When sourcing in china it’s prevail to make sure that the manufacturer accomplishes several standards regarding to the CSR in order to assure that they comply with the musts when social auditing is performed.
Most of the Chinese or South East Asia suppliers in the recent times have labeled themselves as “SA8000 certified”*, which in C2W is used as key foundation when performing Social Accountability Audits in the suppliers facilities.
Also, while auditing should be required to factory managers to present all relevant documents for each requirement. In many cases, Chinese factory managers claim that while they adhere to CSR standards, they are will not share their records. The following provides an outline of a CSR audit with which managers can customise to meet their particular needs.
Below is a list of keypoints needed to review while auditing a candidate facility for manufacturing in China:
Guiding Social Audit Principles according to the SA8000
Child Labour: No use or support of child labour; policies and written procedures for remediation of children found to be working in situation.
Forced or Compulsory Labour: No use or support for forced or compulsory labour, including prison labour; no required ‘deposits’ – financial or otherwise; no withholding salary, benefits, property or documents to force personnel to continue work.
Health and Safety: Provide a safe and healthy workplace; prevent potential occupational accidents; remove, reduce risks to new and expectant mothers; provide personal protection equipment and medical attention in event of work-related injury.
Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining: Respect the right to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively. A company shall: respect right to organize unions & bargain collectively; not interfere in workers’ organizations or collective bargaining; inform personnel of these rights & freedom from retaliation.
Discrimination: No discrimination based on race, national or social origin, caste, birth, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union membership, political opinions and age. No discrimination in hiring, remuneration, access to training, promotion, termination, and retirement.
Disciplinary Practices: Treat all personnel with dignity and respect; zero tolerance of corporal punishment, mental or physical abuse of personnel; no harsh or inhumane treatment.
Working Hours: Compliance with laws, collective bargaining agreements (where applicable) & industry standards; normal workweek, not including overtime.
Remuneration: Respect right of personnel to living wage; all workers paid at least legal minimum wage; wages sufficient to meet basic needs & provide discretionary income; deductions not for disciplinary purposes, with some exceptions; wages and benefits clearly communicated to workers; paid in convenient manner – cash or check form; overtime paid at premium rate; prohibited use of labor-only contracting, short-term contracts, false apprenticeship schemes to avoid legal obligations to personnel.
Management System: Facilities seeking to gain and maintain certification must go beyond simple compliance to integrate the standard into their management systems and practices.
(The SA8000 Standard. It is one of the world’s first auditable social certification standards for decent workplaces, across all industrial sectors. It is based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights, conventions of the ILO, UN and national law, and spans industry and corporate codes to create a common language to measure social performance. It takes a management systems approach by setting out the structures and procedures that companies must adopt in order to ensure that compliance with the standard is continuously reviewed. Those seeking to comply with SA8000 have adopted policies and procedures that protect the basic human rights of workers. Below are the nine elements in the SA8000 Standard.)