Living wage in the retail sector
Insights

Living wage in the retail sector

2021 kicked off another year of uncertainty, we saw the proliferation of lockdowns and further restrictions on our ability to travel, as well as no end of supply chain disruption, be it caused by the pandemic or broader economic factors. That said, the overarching sentiment was a return to business as usual, if only from the perspective of a new normal. This thinking translated into our engagement on a living wage. At the start of the pandemic, we felt sympathy for retailers dealing with the devastating consequences of Covid-19 with furlough, redundancies and employee safety concerns being top of mind. However, in 2021, we took the view that there was no longer any excuse for inertia on this topic.

As highlighted in our 2020 update, the importance of improved employee pay and benefits increased. This is backed up by data disclosed in the World Economic Forum, The Global Risks Report 2022, where the ‘livelihood crises’ was flagged as the second most immediate threat to the world according to respondents. Here, the report notes that the “structural deterioration of work prospects and/or standards for the working-age population: unemployment, underemployment, lower wages, fragile contracts, erosion of worker rights etc” could cause significant negative impacts for many industries and countries over the next 10 years.

Through our engagement on a living wage, whilst we note some progress in terms of increased pay and benefits to the direct employees of retail companies, improvements for workers in the supply chain have been more limited. Through our work with collaborative investor initiatives and as highlighted in the Platform Living Wage Financials (PLWF) 2021 annual report, we note enhanced supply chain due diligence on the part of investee companies, for example, in the form of on the ground wage data collection. However, tangible improvements to worker pay is taking longer to come to fruition.

13 mai 2022
Tim Bonds
Tim Bonds
Associate, Analyst, Responsible Investment
Tenisha Elliott
Tenisha Elliott
Senior Associate, Analyst, Responsible Investment
Nina Roth
Nina Roth
Director, Responsible Investment
Share article
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Sujets clés
Sujets connexes
Listen on Stitcher badge
Share article
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Sujets clés
Sujets connexes

PDF

Living wage in the retail sector

Risk Disclaimer

Views and opinions have been arrived at by Columbia Threadneedle Investments and should not be considered to be a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any companies that may be mentioned.

The information, opinions, estimates or forecasts contained in this document were obtained from sources reasonably believed to be reliable and are subject to change at any time.

Eclairages connexes

26 mars 2024

Ebele Conroy

Investment Analyst, Global Research

Joe Horrocks-Taylor

Senior Associate, Analyst, Responsible Investment

Green machines: the future of transport

The transportation sector has a significant impact on global emissions, but technology innovations, policy changes and shifting behaviours can reduce this. How are the different modes progressing?
Read time - 5 min
20 mars 2024

Sally Springer

Senior Thematic Research Analyst, Global Research

The skills factor: greening the workforce to deliver net zero

As we move towards net zero, the number of people with skills useful in transforming the economy is growing more slowly than the job vacancies requiring these skills. What might this mean to various sectors critical to the transition?
Read time - 2 min
15 mars 2024

Tom Barron

Senior Associate, Responsible Investment

ESG Viewpoint: Emerging responsible investment trends in Asia

The appetite for responsible investing is growing in Asia, as regulations evolve and client demand increases.
Read time - 2 min
26 mars 2024

Fixed Income Desk

In Credit - Weekly Snapshot

In Credit Weekly Snapshot – March 2024

Our fixed income team provide their weekly snapshot of market events.
Read time - 5 min
26 mars 2024

Ebele Conroy

Investment Analyst, Global Research

Joe Horrocks-Taylor

Senior Associate, Analyst, Responsible Investment

Green machines: the future of transport

The transportation sector has a significant impact on global emissions, but technology innovations, policy changes and shifting behaviours can reduce this. How are the different modes progressing?
Read time - 5 min
26 mars 2024

Claire Robbs

Investment Grade Credit Research, Fixed Income

Chocks away! Airport passenger numbers – and financial metrics – recover

Increased numbers of fliers and supportive concession frameworks mean the industry retains a strong and steady credit trajectory.
Read time - 3 min
true
true

Risk Disclaimer

Views and opinions have been arrived at by Columbia Threadneedle Investments and should not be considered to be a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any companies that may be mentioned.

The information, opinions, estimates or forecasts contained in this document were obtained from sources reasonably believed to be reliable and are subject to change at any time.

Vous pourriez aussi aimer

Approche d’investissement

Le travail d’équipe est fondamental à notre processus d’investissement qui est structuré de manière à évaluer et mettre en pratique de solides idées d’investissement pour nos portefeuilles.

Fonds et VL

Columbia Threadneedle Investments dispose d’une gamme complète de fonds d’investissement répondant à un large éventail d’objectifs.

Compétences d'investissement

Les capacités d’investissement de Threadneedle sont fondées sur la culture de collaboration de notre plate-forme d’investissement unique.

Veuillez confirmer quelques détails vous concernant pour visiter votre centre de préférences

*Champs obligatoire

Une erreur s'est produite veuillez réessayer

Merci. Vous pouvez maintenant visiter votre centre de préférences pour choisir les informations que vous souhaitez recevoir par e-mail.

Pour afficher et contrôler les informations que vous recevez de notre part par e-mail, veuillez visiter votre centre de préférences.