream for-profit platforms.
As part of the “Piloting the Fairtrade Textile Standard” program, the companies Brands Fashion, Melawear and 3Freunde have been working since August 2017 in India to guarantee l iving wages throughout the supply chain and to impose the same environmental, occupational safety and social requirements on all suppliers. They achieve this by introducing a Fairtrade textile standard certificate . The special challenge: as the first standard ever, the textile standard defines a fixed time frame of 6 years within which a living wage must be achieved . The project is financially supported by GIZ as part of the develoPPP.de program.
Hi Ashleigh
It great to see the farmer voice being part of the Farmer Income Lab - I believe this has to be hallmark of success for sustainable interventions.
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Managed by Q, Zirtual, Hello Alfred, Shyp and others hire(d) conventional staff and deploy them on short-term assignments. Juno aimed to empower minicab drivers (but didn’t). UP&GO sells housecleaning in New York City retaining only 5% of charges… Loconomics is a co-op platform for the Bay Area. OpenPlatforms wants to merge data from multiple gig work platforms.
Hand in Hand recently polled 800 of our members in Kenya to find out how they’d been impacted by coronavirus and subsequent shutdowns. The results were beyond alarming – 83 percent had slid below the poverty line (US $1.90 a day) vs. 44 percent pre-virus – but they also pointed the way back, through and immediate need for capital and finance. Partnerships supporting the ecosystem can in this way provide long term support, even in the face of global shocks. So it’s a really timely example of how these new kinds of models from stakeholders like Visa are having a real impact when people need them the most. http://www.handinhandinternational.org/research-poverty-rate-doubles-as-coronavirus-grips-kenya/
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One example that comes to my mind:
Albert Heijn is a retail chain established in the Netherlands in 1865 and that today owns 30% of the national market. Its parent company—Ahold Delhaize (AD)—is historically recognized for leading and participating in sectoral initiatives that promote responsible practices. Some of the efforts of AH to ensure sustainable practises with suppliers include: keeping the number of intermediaries to a minimum -so they can communicate directly with their suppliers regarding quality standards and supply specifications; avoiding spot-buying and instead working with an agreed procurement schedule that allows suppliers to plan future seasons and supply; and creating the first certified ‘slave-free’ chocolate bars in 2019.
Reading here
Anyone else can think of more examples?
Instead of a definition of Decent Work, here “Decent work deficits” that we try to address
- Lack of employment opportunities
- Inadequate earnings and unproductive work
- Indecent hours
- Inability to combine work, family and personal life
- Engaged in work that should be abolished (Child labour, Slave labour etc.)
- Lack of stability and security of work
- Unequal opportunity and treatment in employment (Gender, Ethnicity, age etc.)
- Unsafe work environment (like occupational health risks, safety)
- Lack of social safety nets (social protection like unemployment protection, pensions, health)
- No voice: failing workers’ and employers’ representation
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Hi Mark
It’s also good to see how ‘challenger’ brands like Tony’s Chocolonely can really drive attention on issues and sector change.
Definition of a business model for decent work
In case anyone was wondering…
A business model describes how an organisation creates, delivers, and captures value for itself as well as its customers. Business models for decent work create commercial value while driving decent work outcomes for workers, including job security, equality and health and well-being. Decent work should be promoted through the way businesses create core value; this is, aligning their social and financial value add -rather than just mere CSR.
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Sticking with the agricultural theme, the Farmer Income Lab has analysed a large number of initiatives aimed at boosting smallholder livelihoods to identify programs with the highest-possible income increases and identify “what works” to increase farmer incomes. The resulting analysis highlights the importance of putting farmer interests at the center of business models, and making fundamental shifts in the way the benefits and risks of supply chains and commodity sectors are distributed.
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We know there is a strong business case for investing in refugee employment. Research demonstrates positive outcomes for a company’s brand image, retention rates and performance. The [[Business Refugee Action Network] (https://www.rescue-uk.org/Business) (BRAN) has explored innovative approaches utilised by businesses and discussed how they can be taken to scale. Two examples were:
Virgin integrated the [MADE51] (https://www.made51.org/) which is the world’s first ecosystem delivering a viable route to market for refugees.
Levi Strauss & Co. launched a capsule collection of Porto Alegre created, handmade recycled denim products available to purchase in selected Levi’s® stores and levi.com. Porto Alegre is a cooperative providing job training for vulnerable people.
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@Alison_Ward
Thanks!
What do you think lead firms can do to improve the working conditions of farmers?
Is any player doing better than the majority?
Agree - platforms that aggregate on behalf of ‘gig’ workers / sole traders that are typically working alone is vital. This applies to work in care - such as elderly care provision. E.g., how can we support workers to have their pensions in one place?
agreed. Hopefully re-framing what successful business looks like. Too often this kind of work has been kept on the quiet.
One example The Farmer Income Lab highlighted is One example is the Philippine agribusiness company Kennemer Foods International. To encourage smallholder farmers to plant cacao between their coconut trees, it offers farmers 10-year contracts and guarantees to purchase all of the beans they produce. The company has founded its own financing arm and partnered with a government bank to provide access to long-term financing with flexible terms. About four years in, the initiative is already improving farmers’ income by 200-250 percent, according to the company’s purchasing data.
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I think this is a crucial point but also leads tothe conclusion that these short examples often fall short on being replicable, so how do we increase replicability?
The other issue is workforce scheduling. So many corporate employees are now told when to come in to work and when to go home each day based on unpredictable needs for the employer.
41% of America’s hourly workers don’t know next week’s hours and pay. Many don’t know tomorrow’s.
This is a key driver of financial volatility for breadwinners.
Hi Richard
I agree; and this is even more relevant due to COVID. We already heard early today from Oxfam about the ‘hunger virus’.
82% of our partners report that farmers have been impacted by agricultural and financial difficulties due to the COVID pandemic.
I’d also be interested in understanding whether there is any guidance on which benchmarks / accreditations (e.g. Fairtrade / Rainforest Alliance) are actually the most beneficial.
An example from Afghanistan: ‘Pakiza Livestock and Dairy Production Company’ have managed to improve their business while providing training and raising incomes for their farmer suppliers. Initially, farmers struggled to sell milk in the open market, and the company lacked cool-chain facilities and village-level milk collection centres to avoid milk spoils soon after it left the farm. As a result, production was low. ILO’s LAB project applied a ‘market systems’ lens to identify the bottlenecks along the value chain, which helped the commercial diary smoothed out supply issues of quality and consistency. This, in turn, gave smallholders access to the knowledge and markets they needed to sell their milk. In the first year of the intervention, Pakiza increased their sales of processed milk products by 21%. The company has now invested in the construction of the third center entirely on its own and has plans to add new product lines, for which they plan to train and work with 50 new female processors.
Reading: Business models for decent work
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