CIW urge Ahold to participate in the Fair Food Program

On April 16th The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) will hold a press conference in Amsterdam, next to where the Annual General Meeting of Royal Dutch Ahold will take place. The CIW will call the global food retailer to participate in the Fair Food Program in the U.S. without further delay, because of their concerns about Ahold USA's worker treatment.

The Fair Food Program (FFP) is a farmworker- and consumer-driven initiative consisting of a wage increase supported by a price premium paid by corporate purchasers of Florida tomatoes, and a human-rights-based Code of Conduct, applicable throughout the Florida tomato industry. The FFP emerged from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) successful Campaign for Fair Food, a campaign to affirm the human rights of tomato workers and improve the conditions under which they labour.

The CIW has asked Ahold USA to agree to pay a penny‐per‐pound to tomato workers under the CIW program. Ahold USA says to continue to pay a fair market price for tomatoes from suppliers who are in compliance with their Standards of Engagement, but Ahold USA will not enter into direct wage negotiations with suppliers’ employees. Ahold USA will not, therefore, participate directly with the suppliers’ employees in CIW’s penny‐a‐pound program.

Ahold USA responded to CIW's concerns with the following statement: "Ahold USA is committed to offering their customers products that are produced under fair, safe and sound circumstances. The tomato suppliers we are associated with in the Immokalee region are members of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange and have adopted the CIW Fair Food Code of Conduct. The CIW Code and our Standards of Engagement are aligned in seeking the betterment of working conditions for the tomato workers. As in the past, we ask that CIW immediately share with Ahold USA any information they receive concerning the mistreatment of workers by any of our suppliers. We have not received from CIW any instances of mistreatment since our suppliers adopted the Fair Food Code of Conduct. We commit to investigate any report thoroughly and promptly and to take appropriate action, if warranted. We welcome all concerned parties to collaborate to stamp out worker mistreatment once and for all."

Click here for Ahold's complete statement to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (PDF)

For more information about CIW, visit www.ciw-online.org