Social Accountability 8000
This
standard specifies requirements for social accountability to enable a company
to:
a)
develop, maintain, and enforce policies and procedures in order to
manage those issues which it can control or influence;
b)
demonstrate to interested parties that policies, procedures and practices
are in conformity with the requirements of this standard;
The
requirements of this standard shall apply universally with regard to geographic
location, industry sector and company size.
II.
Normative
Elements And Their
The
company shall comply with national and other applicable law, other requirements
to which the company subscribes, and this standard. When national and other
applicable law, other requirements to which the company subscribes, and
this standard address the same issue, that provision which is most stringent
applies.
The
company shall also respect the principles of the following international
instruments:
ILO
Conventions 29 and 105 (Forced & Bonded Labour)
ILO
Convention 87 (Freedom of Association)
ILO
Convention 98 (Right to Collective Bargaining)
ILO
Conventions 100 and 111 (Equal remuneration for male and female workers
for work of equal value; Discrimination)
ILO
Convention 135 (Workers’ Representatives Convention)
ILO
Convention 138 & Recommendation 146 (Minimum Age and Recommendation)
ILO
Convention 155 & Recommendation 164 (Occupational Safety & Health)
ILO
Convention 159 (Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment/Disabled Persons)
ILO
Convention 177 (Home Work)
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
The
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
III.
Definitions
1.
Definition of company:
the entirety of any organization or business entity responsible for implementing
the requirements of this standard, including all personnel (i.e., directors,
executives, management, supervisors, and non‑management staff, whether
directly employed, contracted or otherwise representing the company).
2.
Definition of
supplier: a business
entity which provides the company with goods and/or services integral to,
and utilized in/for, the production of the company’s goods and/or services.
3.
Definition of subcontractor:
a business entity in the supply chain which, directly or indirectly, provides
the supplier with goods and/or services integral to, and utilized in/for,
the production of the supplier’s and/or company’s goods and/or services.
4.
Definition of remedial action:
action taken to remedy a nonconformance.
5.
Definition of
corrective action:
action taken to prevent the recurrence of a non-conformance.
6.
Definition of interested party:
individual or group concerned with or affected by the social performance
of the company.
7.
Definition of child:
any person less than 15 years of age, unless local minimum age law stipulates
a higher age for work or mandatory schooling, in which case the higher age
would apply. If, however, local minimum age law is set at 14 years of age
in accordance with developing‑ country exceptions under ILO Convention
138, the lower age will apply.
8.
Definition of young worker:
any worker over the age of a child as defined above and under the age of
18.
9.
Definition of child labour:
any work by a child younger than the age(s) specified in the above definition
of a child, except as provided for by ILO Recommendation 146.
10.
Definition of forced labour:
all work or service that is extracted from any person under the menace of
any penalty for which said person has not offered him/herself voluntarily.
11.
Definition of remediation of children:
all necessary support and actions to ensure the safety, health, education,
and development of children who have been subjected to child labour, as
defined above, and are dismissed.
IV.
Social Accountability Requirements
1.
Child Labour
Criteria:
1.1
The company shall not engage in or support
the use of child labour as defined above;
1.2
The company shall establish, document, maintain, and effectively
communicate to personnel and other interested parties policies and procedures
for remediation of children found to be working in situations which fit
the definition of child labour above, and shall provide adequate support
to enable such children to attend and remain in school until no longer a
child as defined above.
1.3
The company shall establish, document, maintain, and effectively
communicate to personnel and other interested parties policies and procedures
for promotion of education for children covered under ILO Recommendation
146 and young workers who are subject to local compulsory education laws
or are attending school, including means to ensure that no such child or
young worker is employed during school hours and that combined hours of
daily transportation (to and from work and school), school, and work time
does not exceed 10 hours a day;
1.4
The company shall not expose children or young workers to situations
in or outside of the workplace that are hazardous, unsafe, or unhealthy.
2.
Forced Labour
2.1
Criterion:
the company shall not engage in or support the use of forced labour, nor
shall personnel be required to lodge ‘deposits’ or identity papers upon
commencing employment with the company.
3.
Health And Safety
Criteria:
3.1
The company, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry
and of any specific hazards, shall provide a safe and healthy working environment
and shall take adequate steps to prevent accidents and injury to health
arising out of, associated with or occurring in the course of work, by minimizing,
so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the
working environment;
3.2
The company shall appoint a senior management representative responsible
for the health and safety of all personnel, and accountable for the implementation
of the Health and Safety elements of this standard;
3.3
The company shall ensure that all personnel receive regular and recorded
health and safety training, and that such training is repeated for new and
reassigned personnel;
3.4
The
company shall establish systems to detect, avoid or respond to potential
threats to the health and safety of all personnel;
3.5
The company shall provide, for use by all personnel, clean bathrooms,
access to potable water, and, if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food
storage;
3.6
The company shall ensure that, if provided for personnel, dormitory
facilities are clean, safe, and meet the basic needs of the personnel.
4.
Freedom
Of Association & Right To
Criteria:
4.1
The company shall respect the right of all personnel to form and
join trade unions of their choice and to bargain collectively;
4.2
The company shall, in those situations in which the right to freedom
of association and collective bargaining are restricted under law, facilitate
parallel means of independent and free association and bargaining for all
such personnel;
4.3
The company shall ensure that representatives of such personnel are
not the subject of discrimination and that such representatives have access
to their members in the workplace.
