In a report the charity said supermarkets’ increasing buying power and weakening protection for workers was causing economic exploitation at the bottom of the supply chain.
Workers were often paid below the living wage in their countries and food insecurity was common, despite working in the food supply chain, Oxfam said.
The squeeze was also increasing the risk of rights abuses, including child labour, excessive hours, sexual harassment and violence against women and forced labour.
The report criticised the supply chains of the six biggest U.K. supermarkets — Tesco, Sainsbury’s Morrisons, Asda, Alid and Lidl — as well as other supermarkets in the EU and U.S.
