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62-557: The Fairtrade Mark is owned and protected by Fairtrade International (FLO), on behalf of its 25-member and associate member Fairtrade producer networks and labelling initiatives. For a product to carry the Fairtrade Mark, it must come from FLOCert inspected and certified producer organizations. The crops must be marketed in accordance with the International Fairtrade standards set by Fairtrade International. The supply chain

124-408: A Financial Times journalist found that ten out of the ten mills they visited had sold uncertified coffee to co-operatives as certified. It reported that they were "also handed evidence of at least one coffee association that received Fairtrade certification despite illegally growing some 20 per cent of its coffee in protected national forest land. Fairtrade farmers and marketing organizations incur

186-456: A labour contract between an employer and one or more unions, and typically establishes terms regarding wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime , grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs. Such agreements can also include 'productivity bargaining' in which workers agree to changes to working practices in return for higher pay or greater job security . The union may negotiate with

248-436: A Certification Committee, composed of stakeholders from producers, traders, national labelling organisations and external experts. An Appeals Committee handles all appeals. FLO-CERT inspections and certification follow the international ISO standards for product certification bodies (ISO 65). There have been claims that adherence to fair trade standards by producers has been poor and that enforcement of standards by Fairtrade

310-449: A crucial role in the collective bargaining process, representing workers in negotiations with employers. 3. Bargaining Representative: Employees can appoint a bargaining agent, such as a union representative, to negotiate on their behalf. 4. Good Faith Bargaining: Parties involved in collective bargaining are required to meet good faith bargaining requirements, which include attending meetings, considering proposals, and responding in

372-472: A fee, by FLOCert , an independent, for profit, body created by Fairtrade International in 2004. FLO-CERT certifies that both producers and traders have met with Fairtrade Standards and that producers have invested any surplus received through Fairtrade in social projects. FLO-CERT works with a network of around 100 independent inspectors that regularly visit producer and trade organizations and report back to FLO-CERT. All certification decisions are then taken by

434-586: A founder of the field of industrial relations in Britain. It refers to the sort of collective negotiations and agreements that had existed since the rise of trade unions during the 18th century. In the United States, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 made it illegal for any employer to deny union rights to an employee. The issue of unionizing government employees in a public-sector trade union

496-536: A larger consumer segment and boosting sales significantly. The concept caught on: in the ensuing years, similar non-profit Fairtrade labelling organizations were set up in other European countries and North America, called “Max Havelaar” (in Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway and France), "Transfair" (in Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Italy, the United States, Canada and Japan), or carrying a national name: “Fairtrade Mark” in

558-441: A pound over a period when the official price premium was 5c or 10c a pound, and this, plus the certification fee, meant that the cooperatives made a loss in years when a premium was payable, and were paid substantially less than the official minimum prices in years when a minimum price was payable. These should have been identified and rectified by the certification agency. Fairtrade inspection and certification are carried out, for

620-498: A single employer (who is typically representing a company's shareholders) or may negotiate with a group of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry-wide agreement. Collective bargaining consists of the process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers (generally represented by management, or, in some countries such as Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands, by an employers' organization ) in respect of

682-647: A small committee of activists in the rich north have been imposed on poor farmers in the Third World. Fraser suggests that they are a rag bag of requirements imposed without thought of what is to be achieved or how. The main aspects of the Fairtrade system are the Minimum Price and the Premium. These are paid to the exporting firm, usually a second tier cooperative, not to the farmer. They are not paid for everything produced by

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744-421: A time when the "Fairtrade premium" was 5c to 10c/lb. The cooperative or other certified organization has to spend money on conforming to the private standards , with changed employment practices, the introduction and administration of the required democratic processes, changed processing, labelling and packing, changed material. They also incur extra costs in selling: . Weber reports cooperatives not able to cover

806-464: A timely manner. 5. Industrial Action: Industrial action , including strikes and lockouts, can be a part of the bargaining process but is subject to strict regulations, including protected action ballots. ...where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost. Ronald Reagan , Labor Day Speech at Liberty State Park, 1980 In the United States, the National Labor Relations Act (1935) covers most collective agreements in

868-472: A union as a condition of employment. Unions are also able to secure safe work conditions and equitable pay for their labor. At a workplace where a majority of workers have voted for union representation, a committee of employees and union representatives negotiate a contract with the management regarding wages, hours, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment, such as protection from termination of employment without just cause. Individual negotiation

