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Glossary
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A-E
Advocacy
Advocacy by an individual or by an advocacy group normally aim to influence public policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an asset of interest. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes
AU
African Union: pan-African organisation whose goal is to propel a united continent towards peace and prosperity.
The AU supports political and economic integration among its 53 member nations. It aims to boost development, eradicate poverty and bring Africa into the global economy.
Boycott
A boycott is a form of consumer activism involving the act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reason. We do not call for a boycott of flowers from East Africa as these jobs are crucial for women workers and a boycott could threaten them.
Buyers
Someone who purchases. Especially a purchasing agent buying finished goods for resale in a store, department or chain. The primary responsibility of a buyers is usually finding the highest quality goods for the lowest cost, in increasing globalisation cheap labour in foreign countries and cheaper products mean that many buyers are looking overseas for products, where profit can often get in the way of ethical trading. Buyers negotiate prices and contracts and determine quantities and delivery times those the workers producing the goods therefore are constantly having to meet the demands of buyers.
Casual Labour
This is considered to be often temporary work but does not offer the protection of a permanent job. These workers often with no written contract are usually not entitled to benefits associated with longterm employment, therefore may miss out on sick leave, holiday pay, regular rest breaks and maternity benefits, even opportunities of promotion.
Codes of conduct
A statement and description of required behaviors, responsibilities, and actions expected of employees and employers. They usually focus on ethical and socially responsible issues and apply to individuals, providing guidance on how to act in cases of doubt or confusion. When injsutices occur employers or workers are usually uninformed of these codes or have chosen to ignore them leading often to discrimination and bad labour practices.
Codes of practice
A set of guidelines and regulations for industrial relations for example health and safety. An agreed code of practice means that work at all levels is carried out to a required organisational standard and therefore provides a basis for dispute resolution. If codes of practice are not in place then injustuces can often occur and the breaking of Labour rights laws.
CBA
Collective Bargaining Agreement: process between employers and employees to reach an agreement regarding the rights and duties of people at work. The agreement reached usually sets out issues such as employees pay, working hours, training, health and safety, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.
During the bargaining process, employees are typically represented by a trade union. The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a company's shareholders) or may negotiate with a federation of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry wide agreement.A collective agreement then functions as a labour contract between an employer and one or more unions.
Consumer
An individual who buy products for personal use, as a consumer one has the decision whether or not to purchase an item but also can be influenced by marketing and adverts. A consumer should be aware of the labour practices and supply chains that have been involved in the manufacturing of the product. Every individual has the power to be an active, aware and ethical consumer.
Empowerment
Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. Empowerment builds on individual and collective assets and improves the efficiency and fairness of the organisational and institutional contexts that govern these assets. Empowering women workers enables them to speak and act for themselves and together in unions to gain the rights and conditions they should have as workers.
Ethical Trading Initiative
Ethics
A philosophy of morality, therefore a theory of deciding what is right and wrong, good and bad. They are supposed standards of conduct and moral judgment .....whose standards and whose judgement?
Exploitation
Using or utilising something or someone in an unjust way, that often results in profit. Exploitation in global supply chains can result in the treatment of people as objects or resources that create a means to an end without consideration for their well-being. In free-markets driven by a capitalist economy it is always the poorer worker who is being short changed.
F-J
Feminism
“I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat” – Rebecca West. Feminism is a social justice movement that wants to break down the walls of constraint and conformity, a resistance against patriarchal domination and a fight sexist oppression.....
Flexible Labour
Flexible labour is often without contract, hours are dependent on production and the supply and demand of the buyers. Wages are not decided collectively and there are more differences between the wages of workers for example between men and women or supervisors and managers. Therefore workers cannot guarantee their hours or income work is extremely unstable with no job security which is only heightened by the poverty that faces workers in global supply chains.
Free Trade Zones
An area where countries have agreed to get rid of trade barriers and tarriffs and beaureaucratic requirements in hope of attracting foreign investments and new business to the region.
These areas are often labour intensive manufacturing centers, the majority of which are set up in underdeveloped parts of the host country, mainly in the third world. These zones are to supposedly attract employers, thus reduce poverty and unemployment, and stimulate the area's economy. They are often used by multinational corporations to set up factories to produce goods. The basic objectives of these zones are to enhance foreign exchange earnings, develop export-oriented industries and to generate employment opportunities.
Free Trade Zones however also give foreign corporations more economic liberty than the indigenous employers who fac
e huge "regulatory" hurdles in developing nations. The domestic governments that have made deals with foreigns corporations to build factories have been known to loosen environmental protections and rules regarding negligence and the treatment of workers.
Gender
Gender Roles
Gender roles are specific activities or behaviour norms that are gendered for males or females. Gender roles can be very problematic because it requires people to conform into their roles in order to not been seen as an outcast. Gender roles in home and the workplace can often put women into a more subordinate position and men in greater positions of power.
GHOWERN
Global Horticultural Workers’ and Environmental Rights Network
Global South
The nations of Africa, Central and Latin America, and most of Asia - collectively known as the Global South. The phrase is a replacement for the unsatisfactory "third world", implying a hierarchy of nations and the equally misleading euphemism "developing" nations, implying that European countries, for example, are not developing.
Globalised economy
The increasing economic interdependence of national economies across the world through a rapid increase in cross-border movement of goods, service, technology and capital.
