What have retailers done to eliminate illegal activities?
Many of our members are part of the broad alliance of business and trade union organisations working with government under the auspices of the Ethical Trading Initiative. The ETI has developed a draft code of practice for labour providers and is trialing the feasibility of an inspection system to monitor the implementation of this. Procedures also designed to prevent the use of illegal practices within the supply chain include: – The use of Supplier Approvals’, designed to assess the technical capabilities and responsibility’ of the supplier. – Specifications and Terms and Conditions that require retail suppliers to adhere to all UK and EU legislation. – Many food retailers are carrying out social assessments of suppliers. Part of these assessments covers Health and Safety and Working Time Directive requirements. – Food retailers may require that their suppliers use only agencies approved’ by the Department of Trade and Industry when sourcing overseas casual labour. All such suppliers
