Syngenta is striving for fair labor throughout our entire supply chain by addressing areas for improvement in Argentina and around the globe.
Argentina is one of the world's largest food producing countries, where about 7% of the population is involved in agricultural production. With millions of people in the country working in farming, fair labor on farms is an issue of great importance - and part of a broader problem particularly in rural areas with high poverty and little opportunity for education or employment.
A few years ago, in partnership with the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a 2011 audit of our fair labor compliance in Argentina showed key areas for improvement. While we were recognized for offering higher than minimum pay and regulated working hours, we achieved just 50% compliance in all areas of the Fair Labor Code of Conduct. The review of Syngenta's supply chain there illustrated some of the challenges and gaps that exist in the agriculture sector in general. We worked closely with the FLA to identify areas for improvement, and developed an ambitious program to enhance our labor and safety practices for field workers on our seed supply farms.
An ambitious strategy
After the results of our Argentina FLA audit, our new strategy empowered our entire field production team to considerably expand the scope of training around fair labor compliance. This included improving field worker access to a revitalized training program, which focused on health and safety risk identification and reporting. Hundreds of training sessions were carried out across the country on the Fair Labor Code of Conduct. A program of daily safety meetings was initiated to reinforce and remind workers of how safety risks can be mitigated. We also introduced a robust monitoring program on our fields and promoted an anonymous Helpline where workers can report complaints. As a result of these efforts, our Argentina supply chain obtained nearly 100% compliance as of January 2015 – an outstanding achievement in just a few years.
Striving for fair labor
As part of The Good Growth Plan, we've committed to strive for fair labor conditions throughout our entire supply chain network, which includes our network of seed supply farms around the world. Since 2004, we have been working with the FLA to address labor standards on our seed supply farms including: child labor; forced labor; health and safety; awareness of workers' rights; wages and benefits; hours of work; harassment; abuse; and discrimination. In fact, we were the first agricultural company to affiliate with the FLA and its fully transparent assessment program.
Our labor standards program now includes suppliers in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, and we are on track to include all our suppliers by 2020. Read more about our Good Growth Plan commitment to fair labor.
For more information, visit www.syngenta.com