Grass-roots:
The grass-roots of an organisation or movement are from ground level, from 'ordinary' (and by now means ordinary) people rather then leaders, government or the politically and economiclly powerful. Grassroots democracy is the political processes which are driven by groups of ordinary citizens, as opposed to larger organisations or wealthy individuals with concentrated vested interests in particular policies. The fact is, the "grassroots" is not like anything else in politics. By its very nature, it's fiercely resistant to central control — yet it can be incomparably loyal and self-sacrificing.
Homeworker
Defined by the International Labour Organisation as people who work from premises other than the workplace, for remuneration, which results of a product or service specified by the employer. The vast majority of homeworkers are women who work for a cash income, either in their homes or in a yard, garage or field near the home. Millions of women around the world take up this form of employment to earn some money at the same time as atking care of children or other relatives, or doing agricultural work
"Homebased workers are usually badly paid - well below minimum or average earnings. They have to work to live and when they are sick or old, they have no income. Most work to pay basic living costs for their family" - Homeworkers Worldwide
International Labour Standards
"The rules of the global economy should be aimed at improving the rights, livelihoods, security, and opportunities of people, families and communities around the world." - World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, 2004.
The International Labour Organization has developed a system of Standards that promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, that provides freedom, equity, security and dignity.international labour standards are an essential in the modern globalised economy for ensuring that the growth of the global economy provides benefits to all without exploitation.
K-O
Labour Rights/Workers’ Rights
Labour rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labour relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labour and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe working conditions. One of the most central is the right to unionize. Unions take advantage of collective bargaining and industrial action to increase their members' wages and otherwise change their working situation.
Living Wage
The minimum hourly wage that is sufficient to provide the necessities and comforts essential to an acceptable standard of living. This includes shelter, food, clothing, education and healthcare. However this differs from the minimum wage, which is set by law and may often fail to meet the requirements of a living wage. A minimum wage often takes in no consideration for families, single parents working, childcare and education, unskilled, casual labour force can be exploited by large companies who comply only with a minimum wage.
Maquiladoras
A concept that refers to an operation that involves manufacturing in a country that is not the client's and as such has an interesting duty or tariff treatment. It normally requires a factory, that may import materials and equipment on a duty-free and tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing and then "re-exports" the assembled or manufactured product, sometimes back to the originating country.
NFFPFATU
Federation of Farm, Plantation, Fishery and Agro-industry Trade Unions of Ethiopia
NGO
Non-Governmental Organisation: A legally constituted organisation that operates independantly from any government. The term usually describes organisations with wider social aims that have political aspects.
P-T
Patriarchy
“Controlling women’s access to resources and their sexuality, in turn, allows men to control women’s labour power, both for the purpose of serving men in many personal and sexual ways and for the purpose of rearing children” – Heidi Hartmann. A society or system which is ruled or controlled by men, a hierarchy in society such as women earn less money than men. Patriarchy is not just formed by men. It has a connection with social economic systems.
Policy Makers
People with the power to influence or determine policies and practices at an international, national, regional, or local level. By lobbying with policy makers with evidence and research from our programs WWW can help to influence laws on trade and labour practices.
Purchasing practices
Refers to how a buying company’s purchasing practices impact and influence the capacity and ability of manufacturers to comply with codes of conduct and international labour standards. This often includes the conflict of pursuing lower prices and short delivery times with adhering to quality and compliance requirements
Efforts of suppliers to provide decent working conditions can sometimes be undermined by the buying or purchasing practices of their customers- often the same retailers who are pushing them to comply with their codes of labour practice. Practices such as last-minute changes to orders and ever-shorter lead times can contribute to excessive overtime, increased use of casual labour, and even unauthorised sub-contracting. And pressure from retailers to reduce prices can make it difficult for suppliers to pay workers a living wage.
Retailer
An individual or business who sells goods or merchandise at the end of the supply chain for direct consumption by the purchaser. In commerce, a retailer buys goods in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells smaller quantities to the end-user. Many retailers however are seemingly unaware or not concerned with the origin of the product, who produced it and what conditions they worked in, provided that they get a good deal and are making profit. However ethical products and retailers DO exist, as consumers we can take action to make sure all our products benefit everyone in the supply chain without exploitation.
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is unwanted and unwelcome behavior, or attention, of a sexual
nature that interferes with your life and your ability to function at work, home, or school.
Sexual advances, forced sexual activity, statements about sexual orientation or
sexuality, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual
nature all constitute sexual harassment. The behavior may be direct or implied.
Sexual harassment can affect an individual's work performance, and can
create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. Sexual harassment is largely a form of gender discrimination, or discrimination "based on sex" such as requiring someone to submit to sexual demands
Stakeholders
A person, group, organization, or system who affects or can be affected by an organization's actions – a term which de-politicizes by taking power relationships out of consideration – both Tesco’s CEO and a woman flower worker in Arusha, Tanzania are “stakeholders”.
Supply chain
A system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer.
Sustainability
A characteristic or state whereby the needs of the present and local population can be met without compromising the ability of future generations or populations in other locations to meet their needs.
Trade Unions
An organization of workers who do similar jobs. A trade union exists to take collective action on behalf of its members in negotiations with employers over wages, working conditions. This gives workers the power and authority to negotiate with managers and owners to make sure working practices and conditions are of the right level.
TPAWU
Tanzania Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union
TUCTA
Trade Union Congress in Tanzania