Action Plan and Progress Update

Transcription

1 Action Pln nd Progress Updte The Context Tt Globl Beverges (TGB) is committed to the fir nd ethicl tretment of people cross its supply chin. Therefore, when number of serious socil issues were lleged in reltion to Amlgmted Plnttions Privte Limited (APPL), compny in which TGB is significnt shreholder, we were deeply concerned. We commissioned n independent third prty,, to ssess the living nd working conditions of the workers t the APPL. The report ws received by TGB in erly June TGB welcomed the recommendtions put forwrd in this report nd worked with APPL nd in reviewing the recommendtions for ction. Bsed on detiled ssessment of ction res, requirements nd corresponding resources, APPL is now pursuing phsed Action Pln. For focused plnning nd systemtic implementtion of the ction pln, the esttes hve been grouped into 4 clusters. Guided by the ction pln, n immedite project ws constituted to improve living nd working conditions t the 5 in Cluster 1 (Httigor, Nhorni, Mjuli, Lmbri nd Hthikuli). Funds hve been llocted for the sme nd ction on number of res in the cluster is being executed. Funding requirements nd res of work for the rest of the clusters hve been mpped out. The following section outlines the ction pln developed towrds the implementtion of the recommendtions. It lso provides n updte on the progress tht hs been mde so fr. The Action Pln Action Ares In line with the recommendtions of the ssessment, the following res hve been identified for ction under the pln Housing Conservtories, bthing units nd dringe Working conditions Helth nd other welfre mesures in APPL Esttes Restructuring of Tt Te nd shreholding Review of sustinbility stndrds in APPL Fund Requirements Requirement of funds for execution of the ction pln re being worked out. Consulttions on the funding proposls re on with APPL shreholders. Plnttion Clusters As mentioned previously, the 25 hve been grouped into 4 clusters bsed on n ssessment of need nd region to optimize the resources nd supervision. Cluster 1: Httigor, Nhorni, Mjuli, Lmbri nd Hthikuli

2 Cluster 2: Rungmuttee, Dmdim, Btbri nd Nower Nuddy Te Esttes Cluster 3: Kellyden, Nonoi, Sgmoote, Diffloo, Borjn nd Lttkoojn Te Esttes Cluster 4: Teok, Kkjn, Bhelguri, Powi, Nhortoli, Achbm, Nhorkuti, Nmroop, Borht nd Chubw Te Esttes Action Ares nd Progress Sl. 1 Housing. Number of Houses APPL needs to develop rod mp towrds ddressing the 5% shortfll of houses Construction of new houses nd kitchens will be undertken to meet the ssessed shortfll Construction of 12 units of houses nd 191 units of kitchens completed in cluster 1. Construction of the rest of the units is being tken up in phsed mnner Potentil for building double floored houses needs to be discussed with stkeholders who hve so fr opposed tht, nd ddress the modern times relities Potentil of double floored houses will be explored in consulttion with Government nd ACMS Discussions in progress with the Government of Assm. b. House repirs APPL could develop three yers step-by step ction pln for repiring the houses Repir nd mintennce works of the identified houses nd kitchens will be undertken to ddress the shortcomings Smokeless Chulhs (Ovens) to be provided to ddress smokerelted helth issues cused by existing design Repir works of 5864 units of houses hve been completed in The rest of the houses nd kitchens re being tken up for repir in phsed mnner 2,580 smokeless chulhs (ovens) hve been provided to worker houses nd hospitls in Httigor, Mjuli nd Nhorni. Provision for the rest of the fmilies is being done in phsed mnner

3 c APPL should put in plce mngement procedure for housing complints The quntum of budget lloctions for repir works should be reviewed Electricity supply Individul metering long with cluster metering should be implemented cross ll Arrngement of supply of electricity from government electricity bords t residentil rtes should be fcilitted cross the A uniform redressl system hs been implemented in ll esttes, wherein every complint is logged with unique number nd ctions with time lines re recorded Budget lloctions for repir works hve been reviewed in light of enhncement requirements Provision of individul electricity metering will be undertken cross esttes APPL will engge with the stte electricity distribution uthorities to fcilitte the process cross the Action executed cross ll the Budget lloctions re being consulted upon with shreholders for pprovl # Individul metering hs been completed in 18 esttes. Execution in the rest of the esttes hs been pursued with the uthorities # Memorndum of understnding (MoU) hs been signed between Worker Committee, Assm Power Distribution Compny Limited (APDCL) nd estte mngement for supply of electricity The user committees set up in severl grdens need to be engged nd trined on good prctices of energy sving APPL will tke mesures to disseminte knowledge bout good prctices of energy svings mongst the worker fmilies # Billing for worker colonies is done t rurl electrifiction rtes of Government of Assm much below the industril rtes Good prctices of energy svings hve been discussed with the user committees s well s t the EEC meetings APPL is collborting with n NGO to promote use of solr lnterns mongst the worker fmilies

