Decent Work for Equitable Food Systems Coalition

Ensuring decent work across food systems

Decent Work For Equitable Food Systems Coalition

Ensuring decent work across food systems

INSTIGATING CHANGE

About the

Coalition

Ensuring equitable livelihoods for the most vulnerable

The Decent Work for Equitable Food Systems Coalition is a member-led organisation that galvanizes the global community to create more equitable livelihoods for those working in food systems.

It was launched jointly by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and CARE International. Together with its members, the Coalition applies its respected thought leadership and effective advocacy to generate constructive solutions towards these goals.

Food system workers play a critical role in feeding the world. However, most of them regularly face high levels of working poverty, chronic food insecurity, poor health and safety conditions, and lack of labour and social protection. In many countries, they experience the highest incidence of poverty and often struggle to feed themselves and their families.

The recent economic and social crises have exposed the fragility of our food systems, posing existential threats to businesses and exacerbating the decent work deficits endured by agri-food workers. Addressing these deficits and building just and sustainable workplaces is key for the sustainable and human-centered transformation of food systems.

We are working with governments, multilateral organisations, workers’ and employers’ organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector to make progress on this agenda.

Ensuring equitable livelihoods for the most vulnerable

The Decent Work for Equitable Food Systems Coalition is a member-led organisation that galvanizes the global community to create more equitable livelihoods for those working in food systems.

It was launched jointly by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and CARE International. Together with its members, the Coalition applies its respected thought leadership and effective advocacy to generate constructive solutions towards these goals.

Food system workers play a critical role in feeding the world. However, most of them regularly face high levels of working poverty, chronic food insecurity, poor health and safety conditions, and lack of labour and social protection. In many countries, they experience the highest incidence of poverty and often struggle to feed themselves and their families.

The recent economic and social crises have exposed the fragility of our food systems, posing existential threats to businesses and exacerbating the decent work deficits endured by agri-food workers. Addressing these deficits and building just and sustainable workplaces is key for the sustainable and human-centred transformation of food systems.

We are working with governments, multilateral organisations, workers’ and employers’ organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector to make progress on this agenda.

Rethinking traditional approches

Conflict, climate change, and crises have exposed the fragility of our food systems and exacerbated the decent work deficits endured by agri-food workers. We now have the chance to rethink our traditional approaches and develop effective strategies to design just and sustainable workplaces.

 

Justice for food systems workers globally

The Coalition of Action on Decent work for Equitable Food Systems is committed to the goal of ensuring economic and social justice and the right to adequate and nutritious food through decent work for all food systems workers.

Galvanising the global community

The Coalition aims to pursue its goal by advancing equitable livelihoods by promoting labour and human rights, acknowledging the role of increasing opportunities for decent and productive employment within the agri-food sector, including achieving 100% living incomes and wages.

THE CHALLENGE

Coalition priority areas

Coalition priority areas

Labour and human rights
Decent employment creation
Social dialogue
Social protection and income security
Living incomes and wages
Labour and human rights

Thirteen percent of all adult forced labour exploitation, involving 2.1 million people, and 70 percent of all child labour, involving 112 million children, occurs in agriculture.

Decent employment creation

Agricultural employment is often associated with low labour productivity, low earnings and poor working conditions. Nearly two-thirds of all the working extreme poor are employed in agriculture.

Social dialogue

Agricultural workers often lack adequate legislative protection and mechanisms for the promotion of their collective voice. Only 9 per cent of workers in food systems belong to a trade union, significantly below the average of 17.6 percent for all employees.

Social protection and income security

Worldwide, more than 4 billion people still lack any social protection. Agricultural workers and rural populations are disproportionately affected by the absence or inadequacy of social protection.

Living incomes and wages

A quarter of those employed in the agricultural sector are in extreme poverty. In some countries, agricultural workers are excluded from minimum wage protection. Across countries where a minimum wage is implemented, on average 52 per cent of key food systems employees are paid below that wage.

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