SA8000

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The SA8000 Standard is an auditable certification standard that encourages organizations to develop, maintain, and apply socially acceptable practices in the workplace. It was developed in 1997 by Social Accountability International, formerly the Council on Economic Priorities, by an advisory board consisting of trade unions, NGOs, civil society organizations and companies. [1] The SA8000's criteria were developed from various industry and corporate codes to create a common standard for social welfare compliance. The current (2014) version of the standard is built on earlier 2001, 2004 and 2008 versions. [2]

Contents

Certification

SA8000 certification is a management systems standard, modeled on ISO standards. The criteria require that facilities seeking to gain and maintain certification must go beyond simple compliance to the standard. Prospective facilities must integrate it into their management practices and demonstrate ongoing compliance with the standard. SA8000 is based on the principles of international human rights norms as described in International Labour Organization conventions, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [3] It measures the performance of companies in eight areas important to social accountability in the workplace: child labour, forced labour, health and safety, free association and collective bargaining, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours and compensation. [4]

Performance criteria

It also requires compliance with eight performance criteria, as outlined on the Social Accountability International website. [5]

Certification is granted by independent certification bodies that are accredited and overseen by Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS). There are 23 accredited certifications bodies worldwide. [6] Statistics are reported quarterly and posted on the SAAS website. As of June 30, 2013, there were 3,231 certified facilities, employing a total of 1,862,936 workers, across 72 countries and 65 industrial sectors. [7]

See also

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References

  1. "Organization: Social Accountability International SAI". Wiser.org. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  2. SAI, SA8000 Revision Process, published June 2014, accessed 3 July 2022
  3. "SA 8000 | Systems & standards | Strategies & tools". Iisd.org. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  4. "SA8000 - A Social Accountability Standard". Mallenbaker.net. 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  5. 1 2 "Social Accountability International | SA8000 Standard". Sa-intl.org. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  6. "SA8000 Accredited Certification Bodies". Archived from the original on January 5, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  7. "SA8000 Certified Facilities". Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.