10 PRINCIPLES FOR A FAIR AND RESPECTFUL WORK ENVIRONMENT
1 Employment is freely chosen.
1.1 There is no forced labor, bonded labor, or involuntary prison labor.
1.2 Employees are not required to submit their "disposits" or identity papers to their employer and are free to leave their employer with reasonable notice.
2 Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected.
2.1 Employees, without distinction, have the right to join a union or establish a union and to engage in collective bargaining.
2.2 The employer adopts an open attitude towards the activities of unions and their organizational activities.
2.3 Employee representatives are not discriminated against and have access to their representative function in the workplace.
2.4 Where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is legally restricted, the employer facilitates the development of parallel means for independent and free association and negotiations, and does not impede them.
3 Working conditions are safe and hygienic.
3.1 A safe and hygienic working environment must be provided, taking into account the prevailing knowledge of the industry and any specific hazards. Adequate measures must be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with, or occurring in the course of work by minimizing the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment, as far as is reasonably practicable.
3.2 Employees receive regular recorded health and safety training, and such training is repeated for new or transferred employees.
3.3 There must be access to clean toilet facilities and potable water and, if applicable, sanitary facilities for food storage.
3.4 Accommodation, if provided, must be clean and safe and provide the basic needs of workers.
3.5 The company that complies with the code must assign responsibility for health and safety to a management representative.
4 Child labor shall not be used.
4.1 No new recruitment of child labor shall take place.
4.2 Enterprises develop or participate in and contribute to policies and programs that provide for the transition of children engaged in child labor to enable them to access and remain in quality education until they are no longer children: "child" and "child labor" are defined in the appendices.
4.3 Children and young persons under 18 years of age shall not work at night or under hazardous conditions.
4.4 These policies and procedures must comply with the provisions of the relevant ILO conventions.
5 Living wages are paid.
5.1 Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmark standards, whichever is higher. In any case, wages should always be enough to meet basic needs and have some discretionary income.
5.2 All workers receive written and understandable information about their terms of employment with respect to wages before they enter employment and about the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time they are paid.
5.3 Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure are not permitted, nor is any deduction from wages not provided for by national legislation, without the express permission of the employee concerned. All disciplinary measures must be recorded.
6 Working hours are not excessive.
6.1 Working hours comply with national legislation and industry benchmark standards, whichever affords greater protection.
6.2 Employees 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 7-day period on average. Overtime is voluntary, shall not exceed 12 hours per week, shall not be requested regularly, and shall always be compensated at a premium rate.
7 No discrimination is practiced.
7.1 There is no discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination, or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership, or political preference.
8 Regular employment is provided.
8.1 To the extent possible, work is performed on the basis of a recognized employment relationship established under national law and practice.
8.2 Obligations to employees under labor or social security laws and regulations arising from the regular employment relationship are not avoided by using labor contracts, subcontracting, or home-working arrangements, or by apprenticeship schemes where there is no genuine intent to impart skills or provide regular employment, nor by excessive use of fixed-term contracts.
9 No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed.
9.1 Physical abuse or discipline, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment, and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation are prohibited.
10 Immigration law compliance.
10.1 Only workers with a legal right to work shall be employed or hired by the supplier.
10.2 All workers, including agency workers, shall be validated for their legal right to work by the supplier by viewing original documentation (not photocopies) before they are allowed to work. Procedures shall be in place to demonstrate compliance with these validations.
10.3 Employment agencies shall only supply workers who are registered with them.
10.4 Suppliers shall regularly audit employment agencies from which they hire workers to verify compliance with this policy.