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UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings told the 400 plus participants that retail was a $15 trillion industry dominated by only 40 global brands and that was why it was necessary to challenge them at the international level.



Jennings said inequality was the scourge of the world. “It would take a Ugandan retail worker a thousand years to earn what the CEO of Walmar/Massmartt in South Africa earns in just one year. There are many other examples where bosses are earning thirty, forty, fifty or a hundred times more than what shop workers make. This is morally unacceptable and UNI with its affiliates will fight until there is a change in culture.”



Earlier, Jennings had spoken about how the Bangladesh Accord had been developed as an urgent response to the Rana Plaza tragedy. A midnight May 15^th deadline had seen 35 brands sign up in 48 hours thanks to pressure from IndustriALL, UNI and its affiliates. Now almost 100 brands have signed up. Jennings said, “We will keep the pressure up all along the supply chain. The company that stands out as not signing the Accord is Walmart which took Gap along with it. The door is still open to join the Accord but there will be no deals and no exceptions.”