Social Compliance:
Social compliance is the result of conformance to the rules of social accountability including not only the organization’s own policies and practices but also those of national & international standards. As it pertains to business is a continuing process in which the involved parties keep on looking for better ways to protect the health, safety, and fundamental rights of their employee, and to protect and enhance the community and environment in which they operate.
Compliance Can:
· Enhance differentiation in a fiercely competitive global industry.
· Increase worker satisfaction, loyalty, retention, motivation, and productivity.
· Provide a framework for systematic integration of social compliance in business operations
· And visibility and credibility to corporate responsibility.
About Social Compliance Cell:
LFMEAB understands the necessity of social compliance in the Leather Goods & Footwear factories. As the custodian of the sector, LFMEAB has formed a Social Compliance Cell comprising of a group of competent Social Compliance experts to monitor the compliance status of member factories on a regular basis since 2013/2014. It works in the following way:
1. The factory monitoring process has been going on since 2013 using a four-color graded checklist based on National Labor Law 2006, basic requirements of buyers Code of Conducts (COC) and other applicable national & international rules & regulations.
2. Early 2016 LFMEAB developed a unified checklist, which contains 100 marks on the successful implementation of compliance issues. Now the factory monitoring process is going on by this checklist.
3. Side by side, the cell has been involved in publishing handbooks on labour laws, service books, minimum wage, etc. issues to make both the factory owners and workers aware of their responsibilities.
4. Compliance cell has been providing both Mid-level Management and workers training on key compliance issues like Employment condition, Working Hours, Leaves and
Holidays, Maternity Benefits, Welfare measures, Occupational Health & Safety, Chemical Safety, Industrial Relation, Environmental Safety, etc.
· Audit: and assessments provide vital management control for Process Safety Management, Management Programs. Audit focus on the policies and procedures to verify compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards. They help to ensure programs are properly designed and implemented. Further, audits also identify program deficiencies so that Recommendations can be developed for corrective action.
Core labor standards commitment:
1. Zero tolerance on Child Labor, Forced Labor, Abuse, Harassment, and Group Insurance for Eligible Permanent Worker, Fire License Mismatch, Emergency Exit, Machine Layout Plan Approval, Building Approval, Bonded Labour, and Discrimination.
2. Compulsory participation committee for a healthy owner-labor relationship, Employment Conditions, Wages & Benefits, Leave & Holidays, Welfare Measures, Maternity Benefits & Protection, Occupational Health & Safety, Electrical Safety, Chemical Safety, Industrial Relations, Environmental Compliance, etc.
Core Strengths of the LFMEAB Social Compliance Team:
Lead Auditor Certificate Training
SA 8000:2014 (Social Accountability Management System), ISO 9001: 2015 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management System), ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health And Safety Management System) and OSHAS 18001:2017 (Occupational Health Safety Assessment Series)
Senior Mater Trainers Training:
Senior Master Trainers Certificate training on Pedagogy from ITEE’S Singapore
TOT (Training of Trainers)
Training organized by GIZ on Social Standard, Social Compliance and factory monitoring & audit techniques, Occupational Health & Safety, Fire Safety, and Soft Skills by BRAC & BEF, etc.
Expertise Developed on the Areas of:
· Bangladesh Labour Law-2006
· Bangladesh Labour Law-2006 (Amended-2013)
· Fire Act & Regulations.
· BNBC (Bangladesh National Building Code)
· Occupational Health and Safety (OSH)
· Social Safety Management
· Buyers Code of Conducts
· CSR (Corporate Social Responsibilities) Activities
Activities of Compliance Cell:
New Establishment/ Appraisal Membership Assessment: “- Assess the infrastructure, safety & security with Verify LFMEAB required standard. Ensure the basic compliance criteria for the new member. Better control from the start-up.
Social Compliance Development Audit under Social Compliance Factory Monitoring Program:
The LFMEAB compliance cell is providing the auditing services under the Social Compliance Factory Improvement Program to improve the social compliance status of Leather goods and Footwear factories.
Under the audit service, three audits are conducted for each member-factory: initial, follow-up and final audits are conducted over the fiscal year. Through these audits, factories receive grades in different categories to provide the management an idea about their compliance status. For instance, a factory may not have a proper alternative exit, or if the emergency exit or aisle is locked or blocked during working hours, or if suitable minimum wages are not given, the
factory’s audit grades will be significantly affected despite high scores. Zero tolerance issues such as child labour, forced labour, discrimination, harassment, and abuse will all also significantly affect a factory’s audit grades.
A comprehensive audit checklist adopted by LFMEAB Compliance Cell used throughout the audits on the basis of Bangladesh Labor Law 2006, relevant ILO convention & recommendations ratified by Bangladesh and relevant Leather industry laws and rules, including environmental law.
Furthermore, through audit service; the team helps factories to prepare for compliance audits by different brands and third-party auditing companies. Factories that received auditing services are gradually more acclimatized regarding these compliance issues.
Different types of Training programs:
Factory based Mid-Level Management Training on the following issues
· Bangladesh Labour Law- 2006
· Occupational Health & Safety
· Social Safety
· Fire Safety Management
· Formulation Process of Company Policies & Procedures, Audit Techniques
· Quality Control etc.
· Factory based workers Awareness Training on the following issues
v Employment related issues & Legal Rights,
v Quality Control etc.
v Factory based workers Awareness Training on following issues
v Employment related issues & Legal Rights,
v Wages & benefits, Leaves & Holidays,
v Welfare Measures, Grievance Handing Procedure,
v Misconduct & Penalty, Participation Committee etc.
v Supervisory, Leadership And Management Skills
Other Customized Training & Workshop on:
LFMEAB has taken initiatives to improve the standards of industry professionals through different customized training & workshops programs. Compliance cell provides training & workshop on different factory related issues as per the demand of the stakeholders.