A government-sponsored report claiming to show that workers on Fairtrade farms are often paid less than non-Fairtrade workers contains “significant flaws” says the Fairtrade Foundation.
The report is based on an investigation by researchers at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) into the production of flowers, coffee and tea in Ethiopia and Uganda.
The researchers say that “where Fairtrade flowers were grown, and where there were farmers’ groups selling coffee and tea into Fairtrade certified markets, wages were very low – especially women’s wages”. Moreover, they state that the wages “in other comparable areas and among comparable employers producing the same crops but where there was no Fairtrade certification were usually higher”.
The report also claims that working conditions on the sites it investigated were often better on non-Fairtrade farms. And it says that the benefits of the social projects that the Fairtrade premium funds – such as schools, health projects and improved sanitation – often don’t trickle down to the poorest workers.
But the Fairtrade Foundation insists “many independent academic studies have shown that Fairtrade does benefit poor farmers and workers supplying international markets”. And while it “welcomes the underlying research for this report” it says the SOAS study contains “significant flaws”. In particular, the Foundation says, the report fails in many cases to make balanced comparisons between Fairtrade and non-Fairtrade systems.
The Fairtrade Foundation’s CEO commented: “We know that Fairtrade makes a difference to the lives of 1.4 million farmers and workers. When people reach for a product with the FAIRTRADE Mark, they are making a difference in the lives of the people who grew them. If we want to have an even greater impact, we need more of those customers – and more companies and donors – to back Fairtrade and campaign for trade justice.”
• Click here to read the full statement from the Fairtrade Foundation
Picture: Community water supply in Ethiopia provided by Fairtrade premiums
