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Training Courses
-Getting Started in Your Company
-Building Your Internal Social Performance Team
Developing & Implementing Effective Social Performance Management Systems
New York, NY
Date TBD
- Utrecht, the Netherlands
January 28-29, 2013
- Brazil
Date TBD
The Hague, The Netherlands
February 4-8
San Jose, Costa Rica
February 4-8
Abu Dhabi, UAE
February 10-14
Buenos Aires, Argentina
February 18-22
Shenzhen, China
February 25- March 1
SA8000 Advanced Auditor Training
Cairo, Egypt
February 4-6
New Delhi, India
February 27-March.1
Istanbul, Turkey
March 11-13
Shenzhen, China
March 20-22
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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, jong@sa-intl.org |
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 SAI Releases Annual Report
The Annual Report highlights SAI's efforts in 2011 to advance and implement 'human rights at work'
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SAI's 2011 Annual Report was published electronically, and is hosted on SAI's website. Read it at www.sa-intl.org/ar2011 |
SAI is pleased to announce the publication of its Annual Report, highlighting our efforts to advance and implement 'human rights at work' in 2011. SAI leveraged its expertise as a social standards setter to support the development of new tools and standards for various issue areas, including the IFC Handbook, UN Women Gender Equity Seal, UN Guiding Principles Handbook and the Magen Tzedek Standard. This report captures the growth of the organization through the implementation of its global capacity building and training programs across the globe in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Honduras, India, Nicaragua and more. The four-year Project Cultivar came to a close. This report highlights the impact of the project in the agricultural sector, and details the sustained momentum of the project's local partners in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. In India, the RAGS Program scaled up its efforts to organize training workshops on how to reduce gender discrimination in the ready-made garment sector. In China, SAI's support to Tchibo's GmbH's 'WE Project' leveraged dialogue with workers as an educational tool to identify root causes and solutions to systemic issues in the workplace >>Read more
The 2011 report was published electronically, and is hosted on SAI's website - www.sa-intl.org/ar2011. For more information about the report, please contact SAI Communications Manager, Joleen Ong - JOng@sa-intl.org.
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Urgent Notice: SA8000 & BSCI Auditing for Fire Safety
Mandatory webinar for SA8000 & BSCI auditors and trainees to enhance competence in health & safety
 On February 6, 2013, SAI will release the webinar - "Auditing for Fire Safety in the SA8000 and BSCI Systems." This webinar will be a compulsory requirement for all existing SA8000 and BSCI auditors, as well as trainees in the SA8000 auditor training courses, in order for your credentials to be considered valid, and/or to receive a certificate of course completion. All SA8000 and BSCI auditors will be given until May 1, 2013 to complete this webinar, after which their credentials as a SA8000 auditor will be deemed invalid until this webinar has been completed in full. To ensure that all SA8000 and BSCI auditors take the course promptly and to eliminate any financial obstacles, access to this webinar will be free of cost up until April 30, 2013. As of May 1, 2013, you will be required to pay a modest fee to access this webinar, to help cover the costs of long-term webinar hosting. SAI has prepared a set of FAQs about this new requirement, please view them at www.sa-intl.org/SA8000firesafety. The webinar will be available through the same web link on February 6, 2013. The webinar was developed by SAI's Director of Field Services Doug DeRuisseau and SAI Lead Trainer and Fire Safety Expert Dundar Sahin to enhance the skills and knowledge of SA8000 and BSCI auditors and to provide guidance on how to audit against the occupational health and safety requirement of the SA8000 Standard and BSCI Code... >>Read more
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Call for Suppliers: Brazil Worker Engagement Program
SAI invites factories in the São Paulo region to join the Worker Engagement Program to help enhance health and safety systems
Over the past decade, it has become clear that to improve workplaces, management systems and effective ways to engage teams in tackling specific problems are needed.
Established October 2012, SAI's Worker Engagement Program aims to to improve health and safety in workplaces of companies in the São Paulo region. This program is designed to help supplier factories enhance its health and safety systems to better meet international labor standards. The program will work with groups of companies to set 100-day goals towards improving a specific health and safety issue. It will utilize the award-winning Rapid Results Institute methodology for change management to set and achieve goals through team building. It will also leverage cutting-edge mobile technology to help support internal communications during the process... >>Read more
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RAGS Project Exceeds Targets to Combat Gender Discrimination
The Project's workshops in India offer a timely focus on gender discrimination to foster change
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Photos (from left): 1) Participants in Bangalore deliberate during a group activity; 2) Snapshot of a banner that was made by women being mentored by the organization Kaurageous; 3) Participants in Tirupur post their thoughts on gender discrimination. [Photo credit: Rishi Sher Singh] For more photos, visit on.fb.me/RYBoBX.
