ACCA-维持生计的工资：对可持续发展至关重要（英）-2024-38页_5mb

A living wage is defined as a wage that allows workers and their families to achieve a decent standard of living, including discretionary income for unexpected events, and is based on normal working hours. Globally, nearly one billion workers earn less than needed for a decent standard of life. Recent cost-of-living crisis has intensified this issue, with widespread strikes and protests. The payment of wages below a living wage is not adequately addressed as a sustainability matter by organizations, yet it is strongly linked to several UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Key Arguments:

1. Social equity is a systemic risk: High income inequality may trigger political and economic instability. Business Commission to Tackle Inequality estimates that nearly 52% of global income goes to the highest earners, while the poorest 50% receive just 8.5%.
2. Economic benefits: Paying a living wage could increase GDP by an estimated $4.56 trillion annually through higher productivity and consumption.
3. Ethical dimensions: Accounting and finance professionals recognize that paying below a living wage constitutes a human rights abuse, similar to modern slavery.

Responsibilities of Finance Professionals:

• CFOs and finance leaders are urged to integrate paying a living wage into their organizations' strategies and sustainability goals.
• Encourage value chain suppliers to adopt living wage practices.
• Prepare disclosures for new sustainability reporting standards.

These findings underscore the pivotal role of finance professionals in advancing social equity through economic policies. Without systemic changes in remuneration structures, the convergence of climate and social crises could exacerbate global economic disparities, threatening long-term institutional stability and ethical confidence in business operations.