Funding has been secured to support the first exploration of an expansion of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility model in the European Union. The project will address working conditions for farmworkers, including migrant workers, in Spain’s produce industry. Project partners include the Spanish union SOC-SAT Almeria, the U.S.-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Worker-driven Social Responsibility Network, and the UK-based Ethical Consumer Research Association.
Widespread Exploitation in Spanish Produce Industry Goes Unchecked by Corporate Social Responsibility, Multi-stakeholder Initiatives
This development represents a major step forward in implementing the recommendations of the report, Produce of Exploitation, UK Supermarkets and Migrant Labour in Southern Spain, published by Ethical Consumer in 2023. This report documented widespread abuses of farmworkers, and underscored the failures of multi-stakeholder initiatives and voluntary corporate commitments to protect workers’ rights. The report’s principal recommendations include addressing the lack of transparency and access to remedy for workers in the sector as well as the exploration of Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) as a model that “[has] been successful in addressing insidious rights violations.”
“Workers in the Almeria region of Spain produce many of the fruits and vegetables sold in UK supermarkets,” said José García Cuevas of the SAT Almeria union. “Yet they experience wage theft and widespread exploitation. We are looking for ways to address the root causes of the issues we see in the fields every day.”
“In our research for the report, we saw that UK supermarkets have many codes of conduct and a range of voluntary commitments and certifications. Yet none of them has substantially improved conditions for workers – and often such superficial remedies prevent the adoption of more effective models,” said Jasmine Owens of Ethical Consumer. “We are delighted to have secured funding to support SOC-SAT and the farmworkers of Almeria in their exploration of what binding, enforceable worker-driven standards could look like in their industry given how the WSR model has transformed other industries.”
Spanish Farmworker Union Exploring WSR Model to Address Root Causes of Exploitation
The Worker-driven Social Responsibility model is based on six interconnected principles, bringing together worker-driven codes of conduct, binding agreements between brands, including grocers, at the top of supply chains, and worker-driven enforcement. A holistic combination of worker education coupled with a 24/7 complaint support line and comprehensive independent monitoring results in a mechanism that is trusted by workers – and aligned with the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. Together, these mechanisms underpin programs that are gaining global recognition as a powerful new paradigm for protecting workers’ fundamental human rights in corporate supply chains. The first iteration of the WSR model was the Fair Food Program, which was forged by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and protects tens of thousands of farmworkers across the US, Chile, and South Africa.
“Florida’s fields were once dubbed ground zero for modern slavery by federal prosecutors,” said Lucas Benitez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. “But through the Fair Food Program, we are ushering in a new era of human rights, and have virtually eradicated those abuses on participating farms, transforming those same fields into what one labor expert called ‘the best workplace-monitoring program I’ve seen in the U.S.’,.’ As workers ourselves – the men and women who built this new model and experienced this remarkable change – we are excited to continue the dialogue with workers around the globe about how they can transform their industries in similar ways through implementing WSR programs.”
Worker-driven Solutions Transform Supply Chains, Industries, and Workers’ Lives
“When worker organizations lead the creation, design, and implementation of solutions, the results are truly transformative,” said Rafaela Rodriguez of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility Network. “Our members have developed programs that are protecting more than three million working people globally. I’m excited that we have the opportunity to facilitate crucial exchange with the workers in Spain’s produce industry.”
The funding for the exploration comes from the Healthy Food Healthy Planet initiative, whose mission is “to steer collective efforts towards achieving systemic change in food systems in Europe.” Funding will also go to Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), a U.K.-based organization to support a pilot of the WSR model in the fishing industry. This program includes some of the same industry partners who will be involved in the European expansion of the WSR model.