930-445: A union security clause in their contract with management. Dues are generally 1–2% of pay. However, union members and other workers covered by collective agreements get, on average, a 5–10% wage markup over their nonunionized (or uncovered) counterparts. Some states, especially in the south-central and south-eastern regions of the U.S., have outlawed union security clauses; this can cause controversy, as it allows some net beneficiaries of

992-442: A union workplace. These then go to arbitration , which is similar to an informal court hearing; a neutral arbitrator then rules whether the termination or other contract breach is extant, and if it is, orders that it be corrected. In 24 U.S. states, employees who are working in a unionized shop may be required to contribute towards the cost of representation (such as at disciplinary hearings) if their fellow employees have negotiated

1054-565: A way to ensure that the falling unemployment also leads to higher wages. In June 2007 the Supreme Court of Canada extensively reviewed the rationale for regarding collective bargaining as a human right. In the case of Facilities Subsector Bargaining Association v. British Columbia , the Court made the following observations: The right to bargain collectively with an employer enhances the human dignity, liberty and autonomy of workers by giving them

1116-400: A wide range of costs in achieving and maintaining certification . They incur these costs on all their production, but they can only recover costs on the small part of their production that they can sell as " Fairtrade certified ". In practice they can sell only small of their output as Fairtrade, because of lack of demand, and must sell the rest as uncertified at world prices. For example, there

1178-410: Is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers . The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. A collective agreement reached by these negotiations functions as

1240-688: Is also monitored by FLOCert. To become certified Fairtrade producers, the primary cooperative and its member farmers must operate to certain political standards, imposed from Europe. FLO-CERT, the for-profit side, handles producer certification, inspecting and certifying producer organisations in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In the Fair trade debate there are many complaints of failure to enforce these standards , with Fairtrade cooperatives, importers and packers profiting by evading them. As of 2006,

1302-509: Is identical in the consuming countries, using mostly the same importing, packing, distributing and retailing firms. Some independent brands operate a virtual company, paying importers, packers and distributors and advertising agencies to handle their brand, for cost reasons. In the producing country Fairtrade is marketed only by Fairtrade cooperatives, while other coffee is marketed by Fairtrade cooperatives (as uncertified coffee), by other cooperatives and by ordinary traders. Retailers and cafes in

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1364-653: Is in the fact that Fairtrade doesn't buy the complete production of a producer, making him sell his better products on the free market and passing on his lower quality goods to the fairtrade channel. Fairtrade International Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 387074196 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:33:10 GMT Collective bargaining Collective bargaining

1426-447: Is no forced or child labour and that health and safety requirements are met. (These labor standards do not apply to, Fairtrade "small farmer cooperatives" though some have an average of 2.39 ha per farmer of just one crop, coffee, with some single farmers having more than 23 ha coffee, implying substantial use of hired labor.) In a hired labour situation, Fairtrade Standards require a "joint body" to be set up with representatives from both

1488-504: Is not enough demand to take all the certified coffee produced, so most has to be sold as uncertified. In 2001 only 13.6% could be sold as certified so limits were placed on new cooperatives joining the scheme. This plus an increased demand put up sales of certified to around 50% in 2003 with a figure of 37% commonly cited in recent years. Some exporting cooperatives do not manage to sell any of their output as certified, and others sell as little as 8%. Weber reports cooperatives not able to cover

1550-426: Is prohibited. Once the workers' committee and management have agreed on a contract, it is then put to a vote of all workers at the workplace. If approved, the contract is usually in force for a fixed term of years, and when that term is up, it is then renegotiated between employees and management. Sometimes there are disputes over the union contract; this particularly occurs in cases of workers fired without just cause in

1612-419: Is there any evidence that they get higher prices as a result of better marketing: the cooperatives sometimes pay farmers a higher price than farmers do, sometimes less, but there is no evidence on which is more common. Farmers do, however, incur extra costs in producing Fairtrade, so they certainly do lose money from Fairtrade membership in some cases. There is little or no research on the extra costs incurred, or

1674-476: Is used in all these meanings in key documents. In practice, when price and credit are discussed, “producer” means the exporting organization, “For small producers’ organizations, payment must be made directly to the certified small producers’ organization”. and “In the case of a small producers’ organization [e.g. for coffee], Fairtrade Minimum Prices are set at the level of the Producer Organization, not at

