Human Rights & Labour Standards
Thong Guan Group (TG or the Company) recognizes the social responsibility to provide a working environment where employees are treated with respect, dignity and fairness. This commitment is built upon a framework of policies and procedures designed to ensure this objective is embedded right from the recruitment to career development and retention of employees.
TG is dedicated to the values and standards of business and ethical behaviour that comply with all applicable laws and regulations and includes company policies, practices and procedures. TG respects internationally recognized Human Rights as established in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Core Conventions. This policy applies to the entities that we own and the facilities that we manage. We expect our business partners, including suppliers, to adopt and adhere to similar values and practices. We are committed to avoiding adverse human rights impacts and complexities resulting from or caused by our business activities; we have incorporated due diligence that is aligned with the UN Guiding Principles (UMGP) on Business and Human Rights. We seek to insert human rights considerations in all of our global business operations, products, services and supply chain. TG will continue to find ways to promote and enhance human rights within its scope of influence.
We also encourage our employees to report any actual, suspected or potential violations of all Company policies, including but not limited to this Human Rights and Labour Standard Policy. All company policies shall be reviewed on an annual basis and updated where necessary to ensure the continuous improvement of working conditions. Our major subsidiary company, TG Plastic Technologies Sdn Bhd is a Sedex member (Supplier-B Member ZC405691131) and has gone through Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) audit in second quarter of year 2021. SMETA is Sedex’s social auditing methodology, enabling businesses to assess their sites and suppliers to understand working conditions in their supply chain.
TG has adopted the below policies and has create awareness to all employees through incorporate these policies in employee’s handbook and briefing through new employee orientation program.
Policies
Human Rights and Labour Records
During the financial year 2021, the number of cases related to violations of human and labour rights are as below table:
Our Focus
HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION
Scope & Strategies:
- Equal Rights to Work & Education
- Diversity & Inclusion
We assess & address our human rights risk & impact per internationally accepted guidelines and best practices, i.e. SMETA.
Targeted Output:
- To improve our business practices & the working conditions in global supply chain.
- To certify our major manufacturing plants in Malaysia as Sedex members by 2025.
HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
Scope & Strategies:
- Employee Engagement
- Talent Development
- Leadership & Legacy
We invest in our workforce by providing training to our employees.
Targeted Output:
- To increase training hours by 10% in FY2023 and 30% by FY2025.
- To develop a succession plan for key leadership positions to mitigate key person risk.
Our Employment Records
Employment Data
Employment for Migrant Workers
- TG will recruit migrant workers according to its Foreign Workers Recruitment Guideline & Procedure policy.
- There is an employment contract between the company and the worker and the contract is available in their mother language.
- Employment of migrant workers is arranged through licensed agent and both parties will sign a Manpower Supply Service Agreement to ensure the Agent is in compliance with all rules and regulations pertaining to employ migrant workers.
Reports on Violations of Policies
For the financial year ending 31 December 2021, we observed zero incidents of unfair employment, violation of labour laws or unfair harassment.
The Group do not employed any child or under-age labours and no forced labour incidents. There were no compound issued by the authorities due to unratifiable non-compliance of rules and regulations.
SOCIAL HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION
1. EQUAL RIGHTS TO WORK & EDUCATION
Equal Opportunities
Protecting our people on their rights
Objectives
To continuously achieve zero incidents of unfair employment, violation of labour law, unfair harassment and unlawful discrimination practices in short term (by 2025), mid term (by 2035) and long term (by 2050)
Our Sustainability Indicator
Workplace human rights
TG respects the human rights of all its workers and supports the local communities. A primary subsidiary of TG passed the SMETA audit in 2021, while other business units have taken the initiative to get SMETA accreditation or its equivalent to ensure no human rights violations across the organisation. In 2021, we also started to engage with our suppliers on their commitment to addressing human rights issues.
Sedex Member Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA)
SEDEX is a membership organisation that provides one of the world’s leading online platforms for companies to manage and improve working conditions in the global supply chain.
SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) is the most widely used social audit globally. SMETA is Sedex’s social auditing methodology, enabling businesses to assess their sites and suppliers to understand working conditions in their supply chain.
Equal rights to work & education
Our practice is always basing employee performance on a merit system, regardless of language, culture, age, gender, ethnicity or nationality. We provide equal training and promotion opportunities to all employees, including migrant workers. There is clear evidence of our practice with certain long service migrant workers being promoted to supervisory level.
Our Policy On Human Rights Practices
We embrace the following to ensure the rights of our employees are always respected and fulfilled. We do so regardless of who they are or where they come from.
- Provide a workplace free of discrimination and harassment;
- Prohibit child labour and forced labour;
- Zero tolerance for discrimination, physical and sexual violence
- Provide fair and equitable wages, benefits and other conditions of employment per local laws
- Provide safe working conditions
- Respecting workers’ right to freedom of association
Conclusions
- FY2021, we observed ZERO incident of unfair employment, violation of labour laws, harassment, child and forced labour
SOCIAL HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION
2. DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Welcoming Workplace
Embracing differences for the greater good
Objectives
To continuously achieve zero incidents of unfair employment, violation of labour law, unfair harassment and unlawful discrimination practices in short term (by 2025), mid term (by 2035) and long term (by 2050)
Our Sustainability Indicator
Diverse & inclusive workplace
Diversity and inclusivity are our core focus for maintaining a sustainable workplace. We understand that by embracing people regardless of who they are, where they come from, and what they believe in, we can achieve extraordinary work results. Diversity sparks innovation, improves collaboration, makes better decisions, attracts new talents, and boosts profitability.
