On June 18, the Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) members came together in an online event to celebrate the Coalition’s 10-year anniversary, discuss progress made and reflect on challenges and opportunities ahead. Speakers included GLWC partners ISEAL and the Anker Research Institute (ARI), and members working in the sectors of agriculture (Fairtrade International), textiles (Fair Labor Association – FLA), aquaculture (Aquaculture Stewardship Consortium – ASC), and botanicals (UEBT). They were joined by living wage academic researcher Dr. Elizabeth Bennett of Lewis & Clark College, and representatives from the outdoor apparel company Fenix Outdoor AB, an FLA member.
Shaping the Global Conversation—Living wages are not an impossible goal
After an introduction about the GLWC, Kristin Komives, Director of Programmes at ISEAL, offered keynote remarks, speaking to the core principles that led to the GLWC’s establishment. At the time of its founding, the lack of a widely agreed upon definition of a living wage and a widely agreed methodology for estimating a living wage led to paralysis around this issue in the global community. Sustainability standards organizations recognized that the lack of alignment around the definition and measurement of living wage was holding back the living wage movement. Komives emphasized that it was not a clear and easy path to partnership around this issue, but “through passion and persistence, the group was able to overcome early differences and arrive at alignment and a partnership that became the GLWC.”
This hard work to reach alignment and to proactively promote the GLWC definition and Anker Methodology as the gold standard paid off. As Dr. Elizabeth Bennett highlighted in her comments, the way the global conversation around living wages has shifted in the past ten years is “absolutely astounding.” Her research has seen a marked change in the way companies talk about living wages, from an “impossible goal” only five years ago, to widespread acceptance in the past couple of years. “The technical challenges and market problems… are giving way to planning, pilot programs, and public promises of change.” Bennett highlighted the positive contributions of the GLWC in helping move forward global dialogue on living wages.
Robust research in service of informed action
In addition to members’ passion and persistence, the unique features of the Anker Methodology strongly contributed to the GLWC’s success. The Anker Research Institute (ARI) presented some of the key features of its methodology, including its commitment to in-person field research often led by local researchers who are familiar with the country and context, engaging stakeholders along the way.
Findings are furthermore validated through an in-person stakeholder validation process, and published in accordance with strong transparency principles. Crucially, the methodology itself and all official Anker living wage and living income estimates are freely available online through the GLWC website – a norm that has since been adopted by other leading methodology and estimate organizations. The Anker methodology is fully aligned with the ILO Principles for Evidence-Based Living Wage Estimates.
Such levels of local engagement and robustness of research principles are essential to creating estimates that reflect the needs and customs of workers and families in each location. Unlike other methods, Martha and Richard Anker added, the Anker Methodology uses a flexible basket of goods and services, embedding worker agency in each living wage estimate. Their locally-embedded and gender-aware research, balanced with rigorous methodology, ensures comparability and consistency across estimates.
This robustness has allowed ARI to collect high-quality, detailed data around the world, enabling them to develop new estimation products, Reference Values and Sub-National Estimates, that extend their reach to many more countries and sub-regions within countries.
Supporting companies in their living wage efforts
The robust Anker methodology combined with a large-number of locally specific estimates are critical for companies, who are increasingly looking to pursue living wage strategies and commitments in supply chains. Meanwhile, GLWC members have contributed to disproving the arguments made by many that technical challenges would make living wages impossible, ushering a raft of tools and guidance to inform concrete action. Saskia Bloch and Sina Hauser from Fenix Outdoor AB, member of Fair Labor Association (FLA), shared how they have made use of Anker Estimates and FLA’s Wage Data Collection Tool to propel their living wage program over the past three years.
These resources are also invaluable for standard-setters and NGOs who are new to the issue of living wages. Jean Johnson, Human Rights Programme Manager at ASC, shared how instrumental the knowledge and support of the GLWC and its other members has been in helping them introduce a living wage component to their aquaculture standards for the first time.
Living wage action matters, regardless of sector maturity
Throughout the discussion, speakers were clear-eyed about the implementation challenges that remain. While the conversation has advanced significantly in many sectors, others lag behind and still require widespread awareness raising to bring companies on board. Luckily, having common definitions, methods, tools, and recommended first steps creates a strong entry point for companies just entering the conversation.
The important thing is to start making progress where you can, as several speakers emphasized throughout the event. As standard-setting organizations, GLWC members work to find ways to hold companies accountable for making progress towards living wages, when many may be learning about the concept for the first time or starting from scratch. Gina Villareal, Project Manager for Living Wage and Living Income at UEBT shared that they started by asking companies to conduct effective measurement of current wages across their organization—something that many are not already equipped to do. From there, companies should set realistic, time-bound objectives to begin improving wages and work towards living wages for some, and ultimately all supply chain workers.
Importantly, living wages cannot be achieved through efforts targeting direct employers alone. Buyers downstream in the value chain, unions, industry associations, and governments are crucial in the effort to secure sustainable livelihoods for workers and their families. As shared by Wilbert Flinterman of Fairtrade International, sector-wide collaboration has been the key to securing living wages for Fairtrade workers in the banana industry. Several speakers also emphasized the role of governments to create policies and structures that connect the dots across supply chains, to prevent the burden of raising wages from falling solely on producers, suppliers, and local sourcing companies.
Get Involved
The GLWC was thrilled to see a high level of interest in the topic of living wage, with this public webinar garnering interest from close to 900 registrants from 80 individual countries. The next GLWC webinar will be held in November 2024. In the meantime, there are many ways to continue the conversation and momentum to achieve living wages:
Companies: Invest in high-quality benchmarks. Email: inquiries@ankerinstitute.org
Advocacy groups, researchers, consultants, unions, and workers: Read, share, and use the benchmarks for your work. Visit: www.globallivingwage.org
Standard-setter or non-profit: Join the GLWC! Email: glwc@globallivingwage.org
All: stay up-to-date with the latest news and estimates: www.globallivingwage.org/subscribe