1736-558: Is very weak, notably by Christian Jacquiau. and by Paola Ghillani, who spent four years as president of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations. There is criticism of poor enforcement: labourers on Fairtrade farms in Peru are paid less than the minimum wage; some non-Fairtrade coffee is sold as Fairtrade; "the standards are not very strict in the case of seasonally hired labour in coffee production"; "some fair trade standards are not strictly enforced"; and supermarkets may avoid their responsibility. In 2006,

1798-803: The Fair Trade Certified Mark , however Canadian organization began actively promoting the new international Certification Mark in 2010 as part of a total transition toward it. TransFair USA has apparently elected to continue with its own mark for the time being. At present, over 19 FLO Member Labelling Initiatives are using the International Fairtrade Certification Mark. There are now Fairtrade Certification Marks on dozens of different products, based on FLO’s certification for coffee, tea, rice, bananas, mangoes, cocoa, cotton, sugar, honey, fruit juices, nuts, fresh fruit, quinoa, herbs and spices, wine and footballs etc. According to

1860-651: The First Amendment establishment of freedom of religion and the separation of church of state. The right to collectively bargain is recognized in international human rights conventions. Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights identifies the ability to organize trade unions as a fundamental human right. Article 2(a) of the International Labour Organization 's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work defines

1922-745: The " freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining" as an essential right of workers. The Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention , 1948 (C087) and several other conventions specifically protect collective bargaining through the creation of international labour standards that discourage countries from violating workers' rights to associate and collectively bargain. Only one in three OECD employees have wages which were agreed on through collective bargaining. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, with its 36 members, has become an outspoken proponent for collective bargaining as

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1984-655: The UK and Ireland, "Rättvisemärkt" in Sweden, and "Reilu Kauppa" in Finland. Initially, the Max Havelaars and the Transfairs each had their own Fairtrade standards, product committees and monitoring systems. In 1994, a process of convergence among the labelling organizations – or "LIs" (for "Labelling Initiatives") – started with the establishment of a TransMax working group, culminating in 1997 in

2046-491: The aim of reaching an agreement. This framework facilitates several key aspects of the collective bargaining process: 1. Enterprise Bargaining: The focus of collective bargaining in Australia is on enterprise bargaining, which allows for more flexible working conditions tailored to the specific needs of an enterprise and its employees. 2. Role of Unions: While union membership has declined in recent decades, unions still play

2108-414: The cooperative members, but for that proportion of13their output they are able to sell with the brand ' Fairtrade Certified ', typically 17% to as much as 60% of their turnover. There are complaints that the standards relating to paying of price premiums, minimum prices, provision of credit, etc. by importers in rich countries are not enforced. In particular importers can demand to get a higher quality at

2170-472: The creation of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, now known simply as Fairtrade International (FLO). FLO is an umbrella organization whose mission is to set the Fairtrade Standards, support, inspect and certify disadvantaged producers and harmonize the Fairtrade message across the movement. In 2002, FLO launched a new Fairtrade Certification Mark. The goals of the launch were to improve

2232-560: The different products. Fairtrade Standards for small farmers' organizations include requirements for democratic decision making, ensuring that producers have a say in how the Fairtrade Premiums are invested etc. They also include requirements for capacity building and economic strengthening of the organization. Fairtrade Standards for hired labour situations ensure that employees receive minimum wages and bargain collectively . Fairtrade-certified plantations must also ensure that there

2294-454: The economist Bruce Wydick with the median coffee drinker willing to pay a premium of 50 cents for a cup of fair-trade coffee even in the best-case scenario for fair trade, when world prices are at their lowest, the maximum amount a fair-trade grower from that same cup of coffee would receive is only one third of a cent Wydick lists his points against the alleged benefits of fair trade: According to Colleen Haight from San Jose State University

2356-409: The effect of Fairtrade membership on the income of farmers. Disambiguation: There is widespread confusion because the fair trade industry standards provided by Fairtrade International (The Fairtrade Labelling Organization) use the word “producer” in many different senses, often in the same specification document. Sometimes it refers to farmers, sometimes to the primary cooperatives they belong to, to

