SA - 8000
Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000) is an international standard for social accountability initiated by Council on Economic Priority Accreditation Agency (CEPAA) in order to ensure standards in the technical production of goods and services. It is a voluntary standard and can be applied to any organization or a business in any industry. The requirements of the standard are based on the recommendations of ILO, the United Nations (UN), Universl Declaration on Human Rights and other conventions.
SA 8000 Code of Practice:
The SA 8000 code of practice is broken down into nine key areas:
- Child Labour: No workers under the age of 15; minimum lowered to 14 for countries operating under the ILO Convention: 136 developing country exception; remediation of any child found to be working.
- Forced Labour: No forced labour, including prison or debt bondage labour; no lodging of deposits or identity papers by employers or outside recruiters.
- Health and Safety: provide a safe and healthy work environment; take steps to prevent injuries; regular health and safety worker training; systems to detect threats to health and safety; access to bathrooms and potable water.
- Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining: Respect the right to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; when law prohibits this freedom, facilitate parallel means of association and bargaining.
- Discrimination: No discrimination based on race, caste, origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union or political affiliation or age or sexual harassment.
- Discipline: No mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse.
- Working Hours: Comply with the applicable law but, in any event, no more than 48 hours per week with at least one day off for every seven-day period; voluntary overtime paid at a premium rate and not to exceed 12 hours per week on a regular basis.
- Compensation: wages paid for a standard workweek must meet the legal and industry standards and be sufficient to meet the basic need of workers and their families, no disciplinary deductions.
- Management Systems: facilities seeking to gain and maintain certification must go beyond simple compliance to integrate the standard into the management systems and practices.
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