During the first phase of the Banana Retail Commitment on Living Wage, the private sector parties involved provide insight into the gap between current wages and living wage benchmarks.
After a fifth year of data collection, covering wages for the calendar year 2023, the identified living wage gap is 12,8%, covering 86% of the volumes purchased by the Dutch retailers. 52% of the volumes showed a living wage gap, whereas 48% did not. During the fourth year of the project, retailers focused on defining a strategy to close their living wage gaps. In the short term voluntary contributions have been identified as the preferred option. Discover the full results and overview of 2024 activities in the full report.
Supporting information
1. How was the data checked (2019-2021)?
According to the project’s Monitoring Protocol, an independent consultant was hired for the following:
2. What methodological approach was followed?
This project utilized the IDH Roadmap on Living Wages to ensure the adoption of a uniform approach regarding living wages. The Roadmap is a platform with leading organizations developing solutions for measuring and closing living wage gaps. It aims to strengthen international alignment and develop consensus on the definitions, tools, and approaches for companies to work on living wages.
The Roadmap includes 5 steps which are inspired by the needs of companies as they move forward to close living wage gaps:
- Identify reliable living wage benchmarks
- Measure current gaps
- Verify calculations of gaps
- Close living wage gaps
- Share learnings
3. Are there any considerations when using the Salary Matrix?
The Salary Matrix is a tool to measure and compare current remuneration with living wage benchmarks. To make this comparison, the tool adjusts wages to a living wage-comparable unit. Through this process, the tool therefore does not necessarily display current wages as they are paid.
For a more detailed description of how the tool functions, contact IDH at livingwagematrix@idhtrade.org.