Employees Wages & Benefits

1. Supplier shall abide with all the provisions stated in Book Three, Conditions of Employment. Title I Working Conditions and Rest Periods, Chapter I Hours of work wherein the normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight (8) hours a day. Hours worked shall include (a) all time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to at a prescribed workplace, and (b) all time during which an employee is permitted to work. Work may be performed beyond eight (8) hours a day provided that the employee is paid for the overtime work in Article 86 (Night Shift Differential) and Article 87 (Overtime Pay), including those that were defined in Articles 91-93 (Premium Pay) and Article 94 (Holiday Pay). This includes the provision for Service Incentive Leave (Article 95) for any employee who has rendered at least one (1) year.

2. Suppliers are required to pay their rank and file employees thirteen month (13) pay (Presidential Degree 851), regardless of the nature of their employment and irrespective of the methods by which their wages are paid, provided they worked for at least one (1) month during a calendar year.

3. Supplier must comply with Republic Act No. 6727 (also known as the "Wage Rationalization Act"), which mandates the fixing of the minimum wages applicable to different, industrial sectors depending on the number of workers or capitalization or annual gross sales in some sectors.

4. Suppliers shall provide Maternity Leave (Republic Act 8282) benefits to its every pregnant employee, whether married or unmarried, of sixty (60) days in case of normal delivery or miscarriage, or seventy-eight (78) days, in case of caesarian section delivery, with benefits equivalent to one hundred percent (100%) of the average daily salary credit of the employee as defined under the law. Likewise, a Paternity Leave (Republic Act 8187) benefit must also be granted to all married male employees, regardless of their employment status, for seven (7) calendar days, with full pay, consisting of basic salary and mandatory allowances fixed by the Regional Wage Board. If any, provided that this pay shall not be less than the mandated minimum wage.

5. Suppliers shall provide a retirement pay (Article 287, as amended by Republic Act 7641) to their employees upon reaching the age of sixty (60) years or more but not beyond sixty-five (65) years old (and have served the establishment for at least five (5) years). The minimum retirement pay shall be equivalent to one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of service, a fraction of at least six(6) months as one (1) whole year.

Occupational Safety and Health in the Workplace

The supplier is required to keep in his establishment such first-aid medicines and equipment as the nature and conditions of work may require and take the necessary steps for the training of a sufficient number of employees in first-aid treatment. This includes providing the employees in any locality with FREE medical and dental attendance and facilities consisting of:

(a) The services of full-time registered nurse when the number of employees exceeds fifty (50) but not more than two hundred (200);
(b) The services of a full-time registered nurse, a part-time physician and dentist, and an emergency clinic, when the number of employees exceeds two hundred (200) but not more than three hundred (300); and
(c) The services of a full-time physician, and dentist and a full-time registered nurse as well as dental clinic, and an infirmary or emergency hospital with one bed capacity for every one hundred (100) employees when the number of employees exceeds three-hundred (300).

The supplier must also develop and implement comprehensive occupational health program for the benefits of the employees through its employed medical personnel. This includes having a Health and Safety Committees to enhance ongoing health and safety education and to encourage worker input regarding health and safety issues in the workplace.

Suppliers must anticipate, identify, and assess emergency situations and events and minimizing their impact by implementing emergency plans and response procedures, including emergency reporting, worker notification and evacuation procedures, worker training and drills, appropriate fire detection and suppression equipment, adequate exit facilities, and recovery plans.

Equal Work Opportunities and Fair Treatment

The supplier shall give equal opportunities to all its workers irrespective of their race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, political affiliation, union membership, national origin, or marital status. It shall be unlawful to require as a condition of employment or continuation of employment that a female worker shall not get married (Art. 136 Stipulation Against Marriage). Workers shall not be threatened or subjected to harsh or inhumane treatment, including sexual harassment (Republic Act 7877, Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995), sexual abuse, corporal punishment, mental coercion, physical coercion, verbal abuse or unreasonable restrictions on entering or exiting company provided facilities.

Employment of Minors

Suppliers shall only employ workers whose age is eighteen (18) years old and above. Juveniles who are younger than eighteen (18) years of age may be employed, provided they do not perform work likely to jeopardize their health, safety, or morale, consistent with ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138.

Environmental Commitment

Suppliers shall commit themselves in reducing the environmental impact of their designs, manufacturing processes, and waste emissions. Air emissions of volatile organic chemical, aerosols, corrosives, particulates, ozone depleting chemicals, and combustion by-products generated from operations must be characterized, monitored, controlled, and treated as required by applicable laws and regulations before discharge. Wastewater and solid waste generated from operations, industrial processes, and sanitation facilities must be monitored, controlled, and treated as required by applicable laws and regulations before discharge or disposal [compliance to Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) requirements and other related / similar agencies].

Business Ethics

1. Suppliers must respect intellectual property rights, safeguard customer information; and transfer of technology and know-how must be done in a manner that protects intellectual property rights.
2. Suppliers shall not offer bribes in any form or other means to any employees and officers of Banner in order to obtain undue or improper advantage.
3. Corruption, extortion, and embezzlement, in any form, are strictly prohibited, which could result in immediate termination as an accredited supplier of Banner under this Code.

Management Systems

Suppliers are encouraged to adopt or establish a management system designed to ensure compliance with this Code and applicable laws and regulations, identify and mitigate operational risks, and facilitate continual improvement. Recommended management systems are as follows:

1. ISO9001:2008 (Quality Management System
2. ISO28000:2007 (Security Management System)
3. Other similar / related management system

The management system should contain at the minimum the following elements:

Commitment

A corporate quality, security, social, safety and/or environmental statement affirming the Supplier's commitment to compliance and continual improvement posted in strategic locations within the premises in the Suppliers language of choice that could be understood by its workers and stakeholders.

Accountability and Responsibility

Clearly identified a management representative responsible for ensuring implementation and continual improvement of the established management system.

Risk Assessment

Process of identifying security, environmental, health and safety, business ethics, labor, human rights and legal compliance risks associated with operations, determine the relative significance of each risk, and implement appropriate procedures and physical controls to ensure compliance and control the identified risks from determined vulnerabilities in business operation.

Training
Provision for implementing training programs intended for managers and workers to implement the Supplier's policies, procedures, and continual improvement objectives.

Communication
A process for communicating clear and accurate information about the Supplier's performance, practices, and expectations to its workers, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders.

Feedback Mechanism

Process in obtaining feedback on processes and practices coming from workers, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders related to this Code and to foster continual improvement.

Internal Audit and Self-Assessments

Planned self-evaluations and review to ensure that the Supplier is complying with this Code and with applicable laws and regulations. Banner may request from the supplier records of compliance from the Supplier to verify compliance to this Code.

Corrective and Preventive Process

A process of providing corrective actions for actual non-conformity and preventive actions for potential non-conformities identified by an internal or external audit, assessment, inspection, investigation, customer complaint, or review.

Documentation and Records

Maintaining documents and records to ensure regulatory compliance and conformity to this Code, with appropriate confidentiality measure to protect privacy.

References:

Banner referred to the following websites in preparing this Code.

1. www.iso.org
2. www.dole.gov.ph
3. www.bwc.dole.gov.ph
4. www.ilo.org
5. www.ethicaltrade.org