4 2 Conservtories, bthing units nd dringe b Unvilbility of ltrines APPL should explore wys to mke provision of the required number of ltrines bsed on n udit of requirements Unusble ltrine nd bthing units need to be repired Technicl Flws APPL needs to look beyond the UNICEF s ctivities in Wter, Snittion nd Hygiene (WASH) nd diversify its enggement with other gencies to ddress the issue of technicl flws in the toilet systems Construction of new ltrines will be undertken to meet the ssessed shortge Construction of bthrooms will be undertken Repir works of identified ltrines nd bthing units will be undertken A sewge clening mechnism will be put in plce to ensure clening nd mintennce of septic tnks Inititives will be tken to ddress technicl flws in the existing type of toilets, in prtnership with specilised orgnistions 146 new bio toilets hve been instlled. Construction of ltrines plnned in the cluster 1 for the yer 2014 is 1029 units. Construction of rest of the units is being undertken in phsed mnner The construction of 90 new bthrooms in Nhorni, Httigor nd Mjuli hs been completed. Rest of the bthing enclosures will be constructed in phsed mnner 2817 units of ltrines were repired. Repir works of the rest of the ltrines re being tken up in phsed mnner A sewge clening mechnism hs been put in plce in the Cluster 1 esttes, clening of sewge tnks hs been completed Execution of the ction in progress # Trils with two models of bio-toilets designed by DRDO nd Stone Indi re being conducted # Enggement with Sulbh nd Cpro groups is ongoing to determine long term solutions to snittion issues

5 c Drins APPL should set trgets for constructing pucc (cemented) drins in phsed mnner. Until tht is done, the kuchh (noncemented) drins needs to be repired While clening up of the kucch (non-cemented) dringe will be undertken, construction of no of pucc (cemented) drins will be undertken in phsed mnner # Clening of kucch drins hs been completed cross the. Construction of 1314 RFT pucc (cemented) drins for Httigor, Mjuli nd Nhorni (model lines) plnned for in 2014 We recommend developing project with Swtch wter filters round sfe drinking wter for te grden workers Specilised NGOs could be engged to develop wreness mong te workers nd motivte them to be pro-ctively involved in these issues Provision of Tt Swch Wter Filters for fmilies will be mde Specilised NGOs will be engged to execute wreness building progrmmes mongst the te workers nd to motivte their prticiption in the clenliness drives # The construction of the rest of the pucc (cemented) drins is being undertken in phsed mnner # 2570 units of Swch Wter Filters hve been provided to ll houses in Httigor, Mjuli nd Nhorni, rest of the units re being provided in phsed mnner # Seminr nd discussion with workers titled, Live well nd Live Helthy, to be conducted to identify nd ddress issues regrding stndrds of living, nutrition, etc. in the te esttes. This is being discussed with the Assm Brnch Indin Te Assocition (ABITA) 3 Working conditions Legl wges APPL is in full complince with the lw in terms of wges pid nd there re no illegl deductions. Any chnge in wge component requires n industry wide solution. Hence, we recommend inititing multistkeholder dilogue is initited tht would prticulrly focus on vlue nd qulity of non-csh components of wges APPL will keenly prticipte in ny multi-stkeholder dilogue initited

