Carrefour Group's Human Rights, Health, and Safety Policy and Initiatives, Lecture notes of Tourism

Download Carrefour Group's Human Rights, Health, and Safety Policy and Initiatives and more Lecture notes Tourism in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. Context__ Companies are increasingly aware that human capital is their most valuable asset: giving their employees good working conditions contributes to improving company performance. The international Act for Change programme was implemented by Carrefour in 2019 to align management behaviours with the goals of the “Carrefour 2022” plan that was introduced in 2018 in order to meet the expectations of Carrefour customers and to support them in the food transition. It is made up of four major commitments, which are structured around concrete initiatives: “Grow and move forward together”, “Serve customers with passion”, “Act in a straightforward manner” and “Be proud of transforming our profession”. As part of the third commitment of its Act for Change programme – “Acting with simplicity” – Carrefour allows its 322,164 employees to enjoy a secure and positive professional environment. The Group monitors their health and quality of life at work. Carrefour has implemented powerful initiatives to prevent musculoskeletal disorders, which are behind 45% of all accidents in the workplace and occupational illnesses. An essential part of the Group’s culture, it helps bolster the Company’s performance and guarantees a benign social climate across all formats. Its goal is for all of its host countries to have formalised an action plan on health, safety and quality of life at work by the end of 2020. ACT FOR EFFICIENCY Acting with simplicity 2 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. Our objectives and performance __ The “Act with simplicity” pillar is commitment number three of the Carrefour Group’s Act For Change programme. This pillar underpins three major aims for the Group’s employees: Use resources with relevance and efficiency Act with speed and simplicity Empower others and oneself Carrefour wants all of its 322,164 employees to work in a conducive and fluid work environment. The Carrefour Group therefore undertakes to: implement a shared workplace health policy across all its countries; protect employee health and reduce the risk of workplace accidents; lead multiple innovative actions to improve quality of life in the workplace; establish constructive and regular social dialogue. 1. RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS Carrefour recognises that promoting human rights is fundamental to conducting its activities in a responsible and sustainable manner. Carrefour therefore aims to respect them for all its own employees and the employees of its franchises worldwide. Based on the main international human rights norms and standards – such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Global Compact, the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights human rights – Carrefour has undertaken work to identify and prioritise human rights risks in its operations and has set a number of objectives based on the results of this mapping: compliance with local or regional laws and regulations and with branch agreements in the field of labour law and human rights in general, in all Carrefour countries, for the entities making up the Group, as well as for franchisees; child labour: Carrefour undertakes to adhere to the strictest age rule between local or regional laws and regulations, branch agreements and ILO Conventions 138 and 182: • recruiting people (Carrefour employees and temporary employees, employees and franchises) under the age of 18 for positions involving dangerous work is strictly prohibited. • recruiting people (Carrefour employees and temporary employees, employees and franchises) under the age of 15 for positions involving non-hazardous work is strictly prohibited. forced labour: Carrefour and its franchises undertake not to resort to forced or compulsory labour in any form – in accordance with the strictest rule between local or regional laws and regulations, branch agreements and ILO Conventions 29 and 105. All forms of human trafficking, directly or through providers, are strictly prohibited. overtime: Carrefour is committed to ensuring that the entities making up the Group and its franchises comply with local or regional laws and regulations, as well as branch agreements on working time, overtime, rest and leave. social benefits: Carrefour ensures that each employee or acting member of the Group and its franchises receives social benefits in accordance with local or regional laws and regulations, and branch agreements. 