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Congress 2014 Resolution 73 - Ethical procurement and union recognition

Issue date

Congress welcomes the TUC’s engagement with the Ethical Trading Initiative, and supports the principle that consumers, companies, and organisations should consider the position of workers in the supply chain of goods and services before making purchasing decisions.

The TUC’s commitment to ethical supply was demonstrated by the highly effective Playfair project in which the Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games insisted on suppliers complying with international labour standards.

Congress believes that the right of workers to organise, as evidenced by the presence of recognised unions at suppliers and providers, should be a key factor in the procurement processes of progressive organisations, and others.

A union initiative in the United States, Labour
411 based in California, has successfully raised the awareness of American trade unionists
about the opportunities to make purchases which are locally-sourced and union-made.
The scheme is based on a catalogue of vendors who have been nominated by trade unions as having good working practices and full union recognition, enabling purchasers to positively favour union-friendly providers.

Congress calls on the General Council to:

i     consult with affiliates on the feasibility of a similar scheme in the UK to give union members and consumers at large the information they need to make ethical and union-friendly purchases

ii    incorporate in the TUC’s procurement process an obligation to favour providers who can demonstrate union recognition and ethical practices in their supply chains, and encourage affiliates to follow suit.

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