- Announcement
- Retailers Working Group
ALDI pilot project confirmed: Workers' representatives should be involved in verification processes
On the occasion of World Banana Day, ALDI SÜD and ALDI Nord present new findings from their pilot project on a trade union verification model of wage matrices. The aim of this initiative is to test a worker-led verification of the payment of living wages and to support banana producers in their supply chain to raise wages to a living wage level.
The member companies of the German Retail Working Group on Living Wages, ALDI Nord and ALDI Süd, together with the consultancy Heartwood, the NGO Banana Link as well as Del Monte, Dole, Grupo Iren, Guidom and Banafem, publish the report on a joint pilot project: With the publication, the organisations achieve to share the pilot results with other sectoral stakeholders in order to support similar initiatives and contribute to the improvement of verification measures.
Positive feedback from the management in Guatemala
In Guatemala, the SITRABI union worked with workers' representatives to verify wage data. The wages entered in the "Salary Matrix" were verified. At the same time, however, SITRABI found wage fluctuations, some of which fell below the minimum wage at certain times of the year. The management was open to feedback from the union and to continuing the dialogue to find solutions together to ensure the payment of living wages.
Transparenter dialogue in the Dominican Republic
On the farms in the Dominican Republic, workers and Fairtrade workers' committees carried out the verification of wage data. The meetings between the representatives and the management led to a transparent dialogue on other related issues such as informal work, holiday work and seasonal wage differentials. This was a very positive outcome that would probably not have been found in "remote checks" or routine audits.
Success through involvement of trade unions
Overall, the pilot project showed that through open dialogue, cooperation and the resulting trust-building, the companies were more open to sharing sensitive information. This allowed for more accurate wage calculations and an effective review mechanism. This process was particularly effective because trade unions were actively involved. Overall, the pilot demonstrated the clear and important potential of worker-led verification. However, to ensure the scalability of such an approach, investment in capacity building for local trade unions and worker representatives is needed on a large scale. The findings are not country-specific, but relate to the type of worker organisation involved in the pilot.