6 b Unions c APPL could form Estte Employees Council in ech estte nd meet t lest once month to discuss criticl issues round welfre, helth nd snittion, mong others Migrtion of young girls Formtion of Estte Employee Councils (EECs) in the sttes will be revmped. It is trgeted tht ll Esttes will orgnise discussions on criticl issues round welfre, helth nd snittion, mong others Action executed cross ll # EECs re revmped with prticiption of ll work segments, 50% Women members, Union reps, ll mngement # Discussions held on estte performnce, community nd worker issues, worker prticiption in exploring solutions, etc. All new inititives discussed before implementtion Informtion tools like booklet nd/or video in locl lnguge be developed to provide knowledge bout the work they re going to do in cities, their rights, terms nd condition, nd most importntly, the difficulties of living in meg city. An ssocition with NGO to counsel the youth in te grdens would be desirble APPL will explore enggement with specilised NGOs to develop wreness nd promote involvement of te workers to ddress issues of urbn migrtion nd trfficking # TGB is one of the funding prtners of the project nnounced recently by UNICEF nd the ETP to improve opportunities for tens of thousnds of children in te communities in Assm nd reduce their vulnerbility to trfficking nd buse. The three yer progrm will initilly work with 350 communities in over 100 esttes in three districts in Assm # Adolescent clubs (Muskn Club) hve been formed t 14 esttes of APPL nd will be formed in the remining esttes by December One of these clubs ws initilly trined by UNICEF. The trined volunteers re now trining club members in other esttes on spreding wreness in the res of urbn migrtion & trfficking, child mrrige, girl child eduction etc.

7 d Personl Protection Equipment APPL needs to invest in procuring high qulity nd yet loclly suitble PPE, which could be stndrdised cross ll esttes. APPL must come up with pln of providing wsh sttion in ech estte where the PPE could be wshed nd workers could tke bth Duty roster of spryers is not rotted t present. This needs to be done every three months to void continuous exposure to chemicls Improved Personl Protection Equipment (PPE) hs been provided to ll the sprying worker squds long with provision of wsh sttions in ll esttes. Sprying squds hve been imprted with trining on the importnce nd use of PPEs Chnge in IT pyroll system hs been implemented to enforce mndtory rottion of workers deployed on sprying opertion to sfegurd worker helth nd void continuous exposure to plnt protection projects Action executed cross ll # Improved Personl Protection Equipment (PPE) hs been provided to ll the sprying worker squds long with provision of wsh sttions in ll esttes # Sprying squds hve been imprted with trining on the importnce nd use of PPEs Action executed cross ll 4 Helth & other welfre mesures in APPL Esttes Doctors The doctors, especilly visiting doctors, from other esttes must mintin n ttendnce register depicting their vilbility Together with ABITA nd DBITA, yerly seminr could be orgnised for estte doctors of different esttes. The best-cse prctices could be shred in these meetings. The skills of the doctors should be enhnced through specil trining on diseses which re common mongst the estte workers A system to monitor ttendnce nd visits of estte doctors will be put in plce in the estte hospitls nd other helthcre fcilities APPL, in prtnership with ABITA nd DBITA, to orgnise nnul seminrs for estte doctors on different esttes to enhnce specil trining on diseses common to estte workers Action executed cross ll Action being executed t regulr intervls # Medicl Seminrs in coordintion with ABITA & DBITA for the Estte Doctors on relevnt topics re being held # Medicl Officers re being nominted for refresher trinings

8 b Dependents medicl fcility The APPL policy on the mendment of PLA 2010 pertining to dependents should be dequtely informed to the workers through Employee Councils The system of providing Medicl Benefits to the dependents of permnent employees hs been implemented Action executed cross ll c Nutrition The nutritionl deficiency of the workers in most of the APPL grdens is visible without knowledge of medicl science. An immedite solution could be to help the workers develop the kitchen grdens Closer monitoring of worker nutrition, s well s trining of workers to develop kitchen grdens, will be conducted to improve nd mintin worker helth # 40 Child Helth Volunteers hve been sent on specil refresher course on child nutrition # New nutrition diet chrts for crèches nd hospitls hve been implemented. The Clorific vlues hve been revised from 400 KCAL to 700 KCAL. Awreness progrmmes t ll Esttes on relevnt topics re being held # Project being undertken with on litercy progrm for ll workers tht would explin the benefits of kitchen grden. As prt of the progrm, knowledge is imprted on wht crops to grow, the method, timing nd gri prctices

9 5 Restructuring of Tt Te nd shreholding There ws no evidence of APPL mngement forcing or coercing workers to buy APPL shres. However, there is cler need to further educte workers on finncil litercy to understnd the vlue of their shres nd how tht could help them pln their life APPL will undertke finncil litercy progrmmes cross ll # A Finncil Litercy progrmme hs been conducted cross ll te esttes. Together with Tt Asset Mngement Limited nd CRISIL, workers re educted bout the benefits of svings nd investments s well s bout the shreholding progrmme # The shre scheme nd the dividend pyout were explined to the worker shreholders in ll the esttes through n interctive session by APPL HR tem # Formt of py slips hs been modified to clerly indicte shre lon repyments nd dividends erned # Vlution of the shres to be conducted following determintion of nnul finncil performnce, nd shreholders to be informed of Net Asset Vlue (NAV) on n nnul bsis to increse investment understnding nd knowledge