5.
Discrimination
Criteria:
5.1
The company shall not engage in or support discrimination in hiring,
compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based
on
race, caste, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual
orientation, union membership, or political affiliation;
5.2
The company shall not interfere with the exercise of the rights of
personnel to observe tenets or practices, or to meet needs relating to race,
caste, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation,
union membership, or political affiliation.
5.3
The company shall not allow behaviour, including gestures, language
and physical contact, that is sexually coercive, threatening, abusive or
exploitative.
6.
Disciplinary Practices
Criterion:
6.1
The company shall not engage in or support the use of corporal punishment,
mental or physical coercion, and verbal abuse.
7.
Working Hours
Criteria:
7.1
The company shall comply with applicable laws and industry standards
on working hours; in any event, personnel shall not, on a regular basis,
be required to work in excess of 48 hours per week and shall be provided
with at least one day off for every seven day period.
7.2
The company shall ensure that overtime work (more than 48 hours per
week) does not exceed 12 hours per employee per week, is not demanded other
than in exceptional and short term business circumstances, and is always
remunerated at a premium rate.
8.
Compensation
Criteria:
8.1
The company shall ensure that wages paid for a standard working week
shall meet at least legal or industry minimum standards and shall always
be sufficient to meet basic needs of personnel and to provide some discretionary
income;
8.2
The company shall ensure that deductions from wages are not made
for disciplinary purposes, and shall ensure that wage and benefits composition
are detailed clearly and regularly for workers; the company shall also ensure
that wages and benefits are rendered in full compliance with all applicable
laws and that compensation is rendered either in cash or check form, in
a manner convenient to workers;
8.3
The company shall ensure that labour‑only contracting arrangements
and false apprenticeship schemes are not undertaken in an effort to avoid
fulfilling its obligations to personnel under applicable laws pertaining
to labor and social security legislation and regulations.
9.
Management Systems
Criteria:
Policy
9.1
Top management shall define the company’s policy for social accountability
and labour conditions to ensure that it:
a) includes a commitment to conform to all requirements of this standard;
b)
includes a commitment to comply with national and other applicable
law, other requirements to which the company subscribes and to respect the
international instruments and their interpretation(as listed in Section
II);
c)
includes a commitment to continual improvement;
d) is effectively documented,
implemented, maintained, communicated and is accessible in a comprehensible
form to all personnel, including, directors, executives, management, supervisors,
and staff, whether directly employed, contracted or otherwise representing
the company;
e) is publicly available.
Management
Review
9.2
Top management shall periodically review the adequacy, suitability,
and continuing effectiveness of the company’s policy, procedures and performance
results vis a vis the requirements of this standard and other requirements
to which the company subscribes. System
amendments and improvements shall be implemented where appropriate.
Company
Representatives
9.3
The company shall appoint a senior management representative
who, irrespective of other responsibilities, shall ensure that the requirements
of this standard are met;
9.4
The company shall provide for non‑management personnel
to choose a representative from their own group to facilitate communication
with senior management on matters related to this standard.
Planning
and Implementation
9.5
The company shall ensure that the requirements of this standard are
understood and implemented at all levels of the organization; methods shall
include, but are not limited to:
a) clear definition of roles, responsibilities, and authority;
b) training of new and/or
temporary employees upon hiring;
c) periodic training and awareness programs for existing employees;
d) continuous monitoring
of activities and results to demonstrate the effectiveness of systems implemented
to meet the company’s policy and the requirements of this standard;
9.6
The company shall establish and maintain appropriate procedures to
evaluate and select suppliers based on their ability to meet the requirements
of this standard;
9.7
The company shall maintain appropriate records of suppliers’ commitment
to social accountability, including, but not limited to, the suppliers’
written commitment to:
a)
conform to all requirements of this standard (including this clause);
b) participate in the company’s monitoring activities as requested;
c) promptly remediate any nonconformance identified against the requirements of this standard;
d) promptly and completely inform the company of any and all relevant
business relationship(s) with other supplier(s) and subcontractor(s);
9.8
The company shall maintain reasonable evidence that the requirements
of this standard are being met by suppliers and subcontractors.
Addressing
Concerns and
9.9
The company shall investigate, address, and respond to the concerns
of employees and other interested parties with regard to conformance/nonconformance
with the company’s policy and/or the requirements of this standard; the
company shall refrain from disciplining, dismissing or otherwise discriminating
against any employee for providing information concerning observance of
the standard.
9.10
The company shall implement remedial and corrective action and allocate
adequate resources appropriate to the nature and severity of any nonconformance
identified against the company’s policy and/or the requirements of the standard.
Outside
Communication
9.11
The company shall establish and maintain procedures to communicate
regularly to all interested parties data and other information regarding
performance against the requirements of this document, including, but not
limited to, the results of management reviews and monitoring activities.
Access
for Verification
9.12
Where required by contract, the company shall provide reasonable
information and access to interested parties seeking to verify conformance
to the requirements of this standard; where further required by contract,
similar information and access shall also be afforded by the company's suppliers
and subcontractors through the incorporation of such a requirement in the
company's purchasing contracts.
Records
9.13 The company shall maintain appropriate records to demonstrate conformance to the requirements of this standard.