5 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. Our plans of action __ The “Act with simplicity” commitment emphasises the importance of seamless, efficient resource management that promotes a proactive approach and a fast adaptation process. The action plans to help us deliver on our aims and achieve our objectives are as follows: 1. RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS 1.1. Ethical principles: code of professional conduct 1.2. Deployment of human rights commitments 1.3. Provision of an alert system 1.4. Charter for the protection of human rights for international franchisees 2. PROTECTING EMPLOYEES’ HEALTH 2.1. Assessing key risks in the prevention programme 2.2. Eliminating musculoskeletal disorders 2.3. Preventing stress and psychosocial risks 2.4. Health and safety management for franchisees and temporary employees at our Carrefour sites 3. INNOVATING TO ENHANCE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE WORKPLACE 3.1. Developing exercise programmes to improve health for all our employees 3.2. Moving towards flexible work arrangements 3.3. Taking steps to protect employees’ work/life balance 4. ENSURING STRONG EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 4.1. International social dialogue 4.2. European social dialogue 4.3. Social dialogue in Group host countries: main collective agreements 4.4. Restructuring 1. RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS For the past 20 years, Carrefour has demonstrated its commitment to the protection of human rights, health and safety, and the environment through partnerships with major NGOs working in these areas, including the WWF® for environmental protection (1998), UNI Global Union for working conditions and fundamental freedoms (2001), and the FIDH International Federation for Human Rights (2000-2018). In addition, the Group has been a signatory to the UN Global Compact since 2001 and all Carrefour countries are members of the ILO. 1.1. Ethical principles: code of professional conduct In October 2016, the Group published its Ethical principles, which set out to formalise the ethical framework in which all employees of the Group are required to carry out their daily work. The Ethical principles are disseminated among all employees, including franchise partners, and signed by any new recruits. This reference framework, which each employee must know and respect, reflects the commitments made by: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the eight core conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO); the guiding principles of the OECD; the ten principles that make up the United Nations Global Compact; the guiding principles of the United Nations; the international agreement with the UNI, renewed in 2015. 6 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. These principles include respect for diversity, the contribution to a safe and healthy working environment, the promotion of social dialogue, the outlawing of harassment and discrimination, guarantees in relation to the safety of people and property and other commitments in relation to corruption. Carrefour has organisational structures, policies and methods in place to ensure that its Ethical principles are adhered to and to prevent violations in its business operations, especially in terms of human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety of people, and the environment. These risk prevention procedures are based on the social dialogue and the Group’s diversity and health and safety policies. A clause in the franchise agreement also commits franchised staff to adhere to these principles. 1.2. Deployment of human rights commitments To meet the targets that Carrefour has set itself in relation to human rights, the Group and its franchises are working on defining and implementing action plans in all of the countries in which they operate. These action plans have been codeveloped with the corporate and local HR teams, in order to adapt to the local context, legislation, cultures and practices. For the human rights issues for which doing so is relevant, Carrefour uses tools and information systems to guide the deployment of these action plans. Management and performance indicators (and indicators to show change over time) are monitored internally in order to recalibrate these action plans where necessary. 1.3. Provision of an alert system Carrefour’s partners and employees are all permanent conduits for raising the alert when necessary. A dispute management procedure has been incorporated into the UNI Global Union agreement, enabling complaints made by a trade union representative or a Carrefour employee to be reported to the UNI and Carrefour’s management, with assurance that the matter will be dealt with. Carrefour has also set up its own ethics whistleblowing system that can be used by Group employees or stakeholders to report any situation or behaviour that does not comply with the Group’s Ethics Principles. This alert system covers all ethical principles themes: human rights, corruption, conflicts of interest, unfair commercial practices, accounting, fraud, security and environment, working conditions, abuse of power, harassment and discrimination. The system helps Carrefour to prevent serious violations of its Ethics Principles and to take the necessary measures when a violation does take place. It is one of the tools promoted under the agreement between Carrefour and UNI Global Union. 