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October 2012
1. Brazil: Worker Engagement Program to Improve Health & Safety Issues
2. RAGS Project: Gender Discrimination a Key Focus
3. Comply & Win' Success in Building Government Labor Inspection Capacity
4. India: Transforming the UN Guiding Principles into Business Practice
5. Tata Leadership Training in Mumbai
6. Snapshot: SA8000 Training in Athens
7. SAI Teams Grows in NYC: Carolyn Collantes
8. Meet SAI's New Intern: Chris Lamoureaux
9. Highlights & Announcements
Top 3 News Stories 

 

Forced & Child Labor in Uzbekistan Cotton Industry

Training Courses

 Social Fingerprint Online Courses 

- Getting Started in Your Company 

-Building Your Internal Social Performance Team

 

Professional Development Series

Implementing the UN Guiding Principles 

Bangalore, India

November 27-28, 2012

 

SAI Cividep Electronic Sector Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable
Chennai, India
November 30, 2012

 

RAGS Project: Management Systems to Address Gender Discrimination 

Bangalore, Tirupur, New Delhi
October-December 2012 

 

SA8000 Advanced Auditor Training   

Events

     

Implementing the UN Guiding Principles 

SAI/ICCO, November 27-28  

(Bangalore, India)   

Social Accountability International (SAI) is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established to advance the human rights of workers by promoting decent work conditions, labor rights, and corporate social responsibility through voluntary standards and capacity building. 

 

SAI is headquartered in the United States with field representation in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Switzerland, and UAE.


SAI- Human Rights at Work

For newsletter inquiries contact:
SAI Communications Manager
Joleen Ong,  
[email protected]
topBrazil: Worker Engagement Program to Improve Health and Safety Issues
This groundbreaking program will engage workers in Brazil to address root causes of health and safety issues in factories, using mobile technology, internal team building and effective change management.

SAI has developed a program to help Brazilian factories improve health and safety in the workplace. The program will blend dynamic elements- change management methodologies and mobile technology - with SAI's management systems-based approach to improve workplace conditions. Disney provided the program's founding grant and other partners include Rapid Results Institute, Labor Link, and the Cahn Group LLC.

Over the past decade, it has become clear that auditing alone cannot drive the positive change needed to improve the fair treatment and dignity of workers. Social performance management systems are key elements in the capacity building process. They are needed to address the issues that are found during the audits and to drive positive change in a workplace.

The program will:
* address root causes of health and safety issues
* form worker/manager social performance teams focused on improving health and safety
* make measurable improvements in one specific health and safety issue in a 100-day Rapid Results project

The program will work in four phases:
* Phase 1 - Supplier Engagement & Formation of an Internal Social Performance Teams
* Phase 2 -Team Building & Training
* Phase 3 - Using a Rapid Results Approach to Tackle a Labor Code Challenge
* Phase 4 - Building on the Success-Team Sustainability and Improving Worker Involvement & Communication... >>Read more 

If you or any of your suppliers are interested please contact SAI Senior Manager Jane Hwang - [email protected]. We will continue to post updates about this program in SAI's newsletter and website -

RAGS Project: Gender Discrimination a Key Focus   

SAI's RAGS Project convenes classroom trainings to address gender discrimination in the Indian ready-made garment industry
Snapshots from the SAI RAGS Project classroom workshops in India. From left: 1) Participants in Bangalore during a breakout session; 2) Group photo from the training in New Delhi on October 12 where participants hold up an SAI banner that was made by women being mentored by the organization Kaurageous; 3) during a breakout session at the training on October 12 in New Delhi, participants theorize a recruitment policy that combats gender discrimination. View more photos from the trainings at http://on.fb.me/RYBoBX. Photo credit: Rishi Sher Singh.
Starting September 2012, four classroom trainings have taken place in three cities in India: Tirupur, September 26; Bangalore, October 9; and New Delhi, October 12 and 13.  The theme of the training, "Management Systems to Address Gender Discrimination," focused on the ready-made garment industry, and other related industries.