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SAI's RAGS Project continues at full steam across India. Led by SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh, the project in 2012 convened 13 workshops, with 307 participants from 131 factories to implement " Management Systems to Address Gender Discrimination" in the ready-made garment sector. This exceeds the project's initial targets of 270 participants and 100 factories.
These trainings are being supported and co-delivered by local organizations such as SAVE in Tirupur and Sutradhara in Delhi. The RAGS program is supported by UKAID from the Department for International Development (DFID). The workshops provideded a space for participants to raise awareness about gender discrimination in the factory as well as at the community level. Gender discrimination draws ever more widespread and intense attention in India. The brutal rape of a 23-year old medical student in New Delhi, which resulted in her death two weeks later, has galvanized both Indians and a global audience to closely examine the structural inequities that perpetuate this behavior, and their implications for the safety of women... >>Read more
To apply to participate in these trainings, please contact SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh - rishi@sa-intl.org.
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Brazil: Beraca Hosts Workshop for Suppliers in Amazon
3rd annual workshop offered a forum for dialogue and discussion on sustainability issues
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Group photo from the event in Belém, Pará, Brazil where over 40 representatives attended this workshop, including SAI Representative Beat Grüninger who presented on the issue of child labor in Brazil. [Photo credit: Beat Grüninger]
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On December 4, 2012 in Belém, Pará, the São Paolo-based natural products company and SAI Corporate Member, Beraca, hosted its third annual workshop with its community of suppliers from Brazil's Amazon region. Over 40 representatives attended from producer groups that supply oil seeds and different products indigenous to the Amazon to Beraca's factory in Belem. The workshop offered a space for suppliers' dialogue about work and to discuss any issues that they face with regard to commercialization and the proper organization of their productive chain. The workshop also highlighted different aspects of the certifications that Beraca has earned, such as the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), EcoCert, USDA organic certification and SA8000.
SAI Representative Beat Grüninger from BSD Consulting attended the event, and presented on the issue of child labor, which is a frequent concern in northern Brazil. A 2011 study conducted by the Brazilian Institute for Statistics IBGE estimated that about half a million... >>Read more
For more information, please contact SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong - JOng@sa-intl.org.
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1st Electronics Sector Roundtable Convenes in India
SAI & Cividep joint roundtable draws a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss challenges in the sector, and a collective path forward
On November 30, 2012, SAI and the Bangalore-based NGO Cividep convened a multi-stakeholder roundtable to enable social dialogue on challenges in the electronics sector and discuss effective implementation of workplace standards. The meeting sought to build the capacity of all stakeholders to understand the underlying challenges of the sector and to find collective solutions.
Electronics is a rapidly growing sector in India, pulling in an estimated $45 billion in 2011 and employing more than 4 million people. " As this sector continues to boom, stakeholders have a collective responsibility to be conscious of the implications on labor, environment, health & safety and e-recycling," said SAI India Project Director, Rishi Sher Singh. " We need to ensure a sustainable supply chain by proactive actions...>>Read more
To learn more about the roundtable, read the detailed meeting report at bit.ly/emacs2012. For more information or to inquire about future participation, please contact SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh - Rishi@sa-intl.org.
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Pillars in Practice Program Spotlight: BangladeshThe Bangladesh garment sector is one of the three countries and sectors that the PiP Program focuses on to implement the UN Guiding Principles
Over the past decade, trade policy liberalization has fueled Bangladesh's economy, which grew at an average rate of nearly 6% per year. Between 2000 and 2011, the country's GDP increased from $45 billion to $106 billion, and is set to continue growing very fast in the upcoming years. Exports are a major part of Bangladesh's economy, for which the garment sector is of particular importance. In 1995, garments formed 53% of total exports, but now account for more than 79%. Many companies, brands, and global retailers outsource their clothing and footwear production to the country, and Bangladesh's garment sector now comprises over 5,000 factories and 3.5 million workers, 85% of whom are women. It is thus a major source of employment that spurs exports and economic growth. These economic opportunities allowed many advances in terms of human development and employment generation. However, because of low literacy rates of workers in Bangladesh's garment sector and frequent antagonism between management and unions, there is concern over workers' awareness of their rights... >>Read more
Follow the PiP program on Facebook at facebook.com/pillarsinpractice.This article was written by SAI Development Intern Tina Baboyan, with contributions from CSR Centre CEO Shahamin S. Zaman and SAI Lead Trainer Sanjiv Singh. For inquiries about the PiP Project, please contact Tina at TBaboyan@sa-intl.org, and SAI Development Manager Eliza Wright -Ewright@sa-intl.org.