1.4. Charter for the protection of human rights for international franchisees Carrefour is working to ensure that its international franchisees respect human rights by systematically attaching to their contracts a charter for the protection of human rights. The charter commits franchisees to international labour rights standards, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and several ILO conventions, including the conventions on child labour, forced labour and freedom of association. In line with the Group’s commitments, the charter commits franchisees to: not using slavery, debt bondage or forced or compulsory labour. “Forced or compulsory labour « refers to any work or service required of an individual under threat of any type of punishment and to which that individual has not agreed of his own free will; not allowing children under the age of 15 to work and to employ children under the age of 18 solely for the purpose of production, manufacture and assembly in conditions that do not endanger their health, safety or moral integrity, and that do not impair their physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development; ensuring that workers have the right to organise themselves freely into trade unions and to be represented by organisations of their choice in order to engage in collective bargaining; ensuring good working conditions, in particular as regards working hours, by guaranteeing their health, safety and moral integrity. By signing this charter, franchisees undertake to ensure that all employees, suppliers, sub-licensees, sub-contractors or sub-franchisees, as the case may be, comply with these commitments. 7 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. Carrefour also encourages its franchisees to translate the charter into the Group’s local language, post it on its websites and make it available to its employees. The charter also commits franchisees to putting in place controls to ensure that the commitments associated with them are properly met, such as visits to observe suppliers’ practices in relation to working conditions that are subject to dedicated reports to assess compliance with the charter, the implementation of corrective action plans following the results of such visits, as well as follow-up visits if relevant. Franchisees must also authorise the Carrefour Group or any person authorised under the Group’s internal and external control system to carry out unannounced visits to check compliance with the Charter’s commitments. 2. PROTECTING EMPLOYEES’ HEALTH Preserving the health and safety of Carrefour employees is a priority for the Group. Each country has undertaken to implement and manage a plan of action for health and safety at work, aimed in particular at preventing workplace accidents and occupational diseases, maintaining a balance between private and professional life and limiting and preventing psychosocial risks. 2.1. Assessing key risks in the prevention programme To reduce the number and severity of workplace accidents, Carrefour puts risk assessment and prevention at the heart of its health and safety management system. Risks are assessed based on analyses conducted by prevention staff over the past few years. They have identified safety hazards around 60 workstations and devised preventive measures for each of them. This allows institutions to pilot, monitor and update their action plans for identified risks. ILLUSTRATION: in France, the Es@nté digital tool distributes the occupational risk prevention programme to all managers and compiles updates on events. This solution manages and coordinates two procedures: 1. Assessment of occupational risks; 2. Administrative and management control of workplace accidents and occupational illnesses. Es@nté sends required information directly to the national health insurance system, facilitating the administrative management of workplace accidents for the line manager, HR manager, or member of the health, safety and working conditions committee. Following any workplace accident, the manager or managers analyse the circumstances using the 5M method, which examines environment, method, equipment, labour and materials. They then develop an action plan to limit or remove the root causes. Developed today for hypermarket, supermarkets and the Supply Chain, Es@nté is to be deployed across all Carrefour France legal entities and formats by 2021. in Brazil, an annual health and prevention plan is put in place every year to tackle risks related to the working environment. It includes an ergonomic assessment and regular mapping of posts, in accordance with Brazilian legislation. The prevention of the professional risks to which our employees are subject in stores and logistics starts with the basics: “Welcoming and integrating new employees”. To assist employees as they take their very first steps in the company, the Group countries have developed training courses to help them identify the professional risks linked to their working environment and determine how best to guard against them, giving them the information they need to grasp and the safety instructions to which they must adhere, and telling them who to go to in the event of a malfunction or a dangerous situation. Throughout our employees’ professional lives, workplace health and safety are the cornerstone of training priorities. On top of the regulatory requirements allowing our employees to learn about and master safety rules for operating mechanical handling equipment, the safe use of machines and even how to fight fires, our employees take part in periodical training designed to make prevention a central focus in their professional activity. They receive training in first aid, the prevention of risks related to manual handling and the prevention of accidents at work. 10 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. 