Policy document from Co-operative Clothing
Code of Sound Sourcing
1. Exploitation of Labour
The exploitation of workers is unacceptable. The Co-operative Group suppliers shall ensure that the conditions under which workers are employed do not deny or demean their basic human rights, freedoms and dignity as defined by local and international laws.
The Co-operative Group suppliers shall not engage in or support the use of forced labour nor shall workers be required to surrender identity papers or lodge deposits prior to commencing employment other than in circumstances where this is required by law. Workers should be free to terminate their employment after a reasonable agreed period of notice.
2. Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
The Co-operative Group will encourage its suppliers to respect their employees' rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining and their rights to join or form trades unions of their own choosing.
Where such activities are restricted by law the Co-operative Group shall attempt to encourage its suppliers to facilitate such equivalent mechanisms of free association and negotiation as are permitted by the legal framework.
The Co-operative Group expects its suppliers to ensure that appointed worker representatives are not subject to discrimination and have reasonable access to those workers who they represent within the workplace.
3. A Safe & Hygienic Working Environment
The Co-operative Group suppliers should assign responsibility for health and safety to a senior management representative and provide training for its employees appropriate to the work, which they undertake.
Suppliers should provide a safe and hygienic working environment, relative to industry standards. This must consider appropriate measures to prevent accidents and injury by removing or minimising workplace hazards. In addition, workers should have access to clean toilet facilities and potable water. Where appropriate, there should also be hygienic food storage and any accommodation must be safe and clean, and meet the basic needs of the workers.
4. Child Labour
The Co-operative Group suppliers shall not engage in or support the use of child labour.
Specific consideration must be given to young persons between the ages of 15 and 18, particularly in respect of their hours of work and safety. Such young persons must not work at night or in hazardous conditions.
5. Living Wages To Be Paid
The Co-operative Group expects its suppliers to provide wages for a standard working week which are consistent with at least the legal or industry minimum standard, whichever is the higher, and which should be sufficient to meet basic worker needs and provide some discretionary income.
Deductions from wages should not be made for disciplinary purposes. Wages should be paid in cash or by cheque in a manner, which is acceptable to employees. Any deductions which are not required by National Law should not be made without prior agreement of the employee concerned.
The Co-operative Group encourages its suppliers to provide to its workers written and understandable information about their employment conditions, particularly in respect of wages prior to their employment and about particulars of their wages for the periods concerned when they are paid.
All disciplinary measures should be recorded.
6. Working Hours Are Not Excessive
The Co-operative Group expects its suppliers to meet legislation and industry standards pertaining to working hours, whichever afford the better protection. Employees shall not, on a regular basis, be expected to work for more than 48 hours per week and shall be provided with at least one day off in any seven-day period.
Each employee shall receive at least two weeks paid leave each year.
Overtime, (i.e. periods worked in excess of 48 hours per week), shall not exceed 12 hours, shall be voluntary, normally to meet exceptional business circumstances and should be remunerated at a premium rate.
7. No Discrimination
The Co-operative Group shall discourage its suppliers from exercising discrimination in respect of hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination of employment or retirement based upon race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation.
The Co-operative Group will encourage its suppliers to provide equal opportunities and remuneration for equivalent jobs to both male and female workers.
8. Regular Employment
Any work should be on the basis of a recognised employment relationship, identified by law and/or Practice.
The Co-operative Group suppliers should not avoid their obligations under labour or social security laws, by unreasonably using devices such as labour only contracting, subcontracting, or home-working arrangements, or through apprenticeship schemes where there is no intention of imparting skills or providing regular employment or the excessive use of fixed-term contracts of employment.
9. No Harsh Or Inhumane Treatment
The Co-operative Group suppliers shall not engage in or threaten physical, sexual or verbal abuse and shall not employ harassment or intimidation of any kind.
10, Continuous Improvement
The Co-operative Group will always try to achieve continual improvement in these workplace and employment standards through partnership with its suppliers rather than operate sanctions.
Suppliers should aim to exceed these defined standards, which are intended as the minimum acceptable.
Principles of implementation
Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)
The purpose of ETI is to identify, develop and promote good practice with respect to implementing codes of labour practice.
Critical areas include monitoring and verification, and transparency and disclosure, to determine and communicate whether standards embodied in the code are being achieved. ETI members accept the following as general principles upon which to develop or refine their search for best practice.
1. Commitment
1.1 The company gives its membership of ETI, the code and its implementation process an informed and explicit endorsement.
1.2 This commitment is communicated throughout the company and to its suppliers and sub-contractors (including closely associated self- employed staff).
1.3 A member of senior management is assigned responsibility for the implementation of compliance with the code.
1.4 The code and the implementation process is integrated into the core business relationships and culture.
1.5 The company will ensure that human and financial resources are made available to enable it to meet its stated commitments.
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2. Monitoring, independent verification, and reporting
2.1 Member companies accept the principle that the implementation of codes will be assessed through monitoring and independent verification; and that performance with regard to monitoring practice and implementation of codes will be reported annually.
2.2 Companies will engage with other members in the design, Implementation and analysis of pilot schemes to identify good practice in monitoring and independent verification and share this experience with other members.
2.3 Company members will draw on this experience in establishing where relevant with other ETI members' work plans to implement programmes of monitoring, independent verification, and reporting, and will report progress against these programmes to and through the ETI in a format and timing to be agreed.
2.4 Workers covered by the code shall be provided with a confidential means to report failure to observe the code and shall be otherwise protected in this respect.
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3. Awareness raising and training
3.1 All relevant personnel are provided appropriate training and guidelines that will enable them to apply the code in their work.
3.2 Suppliers are made aware of the code, and the company's commitment to sourcing from suppliers who observe the standards in the code.
3.3 Workers whose work is covered by the code are, where possible, made aware of the code and implementation principles or procedures.
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4. Corrective actions
4.1 Member companies commit themselves, on the basis of knowledge gained from monitoring to; (a) negotiate and implement agreed schedules for corrective actions with suppliers failing to observe the terms of the code, i.e. a continuous improvement approach; (b) require the immediate cessation of serious breaches of the code, and; ©) where serious breaches of the code persist, to terminate any business relationship with the supplier concerned.
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5. Management procedures, pricing and incentives
5.1 Negotiations with suppliers shall take into account the costs of observing the well code.
5.2 Understanding and implementation of company policy with respect to its code of labour practice shall constitute a positive performance measure when assessing appropriate personnel.
Which is more important, the code or law?
The provisions of this code constitute minimum and not maximum standards, and this code should not be used to prevent companies from exceeding these standards. Companies applying this code are expected to comply with national and other applicable law and, where the provisions of law and this Base Code address the same subject, to apply that provision which affords the greater protection.
In other words, you could apply that standard which is most favourable to workers.
Complaints procedure
The “ETI Principles of Implementation” states that:
2.4 Workers covered by the code shall be provided with a confidential means to report failure to observe the code and shall be otherwise protected in this respect.
This frequently gets forgotten.
More information
The ILO
www.ilo.org For some countries, the ILO has prepared a summary of labour Law. Some of these are sourcing countries for Co-operative Clothing. Most of them are in English.
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/info/national/index.htm The International Trade Union Confederation of produces country reports on the application all these core Labour standards. These provide a useful overview of compliance, from a trade union perspective of course.
Reports from January 2007 can be found at
Http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?rubrique161 Earlier reports can be found at the site of its predecessor organisation, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions,
www.icftu.org http://www.icftu.org/list.asp?Language=EN&Order=Date&Type=WTOReports&Subject=ILS