Who Pays? Campaign

Who’s paying the real cost of supermarket price wars?

Every week 32 million of us shop in British supermarkets. But as supermarkets continue to push for lower prices and higher profits – who is paying the cost?

Rarely is it supermarkets. Instead all too often it is passed down the supply chain. First from supplier to supplier and finally to the end of the chain – the workers. They end up poorly paid and easily exploited.

Three-quarters of the food we buy is purchased in supermarkets. Their dominance on the UK high street means producers and suppliers in developing countries have little choice but to deal with them in order to reach the UK shopper.

This gives supermarkets tremendous power, power which is often misused. The pressure on suppliers to deliver more for less is passed on to workers in the form of low wages, job insecurity and poor working conditions. It is women in particular who find that their already disadvantaged position in the labour market makes them vulnerable to attempts by suppliers to drive down pay and conditions.

"We are paying for the price wars between supermarkets in your country." Costa Rican banana supplier to UK supermarkets.

What can be done?
After a two year inquiry, the Competition Commission slammed the big UK supermarkets for exploiting overseas suppliers. They agreed with the ActionAid demand for a new independent watchdog to make supermarkets play fair overseas.

Now government action is needed to make sure the watchdog gets up and running – and fast.

At present there are few rules to stop supermarkets behaving in ways most of us would find unacceptable – demanding lower prices, faster delivery times, and greater flexibility from suppliers.

We are not calling for a boycott of supermarkets. We need you to join our campaign and take action as a consumer and a citizen to make the government bring in new rules to ensure that supermarkets do not abuse their dominant position. That way, supermarket shoppers can have confidence that all the goods they buy have been traded in an ethical way and the women who produce their food and clothes on the other side of the world have the opportunity to claim their basic rights.

photo : ©Antonio Olmos/ActionAid