CODE OF CONDUCT FOR APPAREL AND FOOTWARE SUPPLIERS
Memorial University of Newfoundland is committed to doing business with Suppliers that respect, promote and abide by international labour standards set forth in the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
Memorial University of Newfoundland is committed to educating Suppliers on the importance of just labour practices and working with them towards compliance with this Code.
Memorial University of Newfoundland has established this Code of Conduct as a minimum set of standards. Once in effect, compliance with this Code of Conduct will be a condition of supplying apparel and footwear products to the University.
For the purposes of this Code:
The term "Product" means any apparel or footwear product that is supplied to Memorial University of Newfoundland or any of its divisions, faculties, campus organizations and campus retail outlets.
The term "Supplier" means any individual or company that supplies or sells an aforementioned Product.
The term "Employer" means any person or company that employs one or more workers in the creation, assembly or packaging of a Product.
All Suppliers must operate workplaces, and ensure that all Employers including contractors, subcontractors, vendors or manufacturers operate workplaces, that adhere to the following minimum standards and practices:
1. LEGAL COMPLIANCE
Employers shall comply, at a minimum, with all applicable legal requirements of the country in which products are manufactured. Such compliance shall include compliance with all applicable environmental laws.
2. FORCED LABOUR:
There shall not be any use of forced labour, whether in the form of prison labour, indentured labour, bonded labour or otherwise.
3. CHILD LABOUR:
No person shall be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where, consistent with International Labour Organization practices for developing countries, the law of the country of manufacture allows such exemption) or younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the country of manufacture where such age is higher than 15.
4. HARASSMENT OR ABUSE:
Every employee shall be treated with respect and dignity. No employee shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological, or verbal harassment or abuse. Employers will not use or tolerate any form of corporal punishment. No employee or prospective employee shall be subjected to involuntary use of contraceptives or pregnancy testing.
5. NONDISCRIMINATION:
No person shall be subject to
any discrimination in employment, including hiring, salary,
benefit, advancement, discipline, termination, or retirement, on
the basis of gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual
orientation, nationality, political opinion, or social or ethnic
origin, union membership, pregnancy, maternity leave status,
marital status. Workers will be permitted to take maternity leave
without facing threat of dismissal, loss of seniority or deduction
in wages, and will be able to return to their former employment at
the same rate of pay and benefits within six weeks or the local
legal requirement.
6. HEALTH AND SAFETY:
Employers shall provide a safe
and healthy working environment to prevent accidents and injury to
health arising out of, linked with, or occurring in the course of
work or as a result of the operation of employer facilities.
7. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:
Employers shall recognize and
respect the right of employees to form and join trade unions of
their choice and to bargain collectively. Where the right to
freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted
under law, the employer shall facilitate, and not hinder, the
development of parallel means for independent and free association
and bargaining.
8. WAGES AND BENEFITS:
Employers recognize that wages
are essential to meeting employees’ basic needs. Employers
shall ensure that wages paid for a standard working week shall
always meet at least legal or industry standard and shall be
sufficient to meet basic needs of personnel. Wages that meet
“basic needs” by local standards are most effectively
determined through free collective bargaining. In the absence of
free collective bargaining, wages that meet “basic
needs” should be defined as wages paid for a normal work
week that are sufficient by local standards to provide for the
food, clothing, housing, health care, education, potable water,
child care and transportation needs of the worker and his/her
dependents and provide some discretionary income. Workers shall
receive all legally mandated benefits.
9.1 HOURS OF WORK:
Employers shall comply with
applicable laws and industry standards on working hours. The
normal workweek shall be as defined by law but shall not on a
regular basis exceed 48 hours. Personnel shall be provided with at
least one day off in every seven-day period. All overtime work
shall be reimbursed at a premium rate and, except in extraordinary
circumstances, shall not exceed 12 hours per employee per
week.
9.2 Other than as permitted in section 9.3(below), overtime work shall be voluntary.
9.3 Where the company is party to a collective bargaining agreement freely negotiated worker organizations (as defined by the ILO) representing a significant portion of its workforce, it may require overtime work in accordance with such agreement to meet short term business demand. Any such agreement must comply with the requirements of section 9.1.
10. HOMEWORKERS:
Employers shall ensure that homeworkers receive all the protections they are entitled to under the law of the country of manufacture, including but not limited to wages and benefits in accordance with local laws.
The University shall establish an Implementation Committee, composed of faculty, student and staff representatives, to determine and clearly define reporting, training and monitoring methods, including establishment of a reasonable time frame within which compliance will begin.
The University should seek cooperation with other educational institutions and organizations in the development and funding of the Code of Conduct's verification and monitoring mechanisms.
1. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE:
The company names, owners,
and/or officers, addresses, and nature of the business
association, including the steps performed in the manufacturing
process, of all the contractors, subcontractors and manufacturing
plants which are involved in the manufacturing process of Products
supplied to the University shall be made public information.
Suppliers shall be required to report immediately to the University
any changes in their business operations which materially affect the
application of this Code, such as the selection of a new factory.
This information will also be made publicly available.
2. COMPLIANCE
Suppliers shall be required to provide an annual compliance report to the University, which includes the following:
A. The company names, owners and/or officers; and addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and the nature of the business association of all the contractors, subcontractors and manufacturing plants which are involved in the manufacturing process of products supplied to the University;
B. Written assurances that it and its contractors and subcontractors here to this Code;
and
C. A summary of the steps taken,
and/or difficulties encountered, during the preceding year in
implementing and enforcing this Code at each site.
Annual compliance reports will be treated as public documents.
3. VERIFICATION
It shall be the responsibility of each Supplier to ensure its compliance with this Code, and to verify that its contractors and subcontractors are in compliance with this Code.
The University reserves the right to examination of the practices, activities and work sites of its Suppliers and their contractors and subcontractors. This examination can be by University personnel or representatives of the University.
The University has not yet
determined clearly defined methods of internal monitoring,
training and independent external monitoring. The University
shall establish an Implementation Committee, composed of faculty,
student and staff representatives, to determine and clearly define
adequate training and monitoring methods, including establishment
of a reasonable time frame within which compliance will begin.
Verification measures shall include, but not limited to, internal
monitoring, independent external verification, and shall provide
an opportunity for employees to report non-compliance with this
code in a manner that ensures they will not suffer retaliation for
doing so.
4. REMEDIATION
If the University determines
that any Supplier is operating in violation of the code, the
University shall consult with the Supplier to examine the issues
and determine the appropriate measures to be taken to ensure
necessary steps are taken to correct the violations. The Employer
will be required to take the steps necessary to correct any and
all violations. Such steps may include, without limitation, paying
all applicable back wages found due to workers who manufactured
the university products, and reinstating any worker whose
employment has been terminated in violation of this Code of
Conduct.
If consultation and agreed upon
measures fail to adequately resolve the violations within a
specified time period, the University and the Supplier will
implement a corrective action plan on terms acceptable to the
University.
The University reserves the right to terminate its relationship with any Supplier which continues to conduct its business in violation of the corrective action plan.
