KFC and Red Rooster have reiterated their ethical standards following the ABC’s most recent Four Corners program which reported on alleged underpayment and poor treatment of labour hire and foreign workers in farms and factories which supply ingredients to the fast food franchises.

The ABC listed the two quick service restaurants, along with major supermarkets, as recipients of fresh produce and poultry allegedly brought to market by teams of underpaid immigrant workers employed by independent labour contractors.

In a statement, Red Rooster said it had taken contacted the two companies concerned about the issue of an ethical supply chain.

“We want to assure our customers that if Red Rooster is made aware of, or if further investigations reveal a wilful breach of Australian Workplace Laws or other regulations from any of our suppliers Red Rooster will take immediate action.”

KFC indicated in a statement that expects its suppliers to commit to ethical and legal standards and is taking up the issues with the companies concerned.

The KFC statement

We absolutely do not condone the mistreatment of any workforce member – no matter what part of the supply chain or business area they represent.

KFC Australia is committed to conducting business in an ethical, legal and socially responsible manner and we require our major chicken and produce suppliers to abide by all applicable laws, codes and regulations as well as the high standards set out in our Supply Chain Management Code of Conduct.

We are closely following up on the issues raised by Four Corners with both suppliers as a matter of priority.

The Red Rooster statement

Red Rooster has a ‘Supplier Certification Program’ in place that sets out guidelines for quality and ethical standards our suppliers are required to meet. It includes a review of our suppliers’ ethical sourcing policies, in addition to a requirement that they operate in compliance with relevant State and Federal legislation, including but not limited to the Food Standards Australia & New Zealand and Trade Practices Acts.

In regards to the Four Corners investigation we are disappointed that two of our suppliers, Baiada and Covino Farms, were named in the programme that aired last night. As soon as Red Rooster was made aware of the Four Corners allegations we immediately contacted senior management of both companies.

Covino Farms advised us they take the issue of worker welfare and safety extremely seriously and does not condone any form of underpayment or exploitation of workers.

Covino Farms also advised us that following a lengthy investigation, jointly undertaken with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Office, in late March 2015 Covino terminated the last of its agreements with labour hire businesses that utilise migrant workers. This took effect in April. Covino Farms advised that all issues raised by the Four Corners programme has already been addressed and rectified.

Baiada advised they were unaware of any of the allegations made by the Four Corners programme. Following the story, Baiada has instigated an immediate investigation into the allegations raised and are committed to swiftly addressing any non-compliance that may be identified in this investigation.

Baiada has advised us that any abuse of workers or their entitlements is a serious breach of their policies and the contractual terms with their suppliers and such abuses will not be tolerated by Baiada. Red Rooster has requested that Baiada keep us fully informed of the results of this investigation.

We want to assure our customers that if Red Rooster is made aware of, or if further investigations reveal a wilful breach of Australian Workplace Laws or other regulations from any of our suppliers Red Rooster will take immediate action.

Please find below links to the Covino Farms and Baiada websites for further information and their response to this story.

Covino Farms:  covino.com.au/news.html

Baiada:  steggles.com.au/news/67/312/Response-Statement-to-Four-Corners-Story