The classroom trainings are part of the UK aid -funded RAGS Project. Funding from this project helps to subsidize the trainings to make them affordable for participants from supplier factories. To date, an estimated 80 attendees have participated in the classroom trainings, representing 24 supplier factories.

"In India, most of the women in the lowest strata of the society continue to not receive their fair share of development and equal opportunity might not be available to them in factories," said SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh. "These classroom trainings are important because they bring factory managers to start thinking differently...>>Read more

To view more photos from the training, visit sa-intl.org/indiarags. For more information and to register for trainings, please contact SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh - [email protected].

'Comply & Win' Success Building Government Labor Inspection Capacity   

Project Comply & Win partners convened Sept. 12 in San Jose to discuss project impacts 

Snapshot from the event. From left: Dr. Fernando Malesp�n, Advisor to the Ministry of Labor in Nicaragua; Ana Aslan, USDOL; Alfonso Carro, Advisor to the Ministry of Labor in Costa Rica; and Yolanda Brenes, SAI Lead Trainer.

Governments play a key role in enforcing the labor laws that establish the minimum for decent work. However, lack of resources and access to training and technical assistance can limit their capacity to carry out inspections. In Project Comply and Win, the goal was to build the capacities of 5 Central American labor ministries to conduct quality inspections that emphasize root causes analysis of labor violations and more preventative approaches.  

 

On September 12, 2012, Project Comply and Win, a project of the U.S. Department of Labor led by FUNDPADEM since 2003, convened a meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica to present on project impacts in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Since 2008, SAI has participated in this project as an implementing partner, led by SAI Lead Trainer Yolanda Brenes who helped to train over 500 labor inspectors -- over 100 in each country.   

 

The project concluded this year; however the training materials and protocols developed will sustain the impact of the program in each project country...>>Read more 

 

For more information, please visit www.sa-intl.org/complyandwin. For inquiries, please contact SAI Lead Trainer Yolanda Brenes - [email protected].   

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India: Transforming the UN Guiding Principles into Business Practice

SAI & ICCO to convene a two-day training event in Bangalore to help businesses implement the UN Guiding Principles in their company and supply chain

 

In June 2011, the UNHRC adopted the UN Guiding Principles (GPs) on Business & Human Rights, developed by UN Special Representative John Ruggie. These groundbreaking principles seek to ensure that businesses respect human rights. The challenge now is in their implementation.

 

To assist with that goal, SAI and ICCO developed tools for business and has started a new a new training course centered on their recent Handbook & Toolkit. Register now for the next training in Bangalore, India on November 27-28, 2012. The first training took place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, September 17-18.

 

This exercise-driven two-day course will help a company utilize the Handbook & put the UN GPs into practice. It addresses questions concerning:

  • Scope of the UN GPs
  • Difficulties & challenges with implementing the GPs 
The course will introduce attendees to a six-step method on how to implement a supply chain management system that integrates human rights. The six steps are...>>Read more  

 

Register now @sa-intl.org/UNGuidingPrinciplesCourseFor inquiries, please contact SAI Training Manager Stephanie Wilson at [email protected]. 

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Tata Leadership Training in Mumbai 

SAI & the Tata Council for Community Initiatives hosted a joint leadership training program on social responsibility in the supply chain  

From left: 1) Group photo of training participants; 2) Participants deliberate during a breakout session. View more photos @on.fb.me/SFwni9.
On October 16-18, SAI and the Tata Council for Community Initiatives (TCCI) hosted a leadership training program in Mumbai for the Tata group of companies. The training program explored ideas of leadership commitment, shared values and practical capacity building tools to embed social responsibility throughout the Tata companies and supply chain.

SAI Advisory Board member and TCCI Vice President Anant G. Nadkarni kicked off the 3-day workshop with a call to participants to take a leadership role in advancing the Tata legacy of "living and sharing the human touch". The meeting was facilitated by SAI Lead Trainer, Badri Gulur; SAI India Project Director, Rishi Sher Singh; and SAI Senior Manager of Corporate Programs & Training, Jane Hwang...>>Read more

View photos from the training @on.fb.me/SFwni9. Stay tuned - the November 2012 newsletter will include an interview with Mr. Nadkarni. For more information, please contact SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh - [email protected].