2.4 Health and safety management for franchisees and temporary employees at our Carrefour sites The network of French franchisees has access to a number of resources and initiatives implemented by Carrefour to reduce accidents in the workplace. These include training modules, workplace health and safety assessments and dedicated crisis units. For example, within the framework of the coronavirus health crisis, franchisees have received all procedures and information. Furthermore, they have access to the internal Carrefour hotline, and orders for protective devices (gels, gloves, masks) were pooled with those of other Carrefour stores at the start of the health crisis – when the equipment was scarce. In order to minimise the risk of accidents involving temporary agency workers, significant investments have been made in France, such as: enhanced security training for all temporary workers provided by Carrefour; participation of temporary workers in daily or weekly awareness-raising activities; analysis of the causes of each on-site work accident with the prevention teams. 3. INNOVATING TO ENHANCE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE WORKPLACE The Group makes a point of offering several solutions to enhance quality of life for its employees: developing exercise programmes to improve health for all; providing easy access to digital solutions to simplify work arrangements; deploying remote or homeworking options in all Group host countries; protecting the work/life balance. 3.1. Developing exercise programmes to improve health for all our employees Carrefour’s Act for Food transformation project features a new tag line: “we are all entitled to the best”. Going forward with that philosophy, programmes to promote employee health focusing on lifestyle and eating habits have been deployed in countries where the Group operates, particularly through sport. Programmes to discourage smoking, excess weight and sun exposure are also available to employees. ILLUSTRATION: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Poland, Romania and Taiwan have established exercise programmes, in partnership with professionals. the “Health & Well-being” programme implemented in Brazil has seen 60% of the dishes offered to employees improved in line with the Group’s food transition initiatives, and 2500 people now take regular exercise thanks to the Gympass. 3.2. Moving towards flexible work arrangements The Group’s aim through the new managerial skills ushered in with the Act for Change programme is to bring about a cultural transformation, especially in the organisation of work. For the past two years, the vast majority of countries have offered staff at headquarters, where their job category allows, the option to work remotely or work from home. Working from home provides employees with flexibility: they can be more efficient and are able to avoid journeys to their usual place of work, for example. It is particularly suitable for certain job roles. The Group also encourages the use of technology to increase flexibility and limit travel. To speed up its digital transformation, Carrefour has forged a partnership with Google. In 2018, employees were given access to new set of work tools – G Suite. Its highly versatile services facilitate sharing, collaboration and remote work with features such as Drive for file sharing, video conferencing capabilities, Group calendars, and more. 11 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. Go Transform is a training plan designed in collaboration with Google to smooth out the transition to the new tools and teach employees how to use them. A community of ambassadors was also set up to support all users within the organisation. In addition, the Carrefour Group has made work-life balance a central focus of its efforts to promote flexibility: in 2020, 27.1% of its employees worldwide were part-time. Country-specific action: Inin Romania, in-store staff are free to adapt their working hours to their personal needs and distance between home and work. Each staff member must consider the needs of their colleagues, andAnd the manager defines and approves final schedules. Italy and France have established pooled work schedules, which allow shifts to be anticipated and planned several weeks in advance so as to better reconcile private and professional life. in Belgium, teams in stores know their work schedules six weeks in advance 3.3. Taking steps to protect employees’ work/life balance To ensure that all employees flourish in their professional activities, Carrefour is committed to promoting work/life balance. Promoting work/life balance is also one of the four pillars underpinning the Women Leaders Programme. Within this framework, the measures put in place in the Group benefit both women and men. Daycare centres are set up at the main Carrefour sites where agreements are signed with the private nurseries in the vicinity (France, Spain and some department stores). For example, employees of the Carrefour France headquarters in Massy have had access to an on-site nursery since 2015. The system in use in France and Italy whereby working hours are organised into blocks means that checkout assistants can structure their working time, reconciling their personal needs with requirements arising from variations in the store’s business. ILLUSTRATION: