• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News

    Lessons from Unilever’s global supply chain challenges

    By Johanna Morden // 19 February 2013
    The Unilever logo displayed at the company's offices in Germany. Photo by: Ingmar Zahorsky / CC BY-NC-ND

    A new report by Oxfam sheds light on the welfare of workers who are part of Unilever supply chain in Vietnam. The goal: to get other companies thinking about what has become a new focal point for the aid community.

    The fruit of a two-year collaborative between Oxfam and Unilever, the report, released Feb. 18, deals with issues affecting Unilever’s 1,500-strong Vietnam staff, operations and suppliers. With the company’s blessing, Oxfam’s team of researchers assessed working hours, wage levels, stability of employment and relations between the Unilever’s management and laborers.

    The report allowed Oxfam and Unilever to compare the actual situation of workers with the company’s high-level policy commitments based on international standards and local conditions.

    Labor issues among Unilever’s supply chain emerged: More than half of the suppliers interviewed were vague about Unilever’s expectations on labor standards, and some reported low wages, excessive working hours and risky work conditions. According to Oxfam, such instances are prevalent in global supply chains.

    Oxfam provided the following recommendations, discussed in-depth in the report, to mitigate these issues:

    • Adjust policies and business models to deliver better-quality jobs for workers by paying a living wage and minimizing precarious work.

    • Better align business processes with policy.

    • Strengthen due diligence processes to take account of people’s vulnerability to speak out.

    • Work with others to promote scalable ways to realize rights and increase collective leverage.

    • Apply changes specific to your operations in a particular country.

    • Integrate into the “sustainable living plan” and/or public reporting process measurable targets for labor rights and job quality.

    Unilever responded in the report by vowing to continue to take initiatives to mainstream the integration of human and labor rights on the global and locals levels. These initiatives, listed by Unilever Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman, will be jointly reviewed with Oxfam in two years:

    • Ensure that Unilever promotes sustainable livelihoods for all workers and those in the company’s “value chains.”

    • Mitigate the “casualization” of labor within Unilever’s workforce wherever possible.

    • Invest in ensuring that Unilever’s “supplier code” is understood and acknowledged by all of the company’s tier-1 suppliers by the end of 2014.

    • Ensuring that Unilever meets the same standards expected from its suppliers.

    • Partner with others to mainstream the integration of human and labor rights by business.

    The report is the latest step in Oxfam and Unilever’s collaboration, which goes back 10 years. Among its joint projects include the 2004–5 Unilever Indonesia socioeconomic impact study, “Exploring the Links Between Business and Poverty Reduction: A Case Study of Unilever Indonesia.”

    Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

    • Environment & Natural Resources
    • Trade & Policy
    • Democracy, Human Rights & Governance
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Johanna Morden

      Johanna Morden

      Johanna Morden is a community development worker by training and a global development journalist by profession. As a former Devex staff writer based in Manila, she covered the Asian Development Bank as well as Asia-Pacific's aid community at large. Johanna has written for a variety of international publications, covering social issues, disasters, government, ICT, business, and the law.

    Search for articles

    Related Jobs

    • Privacy Lawyer (Hybrid)
      The Hague, Netherlands | Netherlands | Western Europe
    • Resilience Knowledge Hub Team Leader
      Harare, Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | Southern Africa
    • Food Policy Analyst
      Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States | District of Columbia, United States | United States | North America
    • See more

    Most Read

    • 1
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 2
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      Reigniting momentum for maternal, newborn, and child health
    • 5
      Opinion: Why vision is key to unlocking global development potential

    Trending

    Financing for Development Conference

    The Trump Effect

    Newsletters

    Related Stories

    The trump effectAnother victim of Trump’s aid cuts? His own development legacy

    Another victim of Trump’s aid cuts? His own development legacy

    Global healthNew partnerships aim to fix Africa's broken medical supply chains

    New partnerships aim to fix Africa's broken medical supply chains

    Women Rising: Sponsored by FORGEHow funders are addressing climate-driven violence for women workers

    How funders are addressing climate-driven violence for women workers

    Global Health ‘What’s in’ and ‘what’s out’ in USAID’s global health programming

    ‘What’s in’ and ‘what’s out’ in USAID’s global health programming

    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement
    We use cookies to help improve your user experience. By using our site, you agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy.