Morrisons has underlined its commitment to the fair treatment of its workforce and those of its suppliers.

The Bradford-based supermarketgroup, whose new chief executive Dalton Phillips is due to start this month, has reacted to an initiative on equal treatment of mainly foreign seasonal workers by rival Asda.

The US-owned stores group launched a joint initiative with the Unite union to end discrimination and unfair treatment across Asda’s 29 meat and poultry suppliers, employing 6,000 workers.

Unite said it was a breakthrough and accused other supermarkets of paying lip service to ethical issues.

But Morrisons claims it was the first supermarket to audit working practices in conjunction with Fair Working Conditions, a body which promotes, measures and formally certifies best employment practices.

A Morrisons spokesman said: “We aim to ensure and apply consistent and fair working practices across our entire workforce, including temporary workers. Working conditions are a key focus for us and we require our suppliers to be compliant with our Ethical Trading Code which covers matters such as, wages, working conditions freedom of association and non discrimination.”

The FWC approach was built on the principles of the International Labour Organisation and Ethical Trading Initiative.

It involved a ballot of workers to decide whether the employer merited approval. Unite and Asda met all 29 of the supermarket’s suppliers, ranging from multi-nationals to local firms with the aim of establishing a new model which ensured workers were treated fairly and equally. Unite has criticised the way in which supermarkets abuse their market power to drive down costs along the supply chain, leading to a two-tier labour market.

Unite said its work with the EHRC had established clear evidence of unfair treatment of workers Asda had examined in detail the practices of its suppliers and acted to end unfair practices.

Jack Dromey, Unite’s deputy general secretary, said: “We warmly welcome Asda’s pioneering initiative which sends a clear message that one of Britain’s biggest supermarkets is determined to put ethical principles into practice”