Snapshot: SA8000 Training in Athens 
In Athens, participants deliberate a theoretical case study during a breakout exercise. For more photos check out SAI's Facebook page @on.fb.me/Tbex4C [Photo credit: Sanjiv Singh]

On October 8-12, SAI convened a Basic SA8000 Auditor Training course in Athens, Greece. There were 18 participants from accreditation bodies, government agencies, companies and independent consultants. Their organizations included the following: Accreditation Services International; Deutsche Post DHL; Kaufland; Groupo Calvo; Fortum Oyj; Nilson Group; BG Kazakhstan; Stora Enso Renewable Packaging; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands; Eurocert; and Quality Austria. The course was led by SAI Lead Trainer, Sanjiv Singh, and hosted by Eurocert.  

  

Upcoming SA8000 training courses:    

Location: Chittagong, Bangladesh    

Date:  November 25-29

SAI Training Schedule 2012

SAI training courses are designed to encourage proficiency in social compliance and emphasize the implementation of management systems in combination with performance elements. These courses are required for all SA8000and BSCI auditors, and are just as valuable to internal auditors, buyers, managers and workers for auditing to any labor code or standard. The courses are open to all. Complimentary places are available for NGO and trade union participants. 

 

For more information, contact SAI Training Coordinator, Stephanie Wilson at [email protected] 




SAI Teams Grows in NYC: Carolyn Collantes
SAI is pleased to welcome Carolyn as SAI's new Administrative Assistant 
 
In this new position, Ms. Collantes provides support to SAI's President and Executive Director, in collaboration with Christie Daly, SAI Coordinator- Corporate & Executive Services Christie Daly. She will also be supporting Stephanie Wilson, SAI Training Coordinator.  
 
Ms. Collantes received her B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University, double majoring in International Politics and Spanish. She is currently a part-time graduate student at NYU working towards an M.S. in Global Affairs...>>Read more

For more information, please contact Ms. Collantes at [email protected].

Meet SAI's New Intern: Chris Lamoureaux
Chris joins SAI from Texas to Support & Represent the HQ Team
 
Meet Chris Lamoureaux: I'm an international studies student from Texas. I am passionate about human and civil rights and all fields that pertain to it. I am planning on going to law school for international law and continue to pursue a career in this field. I am interning for SAI because I believe in the mission and the incredible opportunity afforded to me. I have been working on multiple projects for different aspects of the organization, including work on SAI's Social Fingerprint� Program, research and development of a risk assessment program, and the SA8000 revision.

Additionally, my time here at SAI has been characterized by fervent discussion and education. I have attended a portion of the multitude of conferences and seminars that New York has to offer. This is a rundown of the events I have attended so far...>>Read more

For more information, please contact Mr. Lamoureaux at [email protected].  To apply for an internship, visit www.sa-intl.org/careers.

Highlights & Announcements
Snapshots from the art competition in Bangalore that was carried out through SAI's RAGS Project & the Parikrma Humanity Foundation. From left: 1) One of the winning drawing from the art competition; 2) SAI India Project Director stands with the three winners. View more photos @sa-intl.org/indiarags
In late September 2012, SAI's RAGS Project and the Parikrma Humanity Foundation initiated an arts competition with underprivileged children in Bangalore. This event sought to encourage creativity and awareness in the community about gender discrimination in the workplace and beyond, which is a key focus of the RAGS Project. See photos above, and view more @

"Practical Realities of Value-Chain Sustainability"
On October 23, SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin moderated this panel at the UN Global Compact Fall Symposium in NYC. 

  

Roundtable Discussion on the Business & Human Rights Agenda
On October 22, SAI Executive Director Eileen Kaufman spoke at a seminar at Fordham Law School, focusing on how civil society, international organizations and corporations can partner together to promote human rights.

On October 22 in Jerusalem, SAI Field Services Director Doug DeRuisseau presented at the International Conference of the Israel Society for Quality on 'Social Compliance in the Supply Chain' as part of the 'Global Audits and Training for Social Accountability' session.