23-09-2009 SACOM: A pilot labor rights training program at two Chinese suppliers of HP

Excerpt from the SACOM press release;

Today the non-profit organisation Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM), supported by Bread for All, released two independent reports on an in-factory labor rights training program at two China-based suppliers to technology company HP. This pilot program is a first step towards a new worker-based CSR model.

The training took place in two electronics factories located in Dongguan, southern China.

Jenny Chan, SACOM Chief Coordinator, said: “These two pilot cases show that workers’ feedback is significant in helping senior managers understanding the demands and grievances of the workers. While moving towards worker-based CSR is a very long process that required much deeper commitments from all parties, we believe this initial experiment is a good starting point for more innovative and pro-labor training programs to come, in China and other countries.”

Ernest Wong from the Supply Chain Social and Environmental Responsibility program at HP commented that “the experience of working with the NGO partners in this supplier capability building project was very positive. In particular, establishing contacts to local training providers has already resulted in additional trainings being planned at other suppliers”.