But above all, it is our respect towards everyone as human, and we respect what they bring to the table, not who brought it.
A diverse workforce is essential for continued innovation, a growth mindset and sustained business growth.
As a diverse and inclusive organisation that continues to seek differences in opinions, viewpoints and ideas, we do not discriminate based on language, culture, age, gender or nationality and offer employees promotions and rewards based on merit.
From the outset of our recruitment activities, we demonstrate our commitment to diversity and inclusion. When we hire internally and externally, we search for a diverse pool of candidates based on individual qualities. Diversity is also a key focus in succession planning.
Our Diversity & Inclusion Framework
We embrace employees from different ethnicities, cultures, nationalities and educational backgrounds. Our framework, comprising five core strategies, ensure the practice of diversity and inclusion throughout our organisation.
Conclusions
- FY2021, we observed ZERO incidents of unfair employment, violation of labour laws, unfair harassment, and child and forced labour
- FY2021, we employed 5 employees with disabilities and 25 interns
SOCIAL HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
1. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Employee Engagement Model
Investing in our people
Objectives
To continue investing in our workforce by attracting, developing and engaging with our employees
Our Sustainability Indicator
Benefits of highly engaged employees
Highly engaged employee are essential for our business success and help us achieve and sustain our vision. We have open door policy of which the staffs are encouraged to share their issues with superiors. Weekly meeting are held between executive directors and leaders to discuss on operational matters and to provide solution and guidance.
Our Employee Engagement Framework
Our people are our most valuable assets. As such we invest heavily in our workforce. In our focus on employee engagement, we follow the guideline of our framework. The focus are on these six areas.
People & Culture
- Relationship with immediate supervisor/colleagues
- Corporate leadership
- Alignment with corporate vision & mission
- Fairness & respect
- Social & physical work environment
- Work & family balance
- Communication
Corporate Reputation & Practices
- Organisational performance & reputation
- CSR
- Processes & systems
- Organisational changes
Reward & Recognition
- Renumeration & benefits
- Job security
- Recognition
- Resources
- Clarity of roles & responsibilities
- Goals & targets
- Employees empowerment
- Rosters
- Accommodation
- Amenities
- Health & safety
- Career progression
- Training & development
- Interesting & challenging work
- Performance feedback
SOCIAL HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
2. TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Opportunities & Growth
Training & developing our people for progression
Objectives
- To continue investing in our workforce by attracting, developing and engaging with our employees
- To increase training hours by 10% in FY2023 and 30% by FY2025
Our Sustainability Indicator
Attract, develop and engage
People are a company’s ultimate competitive advantage. We strive to attract, develop and engage our employees because our people’s success is TG’s success.
Attracting Talent
We continually attract qualified and talented personnel and nurture our workforce, so they are ready to take on new challenges. Our ambition is to facilitate the seamless integration of talent into the organisation and build our brand as an employer of choice.
Developing Talent
We encourage employees to adopt a growth mindset where learning is ongoing. There are different ways to learn and grow, depending on the development needs and an individual’s learning style.
In Thong Guan, these are the learning styles we adopt.
- On the job training and learning. For example, taking on new challenges or stretched assignments
- Growth through others. For example, social and collaborative interactions and constructive feedback in a community, networks, peers, coaches and mentors
- Formal learning. For example, structured programmes and courses like training, online classes and readings
Each business unit and department need to submit an annual training plan to the human resources department to make necessary training arrangement. Employees can also discuss with their superiors to request additional training if required. We also have an education sponsorship programme for qualified employees.
We also recognised employees who have been with us through thick and thin by awarding them a long-service award.
Conclusions
- FY2021, we clocked 4,690 structured training hours for our employees
SOCIAL HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
3. LEADERSHIP & LEGACY
Organisational Success
Future-proofing our workforce
Objectives
- To identify suitable candidates for leadership positions to mitigate key person risk
Our Sustainability Indicator
Our people are our most valuable asset, and we invest heavily in our workforce. We focused on creating a strong leadership team with the right capabilities and experiences to drive our ambitions and achievements. We develop our people and reward strong performance through our career management strategies, learning and development opportunities, and access to resources.
Developing strong leadership
Leaders are important to set the culture of the company.
Our corporate values and philosophy are
- Driving excellence through innovation
- Fostering trust and confidence
- Cultivating a safer, better working world
As such, we ensure our leaders are aligned and can propagate the same cultural essence and values through their own ways.
Conclusions
- The key leadership position succession planning for each department and business unit is in development.
Succession planning
A strong pipeline is critical to ensure sustained quality leadership and organisational success. We need a well-structured and consistent process to build a robust pipeline of competent candidates to fill the positions. Therefore, we follow the succession planning process to identify key leadership positions to mitigate key person risk.
