A roadmap for negotiating living wages in the banana industry of Côte d'Ivoire has been signed by banana companies, workers unions, retailers, state actors, and ILO under the framework of Decent Work and Shared Responsibility. The approval of the agreement marks the end of a three-year program to prepare the Ivorian industry for collective bargaining to close gaps between actual remuneration for workers and living wages, led by Banana Link and co-financed by the IDH and six European retailers.
Côte d'Ivoire is the largest African banana exporter, representing 2% of the global export market bananas.[1] It is the fourth largest supplier to the EU, with over 300,000 tons imported in 2023.[2] Key destinations for Ivorian bananas are France, Belgium and the UK – together representing three of the four European countries who have already made public commitments to implement living wages in their banana supply chains.
Three years ago, the Banana Link-led process began with a series of trade union capacity-building workshops for women and men workers' leaders, enabling them to collaborate on wage data validation with the Ivorian research institute CIRES. Simultaneously, the two trade associations representing Ivorian banana companies collaborated for the first time, with support from the producers' association Afruibana. Earlier this year, a bipartite working group was established between the trade union federation – FETBACI – and all the national companies. The working group was tasked with designing a national collective bargaining agreement for the sector by 2026 which covers decent work and living wages. In parallel, a process to establish a framework for decent price commitments on the part of retailers – the foundation on which the pillars of decent work and living wages are constructed – is being developed.
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