Collaboration and stakeholder engagement

We understand that creating meaningful change to address human rights and modern slavery will take time and to be successful requires a multi-stakeholder approach. We regularly engage with our team members, customers, suppliers, government and non-government organisations to understand the diverse perspectives of our stakeholders and to inform and continuously improve our approach and response to human rights issues.

Working with suppliersCollapsed

Coles will always treat suppliers fairly and with consideration of individual circumstances. Where we are made aware of issues in our supply chain, we endeavour to work with our suppliers to ensure the issue is remediated for affected parties.

If a supplier is unable or unwilling to comply with the Ethical Sourcing Policy (Policy) and Ethical Sourcing Program (Program) Requirements, or refuses to participate in the Program, Coles reserves the right to exercise its rights under the relevant supply or services agreement which may include suspension of supply or termination of the agreement where compliance with the Policy and Program Requirements is not rectified.

Worker voiceCollapsed

It is important to listen to the voices and perspectives of potentially affected stakeholders. We have trialled independent worker voice platforms since 2021 in different supply chains to gain insights directly and anonymously from workers about their working conditions and wellbeing. This has included SEDEX-led Direct Worker Voice trials at supplier sites in our Australian fresh produce, meat and bakery supply chains, and in some supplier sites overseas. In these trials, surveys are used to collect insights from workers including questions relating to payment of recruitment fees, health and safety, working hours and wages. To help facilitate meaningful engagement, we also provided access to the survey in languages commonly spoken by the workers in the sites and industries we are engaged with.

Coles works with a small number of last mile delivery suppliers to provide groceries and liquor items to our customers. In FY23, we engaged with our last mile delivery suppliers to review driver earnings and conduct engagement with drivers on wages and wellbeing. More recently in FY24, we worked with New Zealand company Ask Your Team, another independent worker voice platform, to trial real-time surveys for workers at supplier sites in Australia and New Zealand relating to wellbeing and engagement on matters such as working hours and conditions, equality and respect, and workplace health and safety.

In our own operations, we regularly seek feedback from team members across the business, including through engagement surveys. The surveys offer team members the opportunity to communicate anonymously with leaders of the business, offer suggestions or ideas, and provide feedback on what’s working well and where the opportunities lie across the business.

Working with unionsCollapsed

Since 2019, Coles and three of the Australian’s largest workers’ unions (the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Australian Workers Union (AWU)) have partnered in the Ethical Retail Supply Chain Accord (Accord). The Accord was set up to improve and protect the rights of all workers regardless of their visa and employment status. There is a focus on Australian farming activities, with approximately 95% of the fresh produce we sell coming from this sector.

Members of Accord regularly meet to plan worker education events, collaborative projects and any concerns raised impacting workers. The Worker Education events give us the opportunity to include the voices of affected workers so we can understand the human rights risks and impacts in our supply chain. Additionally, in the past six years under the Accord, we have collaboratively worked on several projects, for example: labour hire providers, and accommodation standard.

In addition to the Accord, in December 2020, Coles and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) signed a charter on standards in road transport and the gig economy focusing on safety, driver education and mental health.

For more details on collaboration and stakeholder engagement, please see page 38 and 39 of our 2024 Modern Slavery Statement2024 Modern Slavery Statement, View PDF, file size 14.5MB.