Code of Ethics
Workplaces are self-selecting.
- No one shall be forced to labor by force or bondage or under conditions of involuntary servitude.
- Workers are not required to leave a “deposit” or identity documents with their employer and are free to leave with due notice.
Ensure freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
- Workers have the right to join or form a labor union of their choice and to bargain collectively and will not be discriminated against for doing so.
- The Company will be open to the activities of trade unions and their organizing efforts.
- Workers' representatives should not be discriminated against or restricted from carrying out their representational activities in the workplace.
- Where freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted by law, employers will encourage and not interfere with similar means of promoting independent and free association and collective bargaining.
Working conditions must be safe and sanitary.
- Provide a safe and sanitary working environment, bearing in mind information about the industry itself as well as general knowledge of the specific hazards inherent in it. Take appropriate procedures to prevent accidents or injuries arising out of, connected with, or resulting from the course of work in such a way as to minimize, as far as reasonably practicable, the risks involved or inherent in the environment.
- Workers receive prescribed health and safety training on a regular basis and repeat that training for new or reassigned employees.
- Provide sanitation facilities with clean restrooms and water suitable for drinking, as well as food storage if possible.
- Provide sanitation facilities with clean restrooms and water suitable for drinking, as well as food storage if possible.
- Companies that comply with this regulation delegate responsibility for health and safety to senior managers.
Do not use children for labor.
- Never recruit children as laborers again.
- The Company shall develop or participate in and work toward policies and programs to relocate children engaged in child labor to an environment where they can continue to receive an appropriate education until the words “child” and “child labor” no longer appear under the heading Children in the Appendix.
- Do not engage children or teens under the age of 18 in night work or hazardous work environments.
- These policies or procedures comply with the provisions of the appropriate ILO standards.
Pay a minimum living wage.
- Wages and benefits for a standard work period will meet minimum national regulations or industry standards set by law, whichever is higher. In any case, salaries should always be sufficient to meet basic needs and provide discretionary income.
- All workers will be provided with the terms and conditions of employment relating to their pay before they start working for the company, as well as detailed information relating to the pay period each time they are paid, in understandable writing.
- Workers are not permitted to be dismissed as a disciplinary measure and must not be subjected to a reduction in pay that is not provided for by national law unless the worker clearly consents to it. All disciplinary actions shall be documented.
Working hours should not be excessively long.
- Working hours are in accordance with national laws and industry standards, whichever is more protective.
- In no case shall workers be regularly required to work in excess of 48 hours per week, and at least one day off in every seven days on average shall be provided. Overtime shall be voluntary and shall not exceed 12 hours per week, and overtime shall not be regularly required and shall always be compensated by special pay.
There should be no discrimination.
- There shall be no discrimination in employment, compensation, educational opportunities, or promotions, and no discrimination in termination or retirement based on race, class, national origin, religion, age, disability, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership, political affiliation, or otherwise.
Hiring is done on a regular basis.
- Under no circumstances perform work based on an authorized employment relationship formed in accordance with national law and practice..
- You must not evade your obligations to employees under labor or social security laws and regulations arising from a regular employment relationship, such as by entering into labor-only contracts or subcontracts, using telecommuting arrangements, transferring skills, or apprenticeships where there is no real intent to hire, or by excessive use of fixed-term employment contracts.
No harsh or dehumanizing treatment.
- No physical abuse, discipline, or threats of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment, verbal abuse, or other forms of intimidation.
The provisions of this Code are minimums, not maximums, and this Code should not be used as a means of preventing the Company from exceeding those provisions.
The Company applying this Code shall comply with national and other applicable laws, and shall apply provisions that provide greater protection, provided that the provisions of the law and this Code cover the same subject matter.