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Living Wage
ASC has a living wage strategy that works towards the goal that ASC certified farms and feed mills pay their workers a living wage that enables them and their families to afford a decent standard of living.
This is defined by the Global Living Wage Coalition as “the remuneration received for a standard workweek by a worker in a particular place sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and her or his family. Elements of a decent standard of living include food, water, housing, education, health care, transportation, clothing, and other essential needs including provision for unexpected events.”
Achieving living wages across ASC certified facilities is a long-term goal. ASC certified farms and feed mills span more than 50 countries, each with different minimum wage requirements and varying gaps between prevailing and living wages. At the same time, each species has different price and retail structures that should be considered. Producers also cannot be expected to absorb increased labour costs suddenly and without support.
ASC takes an approach that focuses on wage measurement, identifying living wage gaps and supporting producers to develop wage improvement plans. In the short term, ASC is concentrating on establishing the frameworks and capacity needed for measuring wages and improving them over time, recognising that the journey to paying a living wage will be gradual and involve collaboration with industry, civil society, and government stakeholders to foster an environment that supports a broader uptake of living wages
Living wage in the ASC Farm Standard
The ASC Farm Standard introduces a standardised methodology for measuring and comparing actual wages to local living wage benchmarks. As data is collected and wage gaps are better understood by country and species, ASC will explore strategies and tools to help close these gaps, which may include partnerships with retailers and other supply chain partners.
Our methodology and approach is aligned with the principles outlined in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) agreement on living wages, endorsed on March 13, 2024.
Activities
ASC is an active member of the Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC), adhering to its definition of a living wage and collaborating closely with other member certification schemes to raise awareness and advocate for living wage. ASC also collaborates with the Anker Research Institute and uses its living wage benchmarks.
Between 2022 and 2024, ASC ran a pilot project with IDH, to analyse and verify living wage gaps on aquaculture farms in three countries using the Salary Matrix. The project aimed to better understand wage gaps and drivers in aquaculture, assess the tool’s cost and complexity, and collect feedback from farms and auditors on ASC’s draft living wage requirements.
Results from the pilot showed that the while the Salary Matrix posed initial challenges for some farms, it is a valuable tool for measuring wage gaps when combined with proper support. The ASC Farm Standard therefore recommends its use. ASC is now working with partners, including IDH, to develop the necessary resources and training to support farms in using the tool effectively.
Stakeholder consultation
In January 2023, ASC established a Technical Working Group on living wage, which provided input into the development of living wage indicators and a wage measurement methodology for the ASC Farm Standard. The indicators and methodology were open for public consultation in September 2023, and revised indicators underwent a final round of public consultation in April 2024. The finalised indicators in the ASC Farm Standard are a result of these consultations.
Contact person: Annabel Mulder
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