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December 2012
1. Fire Safety & Prevention: Interview with Dundar Sahin
2. Bangladesh & Pakistan: Tragic Fires Underscore Urgent Safety Needs
3. 'The Human Price': Responses to the New York Times
4. Spotlight: 'Pillars in Practice' Local Partners
5. Implementing the UN Guiding Principles for Business & Human Rights
6. SA8000 Auditor Training in Karachi
7. Highlights & Announcements
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Social Accountability International (SAI)
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Developing & Implementing Effective Social Performance Management Systems
February 11-12
 

 

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Implementing the UN Guiding Principles  

- Utrecht, the Netherlands

January 28-29, 2013

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SA8000 Advanced Auditor Training     

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]
topFire Safety & Prevention: Interview with Dundar Sahin
After visiting 17 factories in Pakistan, Mr. Sahin discusses his experience on the ground to assess the risk of fire and disaster readiness
Snapshots from Pakistan (from left): 1) It is recommended that aisles be clear and wide enough for two people (120 cm) in order for evacuation routes to be adequate; 2) Dundar Sahin stands in front of fire extinguishers in a factory in Faisalabad; 3) In the SITE industrial area in Karachi, the AKUT team had to rely on a hand drawn map on a wall to determine the locations of four factories. For more photos and videos from the AKUT assessment, visit facebook.com/socialaccountabilityinternational 
Dundar Sahin is an emergency and disaster relief specialist, who joined the Turkish volunteer organization AKUT Search & Rescue Association in 1997, when he was a student at Istanbul University. In 1999, AKUT was lauded as a national hero for its effective relief efforts after the earthquake in Turkey, and has continued on to support disaster relief efforts in Greece, India, Thailand, Haiti, Pakistan and Japan. 

Fast forward to 2012, Mr. Sahin and AKUT continue to play an important role in this space. At the time of the interview, he had just wrapped up a 'Supply Chain Emergency Management' training course on behalf of a major UK clothing retailer for over 1,000 workers and 250 managers in New Delhi. In March 2011, he conducted an SAI fire safety and prevention training course in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

After the tragic fire at Ali Enterprises in Karachi, Mr. Sahin was asked by SAAS to conduct two important investigations on the ground in Pakistan. He first investigated Ali Enterprises in October, and then in November, he led a four-person group from AKUT to assess a sample of 17 SA8000 certified facilities in Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad. The assessment looked at the factories' fire and disaster risk based on five categories -- 1) evacuation; 2) fire safety; 3) documentation; 4) management; and 5) health and safety -- to help find the incidence of safety fire hazards, root causes, and as a basis for SAAS to decide changes and improvements in the overall SA8000 system and share these findings with SAI as it undertakes a revision of SA8000, adds to its guidance documents, and expands its OSH trainings and projects.

SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong interviewed Mr. Sahin to discuss his experiences in Pakistan during his November investigation. The final report from his visit is being reviewed by SAAS, and will be publicly reported in the first quarter of 2013...>>Read the full interview at sa-intl.org/dundarsahin

For more information about the AKUT investigation, and about the Ali Enterprises tragedy, please visit www.sa-intl.org/alienterprises. For inquiries, please contact Joleen Ong - [email protected] or visit Dundar's website at www.dundarsahin.com.

 Bangladesh & Pakistan: Tragic Fires Underscore Urgent Safety Needs  
The recent fire at the Tazreen Fashions & Ali Enterprises draws further attention to dangers for workers in the South Asian garment industry

On November 24, in one of the worst industrial disasters in the history of Bangladesh, a deadly fire at a Dhaka garment factory claimed the lives of more than 110 workers. Reports say there were no fire escapes and that the exit door was locked. SAI expresses our heartfelt sympathy for the victims and their families.  These dreadful disasters, the latest in a long series of fires in the South Asian apparel industry, call for broad international cooperation and rapid reforms in Pakistani and Bangladeshi enforcement of their labor laws. Business, civil society and government must work together to minimize industrial fires in the future and to ensure that workers always have safe egress and adequate training to escape should a fire occur. That will require an effective anti-corruption program as well as extensive training at all levels, capacity building, and a central role for workers and their freely elected representatives. 

The ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh, as well as across South Asia, continues to be a precarious occupation, and most of its workers are women. Since 2006, more than 600 workers have perished in fires at garment factories in Bangladesh. Since the fire at Tazreen last Saturday, there has been yet another fire at a garment factory in Bangladesh. On Monday, November 28, in the suburb of Uttara, the Euro-Bangla Garment building caught fire, injuring at least eight workers.

These tragedies are grim reminders of the need to ensure adequate health and safety measures including fire evacuation procedures, with proper communication channels between workers and managers on actions to take in the event of a disaster and active involvement of workers in identifying and remediating hazards...>>Read more at sa-intl.org/tazreenfire 

For more information, contact SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong - [email protected].


'The Human Price': Responses to the New York Times 

The two-part series reported on some challenges of implementing voluntary standards & the complexities behind supply chain management- SAI & SAAS board members & peers respond  

 

The New York Times' two-part series, "The Human Price," on December 7 and 8 examined the tragic circumstances surrounding the fires at Ali Enterprises on September 11 in Karachi, and at Tazreen Fashions on November 24 in Dhaka. These tragedies inevitably echo the Triangle factory fire in 1911. The Triangle fire horrified the nation, and it catalyzed the widespread introduction of workplace safety and fire prevention measures, and served as the impetus for U.S. worker protection laws and their enforcement. This watershed moment in South Asia can present an opportunity to push for the equivalent changes so urgently needed.  

 

From the New York Times article on December 8, 2012:  

 

"[An] SA8000 certificate, issued under the auspices of Social Accountability International, a respected nonprofit organization based in New York, proves [a factory is] running a model business."

"The [SA8000] certificate... is considered the most prestigious in the industry." 

 

On December 11, SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin was a panelist on NPR's 'The Diane Rehm Show' - "The People Who Make Our Clothes and the Conditions they Face" along with New York Times reporter Steve Greenhouse and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) Executive Director Scott Nova. A full recording and transcript is available @bit.ly/TlO0Fc.

 

In response to the December 8 New York Times' article, SAI & SAAS Board members, as well as the voluntary standards membership organization, the ISEAL Alliance, sent in Letters to the Editor and/or posted public commentary:   

To read the responses, visit sa-intl.org/humanprice. For more information, contact SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong - [email protected].  

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 Spotlight: 'Pillars in Practice' Local Partners
SAI asks its local partners in Bangladesh, Nicaragua & Zimbabwe about the program's significance and potential human rights impact
'Pillars in Practice' Local Partners (from left): Shahamin Zaman- Executive Director & CEO, CSR Centre Bangladesh; Alberto Legall Lopez- Project Director, Professionals for Corporate Social Auditing (PASE) Nicaragua; Mutuso Dhliwayo - Executive Director, Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) 
SAI's joint 'Pillars in Practice' (PiP) program with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) designed to promote the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights works in 3 countries and 3 sectors: ready-made garments in Bangladesh; agriculture in Nicaragua; and mining in Zimbabwe. To read about the launch, see the November issue of SAI's newsletter.

We are pleased to introduce the 3 key local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) we will work with and their leaders who will be working with SAI and the DIHR:

This article was written by SAI Development Intern Tina Baboyan. For more information, contact SAI Development Manager Eliza Wright -[email protected]. To follow the project in real time 'like' us on Facebook - facebook.com/pillarsinpractice.

Implementing the UN Guiding Principles for Business & Human Rights 

Two-day Training Event - January 28-29, Utrecht, The Netherlands 

Group photo from the SAI UN Guiding Principles course in Bangalore, India - Nov. 27-28. Register now for the upcoming course in Utrecht, The Netherlands. 
June 2011, the UN adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, written by UN Special Representative John Ruggie. One of the implications of the principles is that businesses are expected to respect human rights in their companies internally and in their supply chains. But what does this mean and how do you accomplish this?

