Human Rights Initiatives
In today’s globalized market where free trade is on the rise, companies have a significant impact, both positive and negative, on human rights. Operating worldwide, the JVCKENWOOD Group recognizes the need to respect the human rights of all stakeholders that have an interest in its operations, including employees and suppliers, while ensuring fair labor practices. We are taking a wide range of measures to fulfill our responsibilities as a global company by sharing our human rights policy and initiatives across the Group while establishing and administering a relevant management system.
JVCKENWOOD Group Human Rights Policy
The JVCKENWOOD Group respects the human rights of all stakeholders who are concerned with its business activities and supply chain. The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights was issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2011 against a backdrop of growing concern over the impact of globalizing corporate operations on human rights. They provide steps in which business should take to prevent or mitigate the negative impacts on human rights that could happen within its business operations and supply chains. In addition, the Government of Japan launched Japan’s National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights (2020-2025) for promoting respect for human rights in the context of business activities in October 2020. To be in line with the principles and NAP, the JVCKENWOOD Group established “JVCKENWOOD Group Human Rights Policy” to clearly express its commitment to respect human rights. The Group will continue to promote activities to respect human rights within its business operations.
Human rights awareness-raising and education
The JVCKENWOOD Group requires all its employees to complete JVCKENWOOD Group Compliance Code of Conduct training in order to ensure that all human rights are respected and that its business is conducted in a sincere and ethical manner that is in compliance with laws and regulations. We are also promoting diversity and preventing harassment through new employee training, etc. in order to raise awareness of human rights and ensure that communication is done with respect and consideration for others.
Human rights hotline
The JVCKENWOOD Group maintains a whistleblower system that enables employees to report on possible violations of any law or regulation, the JVCKENWOOD GROUP Compliance Code of Conduct, and other internal rules.
Ahead of the June 2020 enforcement of a new law requiring companies to provide a harassment hotline service as a measure to prevent workplace power harassment, we set up a harassment hotline in April 2017, enabling employees to report incidents of harassment.
Prohibiting Child / Forced Labor
The JVCKENWOOD Group embraces the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, insisting on respect for basic human rights all through its supply chains.
The JVCKENWOOD CSR Procurement Guidelines clearly prohibit child / forced labor, and we will be familiarizing all suppliers with the Guidelines to ensure they are suitably incorporated into their business practices.
Complying with the UK Modern Slavery Act
The JVCKENWOOD Group has released the following statements in its efforts to prevent slave labor and human trafficking in its business activities and supply chains in compliance with the UK Modern Slavery Act that went into effect in 2015.
FY2020 Edition: Statement on the UK Modern Slavery Act (English-language version)
FY2019 Edition: Statement on the UK Modern Slavery Act (English-language version)
FY2018 Edition: Statement on the UK Modern Slavery Act (English-language version)
FY2017 Edition: Statement on the UK Modern Slavery Act (English-language version)
FY2016 Edition: Statement on the UK Modern Slavery Act (English-language version)
Fair Labor-Management Relations
JVCKENWOOD promotes active dialogue between labor and management in recognition of the fact that trusting labor-management relations will boost the productivity and motivation of employees and lead to sustained growth for the company
Labor-management dialogue
JVCKENWOOD has established labor agreements with the JVCKENWOOD Labor Union that represents all employees excluding managerial employees, with regard to the three rights of labor (the right to unionize, the right to collectively bargain, and the right to collectively act) as well as wages, working hours and other working conditions, and conducts negotiations/discussions on personnel matters, complaints, etc. When making a practical change that may have a significant impact on the employees’ way of working, the management explains and discusses it with the union in advance, in accordance with the labor-management agreement.
Representatives of labor and management meet on a regular basis in informal management gatherings, financial results briefings, and special labor-management committee meetings to discuss institutional matters, and the agreements reached through these discussions are immediately put into place. In FY2019, 25 labor-management meetings were held to discuss matters such as changes to be made to the personnel system. In FY2020, we will further solidify the sound relations between labor and management by actively continuing to promote labor-management dialogue.