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Implementing the UN Guiding Principles for Business & Human Rights
Two-day Training Event - January 28-29, Utrecht, The Netherlands
 | | Cover of SAI & ICCO's handbook to implement the UN Guiding Principles. |
In June 2011, the UN adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, written by UN Special Representative John Ruggie. One of the principles is for businesses 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, who attended the course, remarked:
"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."
The training course in Utrecht, The Netherlands on January 28-29, 2013 was the latest installment. The next course is expected to take place in Brazil, date and location TBD... >>Read more
For inquiries and to register, visit www.sa-intl.org/unguidingprinciplescourse or contact SAI Training Coordinator Stephanie Wilson - SWilson@sa-intl.org.
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SAI Advisory Board Updates
Dorianne Beyer, Chair of the SAI Advisory Board's Membership Committee announced some recent developments to the board
"Pursuant to the Advisory Board's newly agreed and implemented Membership rotation policies, the Main seat holders Manuel Rodriguez (Chiquita) and Aadith D. Vikram (Prem Group Company) and their Alternates George Jaksch (Chiquita) and Robin Cornelius (Switcher) have been accordingly rotated off the SAI Advisory Board as of December 31, 2012.
As "oldtimers", and very dedicated ones at that, their service has been both commendably long and extremely valuable. Truly, SAI and SA8000 would not be the esteemed agency and standard it is today without the significant contributions of these Advisory Board members. We thank them beyond measure.
The Advisory Board is multi-stakeholder in structure. We will maintain the balance of membership between trade unions, civil society organizations and companies. The Membership Committee plans to introduce the nominations of three new candidates at the Spring Advisory Board meeting... >>Read more
This notice was written by Ms. Beyer, Esq. For more information, or to submit a suggestion of a candidate to serve on an SAI Board, please contact SAI Manager, Corporate & Executive Services Christie Daly - CDaly@sa-intl.org.
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SA8000 Auditor Training in Chittagong
 | | Group photo of participants from the SA8000 Basic Auditor training course in Chittagong, Bangladesh on November 25-29, 2012. [Photo credit: Sanjiv Singh] |
On November 25-29, 2012 SAI convened a Basic SA8000 Auditor Training course in Chittagong, Bangladesh hosted by the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ). The course was led by SAI Lead Trainer, Sanjiv Singh. The course was attended by 16 individuals, including representatives from local factories, buyers, certification bodies, industry associations, government, and GIZ. Following this course, Mr. Singh led another course in Dhaka, Bangladesh, hosted by GIZ. Special thanks to GIZ for hosting both courses in Bangladesh as part of its Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards in the Industry (PSES) project. This event was written up in the Bangladesh paper, the Daily Sun. Read it @bit.ly/YbTRT0
To see more photos from the SA8000 auditor training courses, check out SAI's Facebook page @on.fb.me/UxpJNc .
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Upcoming SA8000 training courses:
Location: New Delhi
Date: February 27-March 1, 2013
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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 SWilson@sa-intl.org.
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Highlights & Announcements
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In December, SAI Senior Manager Jane Hwang conducted a Social Fingerprint Training-of-Trainers in Shenzhen with SAI Authorized Representative, Shenzhen Madison Technical Services Co. From left: Mike Lee, Phoenix Zhang, Jane Hwang, Anie Zhu, Alina Zhu and Cherry Liu.
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Parliament of India Passes Companies Bill On December 18, the Companies Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha (House of the People, Parliament of India) which aims to overhaul corporate governance norms. It will grant shareholders greater powers to defend their rights and mandate companies to invest in CSR initiatives. Learn more @http://bit.ly/TmHIJf
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