2418-548: The extra costs of a marketing team for Fairtrade, with one covering only 70% of these costs after six years of Fairtrade membership. Certified organizations such as cooperatives have to pay FLOCert a fee to become certified and a further annual fee for audit and continued certification Fairtrade inspection and certification are carried out, for a fee. The first year certification fee per unit sold as " Fairtrade certified " varies but has been over 6c/lb with an annual fee of 3c/lb to 3.4c/b for coffee up to 2006 in some countries, at

2480-515: The extra costs of a marketing team for Fairtrade, with one covering only 70% of these costs after six years of Fairtrade membership. It is generally agreed that some organizations make a loss from their Fair trade certification . but there are very few economic studies showing what happened to the money. Fairtrade farmers also have to meet a large range of criteria on production: there are limits on using child labour, pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified products etc. These cost money, mean that

2542-399: The farmers have to do more work in the hot sun, and that they have to hire labour instead of using family labour. In times when world prices are so low that there is no “social premium” and the minimum price is paid, some farmers have negotiated that some of the money is paid to them, rather than being used for social projects. Fairtrade labelled coffee, the first Fairtrade labelled product,

International Fairtrade Certification Mark - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-655: The following products currently carry the Fairtrade Mark: coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, apples, pears, grapes, plums, lemons, oranges, Satsumas, clementines, lychees , avocados, pineapples, mangoes, fruit juices, quinoa , peppers, green beans, coconut, dried fruit, rooibos tea, green tea, cakes and biscuits, honey, muesli, cereal bars, jams, chutney and sauces, herbs and spices, nuts and nut oil, wine, beer, rum, flowers, footballs, rice, yogurt, baby food, sugar body scrub, cotton wool and cotton products. The marketing system for Fairtrade and non-Fairtrade coffee

2666-831: The level of individual producers (members of the organization)" which means that the "producer" here is halfway up the marketing chain between the farmer and the consumer. The part of the standards referring to cultivation, environment, pesticides and child labour has the farmer as "producer". The part referring to democratic organization has the primary cooperative as "producer". Fairtrade Standards contain minimum requirements that all producer organisations must meet to become certified as well as progress requirements in which producers must demonstrate improvements over time. There are several types of Fairtrade Standards: Standards for small farmers' organizations.”, standards for hired labour situations, standards for contract situations and standards for trade (importers), and there are also standards for

2728-422: The management and the employees. This joint body decides on how Fairtrade Premiums will be spent to benefit plantation employees. For some products, such as coffee, only Fairtrade Standards for small farmers' organizations are applicable. For others, such as tea, both small farmers' organizations and plantations can be certified. Trade standards cover the payment of premiums, of minimum prices, where applicable,

2790-404: The opportunity to influence the establishment of workplace rules and thereby gain some control over a major aspect of their lives, namely their work... Collective bargaining is not simply an instrument for pursuing external ends... rather [it] is intrinsically valuable as an experience in self-government... Collective bargaining permits workers to achieve a form of workplace democracy and to ensure

2852-465: The political standards of FLO and they pay a certification and inspection fee. Other administration costs and production costs are incurred to meet these standards . The exporter (not the farmer) is paid a minimum price for Fairtrade certified coffee when the world market is oversupplied, and a Fairtrade premium of 15c per lb at other times. The cooperatives can, on average, sell only a third of their output as Fairtrade, because of lack of demand, and sell

2914-437: The private sector. This act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate, spy on, harass, or terminate the employment of workers because of their union membership or to retaliate against them for engaging in organizing campaigns or other "concerted activities", to form company unions , or to refuse to engage in collective bargaining with the union that represents their employees. It is also illegal to require any employee to join

2976-636: The provision of credit to buy the crop, and commercial relationships between the exporting cooperative or other organization and the importer. Typically, in order for a product to be marked as "Fair-trade " at least 20% of its mass must be made up of a Fairtrade product. Fairtrade Standards and procedures are approved by the Fairtrade International Standards Committee, an external committee comprising all FLO stakeholders (labeling initiatives, producers and traders) and external experts. Fairtrade Standards are set by FLO in accordance to

3038-565: The requirements of the ISEAL Code of Good Practice in standard setting and are in addition the result of a consultation process, involving a variety of stakeholders: producers, traders, external experts, inspectors, certification staff etc. There are however criticisms of the private standards . There have been complaints that Fairtrade standards are inappropriate and may harm producers, sometimes imposing months of additional work for little return. There have also been complaints that standards set by

