What we do

Paving the way for living wages through action, collaboration, and transformation.

ACT brings together brands, trade unions and manufacturers to enable long-term improvements in wages and working conditions in the global garment industry.

As a joint initiative between IndustriALL Global Union and international brands and retailers, ACT is uniquely placed to focus on systemic transformation through joint responsibility and establish supply chain industrial relations as the driver to ensure workers and their families can enjoy higher standards of living through higher wages and improved working conditions.

Practically this means bringing together brands, manufacturers and trade unions to:

Jointly develop and implement responsible sourcing and purchasing practices to set a foundation for industry transformation.
Establish Binding Agreements on wages in the form of Collective Bargaining Agreements and on the role and commitments of brands in supporting CBAs.
Strengthen Freedom of Association as a key due diligence obligation and driving force for collective bargaining.

These foundations are crucial to reach sustainable wage improvements and establish the structures needed to pave the way to living wages.

Purchasing Practices

Purchasing practices are the way that global retailers & brands interact and do business with the manufacturers that supply their products.

Purchasing practices encompass strategic planning, sourcing, development, purchasing (buying) and the underlying behaviours, values and principles that impact workers.

In the ACT Memorandum of Understanding, member brands have committed to ensuring that their purchasing practices facilitate the payment of a living wage.

This commitment by ACT member brands is operationalised in Global Purchasing Practices Commitments, Country Support Commitments and binding Accountability and Monitoring.

Freedom of Association

Freedom of Association (FOA) is the internationally recognised human right of workers to form and join organisations of their own choosing.

FOA is a prerequisite to collective bargaining and an enabler of higher wages in and of itself. Respect of FOA provides workers with the voice and representation to negotiate collectively with employers on terms and conditions of work, including wages and benefits.

ACT member brands and IndustriALL Global Union have agreed on the following principles and framework for action:

Workers must be free and able to exercise their right to organize and bargain collectively in accordance with ILO Conventions.
A joint approach is needed where all participants in global supply chains assume their respective responsibilities in achieving freedom of association.
ACT members will provide capacity building, including training of managers and workers on freedom of association and collective bargaining.
ACT members commit to design strategies on how to proactively promote freedom of association.

Supply Chain Industrial Relations

ACT aims to address the pervasive issue of wages and working conditions in supply chains through an innovative approach focused on moving from voluntary initiatives towards binding agreements.

Through a supply chain industrial relations framework, ACT establishes a relationship between binding agreements on brand purchasing practices and binding collective bargaining agreements in production countries.

Collective bargaining is the process by which a binding agreement can be reached that covers workers and employers across an industry on a range of issues, including wage increases. Collective bargaining combines a dual need for flexibility and security by providing employers and workers the freedom to negotiate tailor-made solutions.

Supply Chain Industrial Relations integrate collective bargaining processes in production countries into the broader supply chain dynamics by ensuring that brands and retailers – the buyers of these products – play an active role in a framework of binding country support commitments.

Binding agreements: Collective Bargaining Binding agreements: Brand Support Agreements

Pathway to Living Wages

The main obstacle to achieving higher wages is the systemic pressure on wages in the supply chain.

Improving wages while maintaining competitiveness has been a systemic challenge in the global garment industry for decades. This pressure hinders the industry from realising its full potential to achieve inclusive economic growth.