The ITGLWF will launch a year-long campaign on ‘Bargaining for a Living Wage’ on October 7 which will link freedom of association and collective bargaining with the demand for a living wage in our sector.

The campaign is aimed at ensuring that unions worldwide have the right to bargain collectively in order to secure a minimum wage and that the prices paid by retailers and buyers are sufficient to enable manufacturers to pay wages that are sufficient to meet their needs.

Broadly speaking, the main goals of the campaign are:

• Making the living wage a live issue and assisting affiliates in determining living wage figures country by country;
• Publicising the living wage figures and drawing them to the attention of employers, brands, governments and intergovernmental institutions;
• Implanting living wage figures in the public mind through public campaigning;
• Assisting unions in using the living wage as an organising issue as well as bargaining collectively to secure a living wage.