Carrefour France: in 2008, Carrefour France was one of the first 30 groups in France to sign the Parenthood Charter and to commit to introducing practical initiatives in this field. Since then, Carrefour has been a member of the corporate parenthood monitoring group (Observatoire de la parentalité en entreprise) and signed 15 commitments on work/life balance. Employees at Carrefour France headquarters in Massy have had access to an on-site nursery since 2015. Carrefour pays the social security reimbursement scheme for maternity leave in full. It is compulsory to take at least eight weeks of maternity leave in France and women are entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave. on 9 March 2020, Carrefour signed an agreement on gender equality with various trade unions. This is structured around the main themes of recruitment, training, professional promotion, effective remuneration, working conditions and the relationship between work and personal life, for which the Group and trade union organisations wish to define objectives and implement concrete initiatives. On the subject of work-life balance, the agreement includes the following in particular: • support for women who wish to breastfeed with the option to have dedicated timeslots; • support for parents with their childcare through the introduction of a common minimum amount allocated under the conditions laid down in the agreement, • the systematic issue of a new parenthood guide whenever an employee has a child, the main aims being to stop parents from feeling guilty in their professional role and encouraging men to assume their family responsibilities. Carrefour Brazil extended maternity leave from four to six months and paternity leave from five to 20 days. Carrefour Argentina has also implemented a flexible job system that includes a wage freeze with a step-by-step return from maternity leave, allowing women to work part-time for a full-time salary for up to six months after their return to work. 12 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. 4. ENSURING STRONG EMPLOYEE RELATIONS As part of its “Carrefour 2022” plan, the Group is streamlining its organisation and taking measures to improve efficiency. In keeping with its tradition of social dialogue, Carrefour has chosen to support these changes by giving priority to negotiation and by offering internal mobility, redeployment and training to the employees affected. Carrefour has experience of working with the trade unions to create exemplary mobility programmes to assist employees in this regard. In 2019, Carrefour signed two important agreements in France: a human resources and skills planning agreement (GPEC) that includes exceptional investment in training in particular; a mutual termination of contract agreement (RCC) that is given 3,000 hypermarket employees the opportunity to retire early or continue their careers outside the Group. The Carrefour group engages in three levels of social dialogue: international, European and national. The approach is adapted to all Group host countries and entities to cover all labour and other issues specific to the local context. 4.1. International social dialogue In 2020, the working world faced an unprecedented health and economic emergency. This was the context in which Carrefour signed a joint declaration with UNI Global Union (international union federation) and Auchan Retail on 9 April on the sharing, analysis and implementation of good business practices in order to prevent, reduce or eliminate the risks of contagion for their employees and customers. The measures in question are broken down into the following areas: improving the health and safety regulations recommended for each employee in the countries concerned, health regulations for stores, drive pick-up points, home deliveries and logistics warehouses, welfare support measures for employees and support for employees with disabilities and pregnant women. At its European Consultation and Information Committee meeting on 3 October 2018, the Carrefour Group – represented by its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alexandre Bompard – and UNI Global Union (international union federation), represented by its General Secretary, Christy Hoffman – renewed their global framework agreement. The purpose of this agreement is to promote constructive and continuous social dialogue that respects reputation, image and confidentiality; promote and encourage diversity and equal opportunities in the workplace via joint initiatives, mainly relating to gender balance, discrimination and violence against women; promote and encourage the defence of and respect for the basic human rights of workers – freedom of association and collective bargaining – along with their safety and working conditions at Carrefour and at supplier and franchise sites. In addition, Carrefour representatives are invited to meet annually with trade unions in the countries where the Group operates at Global Alliance meetings organised by UNI Global Union. The Group’s participation in the Global Deal initiative with the French Ministry of Labour since 2017 has identified Carrefour as one of the French companies that has signed the most international agreements and that contributes to upholding the values of protection for the basic rights of employees around the world. 