5th February 2025
Fairtrade helps ensure fair working conditions for workers which for many consumers is an issue of social justice that means they are willing to pay a higher price for the product. Ensuring workers have a fair wage and good living conditions is also about the sustainable use of resources. People are resources that we need to value and to treat with respect.
Food systems here in the UK and in Europe, are highly dependant on the use of part time cheap labour. In these situations workers are not paid fair wages nor are they provided with continuous year round work, holiday and sick pay etc.
This article from the Guardian describes the case of Julia Quecaño Casimiro, from Chile, who came to pick cherries in Herefordshire. When she left the farm a month later, she was homeless with little more than £100 in her pocket. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/nov/22/seasonal-cherrypicker-from-chile-files-unfair-dismissal-claim-against-uk-farm?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
The Green Tau 