- Conference
- 2009 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 16 September 2008
- Decision
- Carried
Conference recognises the value of Fair-trade in getting a better deal for poor people from trade.
Conference welcomes:
The fact that the number of producer organisations in developing countries now selling into UK markets has grown to more than 350;
The Government to encourage Fair-trade in all of its Departments which includes all the local authorities in the UK.
Conference notes the continued steady growth in both sales of products and consumer awareness and congratulates the 240 Fair-trade towns, villages, cities and boroughs, and more than 200 further communities running Fair-trade awareness campaigns.
Conference further notes the continual exploitations of UK supermarkets and clothing sectors in India, China, and African continents by paying very low wages to farmers and using child labour which does not meet the UK standards nor does it meet government policies on fair-trading.
Conference calls on National Black Members’ Committee to liaise in partnership with the National Executive Council and UNISON Labour Link to:
1.Ensure the Government’s mainstream procurement of Fair-trade products across all Government departments and public authorities and to move from using only tea and coffee to incorporation of the wider Fair-trade product range;
2.Ensure that the Government identifies mechanisms to increase availability of health Fair-trade produce in the education sectors;
3.Ensure that the Government continues to raise its concerns of multilateral companies which exploit countries who hire child labour to produce goods for other countries.