Conference: Living Wages - desirable, feasible, inevitable

We are pleased to invite ETI members, Global Compact Network UK members and other key stakeholders to this vital conference on living wages, organised by ETI and Global Compact Network UK and hosted by KPMG. ETI and Global Compact members will be joined by academia and other selected stakeholders to explore current thinking on the living wage journey and what practical steps we can take to move forward. The conference will be a mix of keynote speeches, panel discussions and group work on Day 1 and practical workshops for companies on Day 2.

The premise of this conference is that achieving living wages is desirable from a business, as well as an ethical point of view, that it is feasible, even if challenging, and that it is inevitable given the growing recognition that our global economy will not be sustainable unless the workers that power it have sufficient wages to live decent, safe, healthy lives.

Purpose

  • To discuss better, more sustainable ways of achieving industry-wide living wages 
  • To launch a new guide for businesses to help them achieve living wages in global supply chains and to showcase other recent reports and publications
  • To share information and learn from living wage initiatives that have taken place in the last year 
  • To provide companies with the opportunity to learn about practical ways they can support continual improvement in wages

Day 1:Confirmed speakers include:

  • Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York
  • Mike Kelly, Head of CSR at KPMG
  • Hanna Hallin, Social Sustainability Manager of the H&M Group
  • Abigail Herron, Head of Responsible Investment Engagement, Aviva
  • Nicola Smith, Head of Economic and Social Affairs Department at the TUC
  • Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union
  • Mark Goldring, Executive Director of Oxfam GB

 At the conference, ETI UK, ETI Norway and ETI Denmark will launch ‘Living Wages in Global Supply Chains – A Guide for Business’. The Guide will present a new agenda for tackling wage issues through sector wide collaboration and explore what individual companies – large and small – can practically do to support the process. Day 2 (companies only):Three workshops for companies wishing to learn more about practical ways they can make improvements in wages.

  • Workshop 1: Strengthening Freedom of Association and collective bargaining
  • Workshop 2: Purchasing practices that support good wages
  • Workshop 3: Improving pay and HR systems

 The conference and workshops will be held at KPMGs newly refurbished offices in Canary Wharf, London.