Photo by Lennon Cheng on Unsplash
St Columban’s Mission Society co-filed shareholder resolutions proposed by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility calling for change in the Coles supply chain to protect the rights of workers in the horticulture sector.
There is widespread labour abuse and exploitation in Australian fresh food supply chains.
Coles shareholders have called on the company to protect workers from labour abuse and modern slavery practices in its fresh food supply chain.
At the company’s AGM yesterday afternoon, the first since its demerger with Wesfarmers last November, shareholders voted on a resolution urging Coles to align their ethical sourcing policies and supplier requirements across its domestic fresh food supply chains to meet industry best-practice.
The resolution was co-filed by the ACCR with the help from industry super fund LUCRF Super, US-based asset manager Mercy Investments, and St Columbans Mission Society, is the first resolution on modern slavery filed with a company in Australian corporate history.
The resolution received support of 12.79% of shareholders, including Melbourne-based investment fund IFM Investors ($140bn AUM) (preliminary results).
