Co-op Sound Sourcing

Child Labour refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and interferes with their schooling: by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; by obliging them to leave school prematurely; or by requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. ILO Definition - more

Codes of Practice are not enforced like 'Regulations' but carry more force than 'Guidelines', as they are usually agreed between partners as to what constitutes reasonable behaviour.

Collective bargaining: groups are able to negotiate with management, on behalf of workers on issues such as pay and working conditions.

Co-op Group is a unique customer owne business (more)

Continual improvement is the process of enhancing the management system to achieve improvement in overall performance in line with a policy or set criteria (eg. Co-op Code).

Conventions are formal multilateral treaties with a broad number of parties, usually under the auspices of United Nations, or by a large number of states, or an organ of an international organization (e.g. ILO Conventions). While countries must ratify Conventions before they come into force, there is no court to prosecute those whose do not then comply (unlike the World Trade Organisation procedures)

Criteria are the standards, guidelines or measures used to make evaluate or verify the required performance

Discrimination is unfavorable or unfair treatment of a person or class of persons because of race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, physical/mental handicap, sexual harassment, or sexual orientation.

Ethical Business includes working towards the ending of child labour, forced labour, and sweatshops, and looking at health and safety, labour conditions and labour rights. (Gangmasters Licensing Bill 2004)

ETI Base Code is based on key conventions of the ILO, that ETI requires its members to uphold. Its content was negotiated and agreed by the founding trade union, NGO and corporate members of ETI. It is accompanied by a set of general principles governing its implementation. (from ET Glossary)

Exploitation of labour: includes all situations where workers are forced to work under the threat of penalty.

Fair Trade "is an alternative approach to conventional international trade. It is a trading partnership which aims at sustainable development for excluded and disadvantaged producers. It seeks to do this by providing better trading conditions, by awareness raising and by campaigning” (Traidcraft Exchange Fair Trade Factsheet May 2003).

Freedom of association: workers are able to form or join groupings of their own choosing, including trade unions.

Gangmaster are people who supply gangs (groups of labourers) for particular purposes and are not very different from ordinary sub-contractors, negotiating an overall fee and then paying the workers. (Gangmasters Licensing Bill 2004)

Guidelines are a guide, rather than a regulation, for required performance.

Hygiene refers to the conditions and practices to maintain health, particularly sanitation and personal cleanliness.

Informal work is performed in an employment relationship that is not recognised or protected under legal or regulatory frameworks.

Inhumane is cruel treatment of humans - and other animals

Labour Exploitation says a person 'is exploited if (and only if) he is the victim of behaviour that contravenes Article 4 of the Human Rights Convention (slavery and forced labour)…(or if) he is subjected to force, threats or deception designed to induce him - to provide services of any kind, to provide another person with benefits of any kind, or to enable another person to provide benefits of any kind.' (Immigration and Asylum (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004, s. 4., based on international prohibition of froced labour)

Monitoring refers to the surveillance of labour practices against a standard by people with a presence in the workplace and with access to management and staff.

Regulation means every rule or order adopted by any state agency to implement, interpret or make specific the law enforced or administered by it.Section 11342 (g) provides the following definition of “regulation”:

Reasonably Practicable "is a narrower term than ‘physically possible’ and seems ...
to imply that a computation must be made by the employer in which the quantum of risk is placed on one scale and the sacrifice in the measures necessary to avert the risk (whether in money, time or trouble) is placed in the other...
if it can be shown that there is a gross disproportion … - the risk being insignificant in relation to the sacrifice – the defendants discharge the onus on them (Asquith LJ)" Edwards v NCB 1949 as basis for H&S at Work etc Act 1974

Risk Assessment is the process of determining the risk from hazards or impacts by determining the likelihood and severity of such risk.

Self Assessment enables suppliers to demonstrate conformance to Sound Sourcing using participatory and transparent techniques More

SAWS is a Home Office scheme, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme that arranges for around 25,000 students from countries outside the European Economic Area to carry out agricultural work in UK.

Social Audit encourages local people to gain sufficient competence to carry out an audit.

Sound Sourcing has been developed by the Co-op as a commitment to worldwide ethical trade inititiative, which is based on the conventions of the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations body which sets global standards in areas such as child labour and workers rights.

Sourcing company purchases product from another company, for either direct or indirect onward sale to the consumer.

Stakeholder to any individual, community or organisation that affects or is affected by the operations of a company.

Supplier is a company that sells product to a sourcing company (above)

Trade Unions have as their main purpose the representation of employees, including collective bargaining, with employers and is organised on a national basis by industry, by sector, by occupation or by enterprise - or all, when they are called 'general' unions..eg Transport & General Workers Union, General & Municipal Workers Union.

Treaty is a formal agreement between two or more states, in reference to trade.

Verification concerns the impartial examination and certification of claims made about the observance of code provisions by suppliers.

Working Hours are determined by law for certain categories of workers