To assist with the Guiding Principles' goals, SAI and ICCO developed tools for business and started a new training course centered on their recent  Handbook & Toolkit. November 27-28 the course was delivered in Bangalore, India. Priyadarshini Sharma, Senior Manager, Office of the Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, attended the course:

"Tata Steel works with the SA8000 in upholding labor and human rights principles. We seek to expand the Management Review for SA8000 to include the human rights context going beyond the workplace. Attending the course was a step in the direction of structuring approaches to develop an integrated framework for salient risks."


Register now for the Jan. 28-29 course in Utrecht. For inquiries and to register, visit www.sa-intl.org/unguidingprinciplescourse or contact SAI Training Coordinator Stephanie Wilson - [email protected]

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SA8000 Auditor Training in Karachi
Group photo of participants from the SA8000 Basic Auditor training course in Karachi, Pakistan on November 12-16, 2012. [Photo credit: Richard Rowe]

On November 12-16, SAI convened a Basic SA8000 Auditor Training course in Karachi, Pakistan. The course was led by SAI Lead Trainer, Richard Rowe. To see more photos from the SA8000 auditor training courses, check out SAI's Facebook page @on.fb.me/U53MGK

  

Upcoming SA8000 training courses:    

Location: Shanghai, China 

Date: January 14-18, 2013 
 

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 SA8000 and 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]



Highlights & Announcements

Siemens Integrity Initiative In early December SAI Executive Director Eileen Kohl Kaufman participated in the Advisory Board Meeting for the Transparency International-USA Verification of Corporate Anti-Corruption Programs. She also took part in the Steering Committee of Business Principles for Countering Bribery, and the Meeting of the UNGC Working Group on the 10th Principle.

Rapid Results Institute - Foreign Policy's Top 100 Global Thinkers Congratulations to RRI's President Nadim Matta for making the list! Mr. Matta and the RRI developed the 100-day plan for development. RRI is a key partner in SAI's Brazil Worker Engagement Program. Read more @atfp.co/Wh78ox 

1st UN Forum on Business & Human Rights SAI Representative Steven Oates participated in the Forum in Geneva on Dec. 4-5. The Forum was established as part of a Working Group to enable stakeholders from all regions to strengthen engagement towards the goal of the UNGPs. Learn more @bit.ly/UUhjw0  

GOTS Certified Training on Social Criteria On Nov. 29, and Dec. 7 & 13 SAI Field Services Director Doug DeRuisseau and Lead Trainer Shirley To presented a webinar for GOTS on auditing for labor standards, specifically focusing on management systems and child labor.

EILEEN FISHER & California Transparency in Supply Chain Act In partnership with CAST (Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking) and Not for Sale, EILEEN FISHER hosted a discussion about business' collective responses to SB657, the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act.

SAI Advisory Board member Amy Hall, Director of Social Consciousness at EILEEN FISHER, was elected to the board of directors of the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC). Ms. Hall also spoke at two apparel industry events in New York City:  the Oeko-Tex Next 20 Event on November 14 and the Women's Wear Daily Global Sourcing Summit on October 2.

"A Window to the Future/Uma Janela Para o Futuro" SAI Advisory Board member Helio Mattar, President of the Akatu Institute for Conscious Consumption, wrote an article on the need to change consumer awareness for sustainability. Read it in Portuguese @bit.ly/UKRkcB.

USDOL Toolkit to Combat Child & Forced Labor in Global Supply Chains On December 14, the USDOL introduced 'Reducing Child Labor & Forced Labor: A Toolkit for Responsible Business,' a guide to help businesses combat child labor and forced labor in their global supply chains. Read it @1.usa.gov/SABo0f.