Carrefour

History

When top executives of Carrefour arrived in Colombia in 1997, they understood that Colombia, with the third largest population in Latin America, and with a relatively stable economy was a favorable market to offer its services and to expand the business. Thus in 1998, after various studies, Carrefour opened its first Superstore in Bogotá, on street 80, in the western part of the city. Since that moment the company has grown enormously, opening 46 stores in 25 cities of Colombia in less than a decade. The first 831 employees have become more than 8,000. In 1999, Carrefour launched its social policy about its 4 axels: education, no exclusion, sustainable development and environmental protection. Carrefour also opened the first Hypermarket outside Bogotá: Valle de Lili near the city of Cali. In 2001, Carrefour changed its slogan from “Carrefour qué diferencia!” (Carrefour what a difference!) to “Carrefour Chévere” (Carrefour Fantastic). [1]

Corporate Responsibility

Carrefour Apologises Over Deaths (December 2007)
Carrefour apologizes after three people died in a stampede in one of its supermarkets in China. [2]

Labor

The Disabled Thrive on their Abilities
In Malaysia, McDonald’s and Carrefour hires many people with disabilities. The human resource direction for Carrefour states that hiring is based on competency, skills and behavior. The workers interviewed had positive things to say about their experiences at Carrefour.

Report: Labour rights in the Supply Chain and Corporate Social Responsibility
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) released a report from a fact-finding mission in Bangladesh. The mission took place in the framework of the FIDH and Carrefour cooperation on human rights in the supply chain. The objective was to assess Carrefour’s efforts to deal with labor rights issues in Bangladesh. The report found that the minimum wage was raised in October 2006, but that there were still major labor rights violations including no freedom of association, no living wage, no access to effective remedies, excessive working hours and inappropriate maternity leave and benefits.

Spectrum Workers Receive First Payments from Compensation Fund: Carrefour still Refusing to Participate

The Spectrum garment factory collapsed in 2005 killing 64 and injuring 80 (54 seriously). The fund was created to give US$60,000 to the workers at the factory. Although the factory produced garments for Carrefour, it has refused to pay into the fun to compensate Spectrum families. [3]