4.2. European social dialogue In 1996, Carrefour created its European Works Council, the European Consultation and Information Committee (ECIC), by way of an agreement signed with the FIET (part of the UNI). This agreement was renewed and added to considerably in 2011 with the UNI Global Union (International Union Federation). Since then, it has gone from strength to strength, and is recognised as one of the first of its kind in Europe thanks to the quality of its work and dialogue between employees and management. In 2019, five steering committee meetings were held, lasting a total of 31.50 hours, a training/information session was also held over 2 days, as well as a plenary session over 2 days. Communication and consultation within the European Works Council takes many varied, innovative and complementary forms. 15 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. Our organization__ SCOPE All the entities of the Group are committed to implementing a policy on employee development, and in particular implementing an action plan on health, safety and quality of life at work by 2020. The 2018 performance indicator values are defined on a like-for-like basis and so do not cover all employees over that period. These include the accident absence rate, the frequency rate, and the severity rate of accidents at work. GOVERNANCE Act for Change programme and social relations: • the aims of the Act For Change Programme are spearheaded by each Executive Committee in the countries making up the Group. • after a launch at the Group’s TOP 200 in March 2019, the action plans were presented by each Country’s Executive Committee to the Group’s HR manager. • the Act For Change action plans are reviewed monthly by the HR managers of the various countries alongside the Group’s HR manager. Human rights: the Human Resources teams of the countries in which the Group operates and its franchises are responsible for delivering on the Group’s human rights aims while supplementing them with policies and action plans adapted to their local contexts and specific features. Employee health and quality of life at work: • administrative management of accidents at work and occupational diseases is entrusted to the line managers, to a representative of the committee on hygiene, safety and working conditions or to the Human Resources manager. • within each organisation and each country, teams devoted to the workplace health and safety management design an action plan in line with applicable regulations and priority risks. • in 2017, an «international health, safety and quality of life at work» network of managers responsible for these topics in the different countries of the Group met to share best practices and promote continuous improvement. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION Audits relating to the health and safety of employees in stores and warehouses are carried out by the internal control team so as to ensure that working conditions are improved. In France, these audits analyse the levels of compliance with which Carrefour banner procedures are applied compared with the national norm, highlight the major risks identified and put forward recommendations for corrective actions shared with the team. In 2019, 12 audits were carried out across hypermarkets, 35 across supermarkets and 8 targeting the Carrefour France supply chain level. Consideration and dialogue with employees are essential elements in creating a climate of confidence that is conducive to the economic performance of the company. To support the transformation of its corporate culture, Carrefour introduced the Employee Net Promoter Score® (E-NPS), an indicator of employee engagement. This indicator, measured three times a year in each Group country, assesses changes in each of the four key areas making up the Act for Change programme and adapts its implementation accordingly. An online survey allows employees to express their views on the evolution of these pillars by responding “totally satisfied”, “satisfied”, “dissatisfied” or “totally dissatisfied”. For the “Act with simplicity” area, the subject that has been raised since 2019 is: “In the last few months, I feel that Carrefour has simplified its operating methods”. 16 Acting with simplicity 2020 CSR REPORT - June 2021. Verif ied information for the year 2020. In recent years, each business unit in France has had a barometer that measures the satisfaction of employees and their sense of belonging and commitment, the aim being to put forward solutions for making Carrefour a better place to work. Each year, close to sixty Group entities take part in internal satisfaction surveys in the form of focus groups. In 2019, 17,000 employees from the Group’s nine countries responded to a satisfaction survey made up of around five questions, one overall and one focusing on each pillar making up the Act for Change programme. JOINT INITIATIVES AND PARTNERSHIPS Global framework agreement with UNI Global Union World Alliance – UNI Global Union Group Global Deal with the Ministry of Labour Agreement establishing the European Works Council with the FIET European social dialogue meetings, Eurocommerce FOR MORE INFORMATION www.carrefour.com The Group’s Ethical principles: https://www.carrefour.com/fr/rse/conduite-responsable Ethical Alert Line: http://ethique.carrefour.com/