10 November 2014, Market Wired
PALO ALTO, CA–(Marketwired – Nov 10, 2014) – HP (NYSE: HPQ) today took a major step forward in expanding its leading supply chain program on preventing exploitative labor practices and forced labor. HP is the first company in the IT industry to require direct employment of foreign migrant workers in its supply chain. The additional standard combines this direct employment requirement with rights relating to worker retention of passports and personal documentation and the elimination of worker-paid recruitment fees.
The HP Foreign Migrant Worker Standard was developed in consultation with Verité, an international nonprofit that promotes safe, fair, and legal working conditions, and has specific expertise in combatting forced labor in supply chains.
“Verité’s focused assessments and independent research confirm that workers who are employed by labor agents are more at risk of forced labor than those employed directly,” said Dan Viederman, CEO, Verité. “HP’s standard requiring direct hiring will remove a key obstacle to ethical treatment of migrant workers. The standard sets a new bar and will likely result in substantial financial benefit to foreign migrant workers in HP’s supply chain, and we hope other companies will adopt similar policies.”