Farmworker group says Hannaford's ethics helpline hasn't fixed living conditions
Summary
Date Reported: 14 Feb 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
Ahold Delhaize - Other Value Chain Entity , Hannaford (part of Ahold Delhaize) - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Agriculture & livestock , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Access to Non-Judicial RemedyResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The Resource Centre asked Hannaford and its parent company Ahold Delhazie to respond to the allegations. Their response can be read in full.
Source type: News outlet
A Vermont farmworker advocacy organization says Hannaford supermarkets' complaint system has not resolved poor housing and labor conditions among the company's dairy suppliers.
Migrant Justice says farmworkers have filed complaints about nine farms through Hannaford’s Speak Up Line, and none of those conditions have been improved as a result.
The complaints include a supervisor threatening violence with a machete, ten workers sharing a house with four rooms and inadequate heat, and 12- to 14-hour work days without meal breaks.
In a statement sent to Maine Public, Hannaford said each of the complaints had gone through an investigation, including some farm visits, and none had been substantiated.
Hannaford said it was committed to ensuring that its suppliers and farms treat their workers fairly and humanely, adhere to labor laws and meet Hannaford's code of conduct. A company spokesperson said Hannaford is "actively working" with private brand milk suppliers to further enforce the standards in Hannaford's direct suppliers and those suppliers' suppliers.
Farmworkers planned to travel to Hannaford headquarters Wednesday in Scarborough, Maine to ask the company to join its labor and housing rights program, Milk With Dignity. When companies sign onto the program, they pay farms premiums in return for adhering to a code of conduct.