10 Mesures to be undertken to ensure ese of ccess of the dividends erned by the shreholder workers #A system to enble consolidted withdrwl nd distribution of dividends t the estte level is being plnned nd designed with ntionl bnk nd n NGO. This will enhnce ese of dividend withdrwl by shreholding workers # Provision of doorstep bnking services through bnking correspondence to expnd bnking ccess to shreholding workers is being explored # To enhnce the decision mking powers of the shreholding workers, shre exit option is being considered nd plced before APPL bord for considertion 6. Fisheries In some esttes there were contrcts given to workers, which erroneously used phrses like regulr temporry employment in perpetuity. Either, these workers re regulrised nd mde permnent workers with ll fringe benefits, or they could be given the government pproved minimum wges for non-te griculturl ctivities The concerned workers hve been compensted with either lternte lnd or by provision of permnent employment to n lternte fmily member Action executed cross ll

11 7 Review of sustinbility stndrds in APPL b c APPL hs invested in getting its esttes verified under Ethicl Te Prtnership stndrd s well s SA 8000 stndrd. We propose tht APPL nd TGBL do cost-benefit nlysis internlly so the vlue of ssociting with these sustinbility schemes is known A simple, esy to understnd guide is prepred for complince for ll APPL grdens by wy of integrting different stndrds including the truste There should be dedicted person in APPL focussed on certifiction relted issues Generl 1 TGBL could consider setting up n expert pnel of internl s well s externl stkeholders who could review nd feed into their overll sustinbility strtegy in te 2 b c APPL should undertke mesures to ddress undernutrition mongst the plnttion workers in its Any development frmework to succeed in the te plnttion will need to set mbitious trgets to chieve universl ccess to wter, snittion nd hygiene TGBL needs to develop its own sustinbility frmework tht could be pplied cross different commodities nd different suppliers tht ly down Recommendtion being reviewed Recommendtion to be implemented Recommendtion to be implemented The recommendtion is being reviewed by the TGB mngement Nutrition is one of the res under the ction pln. The inititives undertken by APPL in this re hve been outlined bove The inititives being undertken in wter, snittion nd hygiene hve been outlined in the ction pln bove. The recommendtion is being reviewed by the TGB mngement APPL hs developed stndrd tht integrted the requirements of 11 Interntionl Stndrds - the first time such tool ws designed customised to the Te Industry Senior APPL officils hve been ssigned to focus on certifiction-relted issues

12 Other Welfre Activities Going beyond the recommendtions, there re number of welfre ctivities tht hve been identified by APPL to be executed s prt of the ction pln: Mhil Mndl (Women s Forum) is pltform led by women folk in the worker fmilies tht works towrds enhncing wreness mongst the employees on topics relted to helth cre, personl hygiene, snittion, clenliness, svings, lcoholism etc. Mhil Mndls hve been reenergized cross ll through regulr monthly meetings Godowns nd cnteens in the esttes hve been tken up for renovtion Renovtion of the schools is being undertken. Mesures re been tken to improve the techer student rtio towrds improvement of the eduction delivery Weekly off nd permissible overtime limit hs been built into the pyroll IT system to ensure proper HR records re mintined Fcelift of the helthcre fcilities hve been undertken in the Cluster 1 esttes. The ction will be extended to cover ll other estte hospitls identified for enhncements Evening OPD reporting t the Estte hospitls hs been extended to 5 pm so tht workers get dequte medicl support through the dy The Creche timing hs been extended. New toys hve been provided to ll creches t Htigor, Mjuli nd Nhorni. The ction will be extended to ll other Execution Timefrme Considering the quntum of fund requirements nd diversity of work res involved, the execution of the pln cross the 4 clusters will be in phsed mnner over period of 5 yers. The Wy Forwrd APPL intends to extend the execution of the identified ction in the remining 3 clusters through phsed execution pln. To meet this end, APPL is pursuing the process of getting required pprovls from its shreholders on the ction pln nd budgeted expenses. A mechnism hs been constituted for review of the progress mde in the execution. APPL will updte its stkeholders on the progress mde t regulr intervls through its website.