AUO human rights policy
AUO firmly believes that protection of human rights is the essential
foundation for sustainable business operations. To ensure that each and
every employee is treated fairly and with respect at workplace, we follow
internationally recognized human rights conventions and put our
commitments and policies concerning human rights in place. We also
make sure that the company operations of the AUO Group do not
violate or infringe human rights through a four-stage due diligence
process in order to protect the rights of our employees and value chain
partners.
Guiding Principles
- UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPBHR)
- Global Sullivan Principles
- Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct
- Social Accountability 8000 International Standard
Scope
The AUO Human Rights Policy applies to all of the group's businesses, including global employees and across our entire business activities. We require our group's subsidiaries, suppliers, contractors, subcontractors, customers, joint ventures, and other value chain partners to adhere to the same standards.
Commitments and Policies
AUO is committed to complying with the human rights protection laws and guidelines in areas where we operate worldwide. We exercise due diligence to prevent human rights infringements with or to any third parties, and build a culture of equality, respect, care, and security within our company in accordance with the following principles. We also supervise our value chain partners in the protection of human rights.
- Implement Equal Employment Opportunity and equality of opportunity
- Prohibit the use of all forms of forced labor
- Prohibit the hiring of child labor or labor originated from human trafficking
- Create a work environment that is diverse, inclusive, humane, free from harassment, and has zero tolerance for discrimination
- Provide fair wages and equal remuneration according to law
- Ensure the safety and health of the workplace, as well as of the places where we provide meals and accommodation
- Strive to protect the health of our employees
- Respect our employees’ right to freedom of association, i.e., the right to form or join or not to join any groups or organizations having a common viewpoint or purpose
- Maintain positive labor relations and provide communication platforms by various means to create a culture of open communication
Due Diligence Process
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Risk Identification
- Scope out the relevant human rights due diligence issues to the stakeholders according to the UNGPBHR principles.
- Develop the Human Rights Risk Assessment Matrix (HRSAM) to investigate the likelihood and severity of the identified human rights due diligence issues occurring on employees, suppliers, and contractors.
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Preventive Measures
- Establish mechanisms with respect to recruitment, communications, prevention of sexual harassment, data protection and other policies based on the identified human rights due diligence issues.
- Develop control plans for the human rights issues according to the HRSAM.
- Promote and execute the code of conduct on human rights with suppliers and contractors.
- Provide trainings for employees on human rights.
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Supervision and Monitoring
- Establish complaint reporting channels for stakeholders to raise relevant concerns.
- Implement corporate boards that prioritize sustainability, data security, safety and health, employee discipline, reasonable work hours and other relevant matters to supervise the adverse impacts and risks of the identified human rights issues and take appropriate remedial actions.
- Follow RBA guidelines to conduct internal audits within the company, and audits across our supply chain and on our contractors, and provide guidance to improve on deficiencies found.
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Mitigation of Adverse Impacts
- Develop systematic reports (e.g., on work hours and employee health) and management measures to enhance the proactive management and crisis management capabilities of supervisors.
- Establish specific protection plans for the affected populations identified, and formulate relevant investigation and tracking lists.
- Offer employee assistance programs to provide professional counseling for victims of human rights violations.
Learn More
Key Human Rights Issues Control Measures
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Equal Employment Opportunity and Equality of Opportunity
Issue
Control Measure
- Prohibit the hiring of child labor
- Prohibition of employment discrimination
- Establish recruitment and orientation SOPs to ensure no child labor is hired and ensuring job seekers' right to employment autonomy
- Ensuring that job seekers are not subjected to unfair treatment based on irrelevant factors such as nationality, race, gender, age, political orientation, physical disabilities, etc., unrelated to job performance
- Foster an environment that is free from bias and discrimination at recruitment interviews and for human resources managers
- Employ qualified individuals with disabilities exceeding the number required by law
- Assist employees with disabilities in the distribution of work, and create an accessible workplace
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Prohibit the use of all forms of forced labor
Issue
Control Measure
- Irregular workload
- Develop guidance on irregular workload
- Promote a culture of reasonable work hours
- Put restriction on extended hours of work per month
- Develop an alert system for irregular work hours
- Implement the flexible working system
- Inspect the overtime work of company departments from time to time
- Implement the supervisor support system
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Diverse and Inclusive
Issue
Control Measure
- Prevention of workplace violence
- Protection from sexual harassment
- Gender/racial equality
- Implement the “Prevention Plan for Unlawful Violations Occurring in the Performance of Job Duties” and “Prevention and management of workplace sexual harassment “
- Provide annual training to all company departments on the prevention of unlawful violations and sexual harassment by employees in the performance of their job duties
- Request supervisors to self-evaluate the extent to which their management approach involves unlawful violations in the performance of job duties
- Put up “Zero-tolerance for Sexual Harassment” posters, develop the Policy on “Prevention and Corrective Actions for Sexual Harassment, and Related Investigation and Disciplinary Procedures”, and set up dedicated complaint reporting channels
- Appropriate corrective measures and disciplinary actions will be taken in response to various forms of discrimination, harassment, or other unlawful infringements in the workplace, depending on the severity of each case
- Hold annual AUO International Week to promote the racial integration between local colleagues and migrant worker communities
- Hold seminars related to women's empowerment and promote the awareness of gender equality
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Positive Labor Relations
Issue
Control Measure
- Freedom of association
- Labor-management conflicts
- Communications mechanisms
- Hold labor-management meetings on a regular basis and Employee Welfare Committee monthly meetings to discuss topics at the Taiwan including labor-management issues and employee benefits
- Provide confidential complaint reporting channels by various means, and establish mechanisms to protect complainants from retaliation
- Provide diversity activities to promote work-life balance for employees
- Develop a policy for the management of AUO Clubs, hold club achievement exhibitions, and encourage employees to join AUO Clubs
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Health and Protection
Issue
Control Measure
- Maternity care
- High-risk populations
- Implement maternity protection programs, with dedicated nurses and occupational physicians to assist with risk assessment, workplace hazard assessment, and work adjustment measures, etc
- Maternity care facilities: set up lactation rooms, maternity parking spaces, dedicated accommodation, and cleanroom identification badges
- Perform periodic health checks and questionnaires according to law
- Develop health management system to provide results of employees’ health checks and reinforce their knowledge on personal health management
- Develop the “STAR Catcher Program”, which provides health management services such as monitoring, prevention, and financial supports for high-risk populations
- Design health promotion activities, health education knowledge, and care guidance for different populations