Dominic Eagleton, policy analyst at ActionAid said: “The Competition Commission’s recommendations are good news for the millions of poor workers, mainly women, around
the world who produce and pack goods for the big four supermarkets.“Faced with a crisis over global food supplies, the need for an ombudsman – a supermarkets watchdog –
to ensure a fair and sustainable food chain is greater than ever. “Supermarkets must play fair. If they reject the appointment of an ombudsman, the government must step in and
impose one”ActionAid has been campaigning for a code of conduct and an independent watchdog to curb abuses of supermarket buying power against producers and workers in the developing
world. Last year the Competition Commission’s inquiry found that big food retailers regularly carry out 26 abusive trading practices against their suppliers.
ENDS Notes for Editors1. In April 2007 ActionAid published its Who Pays? report, which detailed how thousands of women
workers have been locked into poverty pay and dangerous conditions because of the ‘big four’ supermarkets’ demands for ever lower prices and faster production schedules. The campaign
that followed has attracted 40,000 signatures, as well as endorsement from celebrities including Emma Thompson and Bill Bailey. 2. For full details of the Competition Commission's inquiry
see the Final Report, released today.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Afghan mothers visit a health clinic in Eshkashem district of Badakhshan province, northeast of Kabul, April 23, 2008. Women die in childbirth every day in Afghanistan, a country with one of ...