3100-410: The rest at world prices. As the additional costs are incurred on all production, not just that sold as Fairtrade, cooperatives sometimes lose money on their Fairtrade membership. After the additional costs have been subtracted from the Fairtrade price, the rest goes on ‘Social Projects’ such as clinics, women’s groups and baseball pitches. Farmers do not get any of the higher price under Fairtrade. Nor

3162-413: The rich countries can sell Fairtrade coffee at any price they like, so nearly all the extra price paid by consumers, 82% to 99%, is kept in the rich countries as increased profit. There is however evidence that dishonest importers do not pay the full Fairtrade price, so an even smaller proportion reaches the Third World. Cooperative traders and exporters can sell coffee as Fairtrade certified if they meet

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3224-428: The rule of law in the workplace. Workers gain a voice to influence the establishment of rules that control a major aspect of their lives. In Sweden the coverage of collective agreements is very high despite the absence of legal mechanisms to extend agreements to whole industries. In 2018, 83% of all private-sector employees were covered by collective agreements, 100% of public sector employees and in all 90% (referring to

3286-456: The same official Fairtrade price, or withhold other services, threatening to buy from another Fairtrade supplier if the exporter did not agree to this kickback, or if the supplier complains that a kickback is demanded. De Janvry, McIntosh and Sadoulet have quantified this for a large group of Fairtrade coffee cooperatives in South America over a dozen years. They found that this kickback was 10c

3348-518: The secondary cooperatives that the primary cooperatives belong to, or to the tertiary cooperatives that the secondary cooperatives may belong to but “Producer [also] means any entity that has been certified under the Fairtrade International Generic Fairtrade Standard for Small Producer Organizations, Generic Fairtrade Standard for Hired Labour Situations, or Generic Fairtrade Standard for Contract Production.". The word

3410-412: The terms and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions, grievance procedures, and about the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. The parties often refer to the result of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as a collective employment agreement (CEA). The term "collective bargaining" was first used in 1891 by Beatrice Webb ,

3472-554: The union contract to avoid paying their portion of the costs of contract negotiation. Regardless of state, the Supreme Court has held that the Act prevents a person's union dues from being used without consent to fund political causes that may be opposed to the individual's personal politics. Instead, in states where union security clauses are permitted, such dissenters may elect to pay only the proportion of dues which go directly toward representation of workers. The American Federation of Labor

3534-491: The visibility of the Mark on supermarket shelves, convey a dynamic, forward-looking image for Fairtrade , facilitate cross border trade and simplify procedures for importers and traders. The Fairtrade Mark harmonization process is still under way – as of March 2011, all but two labelling initiatives ( TransFair USA and TransFair Canada ) have fully adopted the new international Certification Mark. These two organizations currently use

3596-541: The whole labor market). This reflects the dominance of self-regulation (regulation by the labour market parties themselves) over state regulation in Swedish industrial relations. Collective bargaining in Australia has its roots in the early 20th century, with the introduction of the conciliation and arbitration system. This system was established to resolve industrial disputes through the intervention of an independent third party, which could make legally binding decisions. Over

3658-430: The years, this system underwent significant transformations, reflecting the changing priorities of different governments and the shifting balance of power between employers and unions. Legislative Framework The Fair Work Act 2009 is the cornerstone of contemporary collective bargaining in Australia. The Act provides for "good faith bargaining" requirements, ensuring that parties engage in negotiations sincerely with

3720-504: Was first launched in the Netherlands in 1988. The label, launched by Nico Roozen and Dutch missionary Frans van der Hoff , was then called Max Havelaar after a fictional Dutch character who opposed the exploitation of coffee pickers in Dutch colonies. Fairtrade labelling allowed Fairtrade Certified goods to be sold outside the World shops for the first time and into mainstream retailers, reaching

3782-523: Was formed in 1886, providing unprecedented bargaining powers for a variety of workers. The Railway Labor Act (1926) required employers to bargain collectively with unions. In 1931 the Supreme Court , in the case of Texas & N.O.R. Co. v. Brotherhood of Railway Clerks , upheld the act's prohibition of employer interference in the selection of bargaining representatives. In 1962, President Kennedy signed an executive order giving public-employee unions

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3844-515: Was much more controversial until the 1950s. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order granting federal employees the right to unionize. An issue of jurisdiction surfaced in National Labor Relations Board v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago (1979) when the Supreme Court held that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could not assert jurisdiction over a church-operated school because such jurisdiction would violate

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