Le bien-être des salarié.e.s – suggestions pour l’industrie électronique

Deux jours avant la publication de l'étude réalisée par l'Economic Rights Institute (ERI) et Electronics Watch sur le lien entre les conditions de travail et le suicide des salarié.e.s dans l'industrie électronique chinoise, la Responsible Business Alliance annonça une nouvelle initiative pour améliorer le « bien-être des salarié.e.s » dans les chaînes d'approvisionnement industrielles en Asie. Alors que ceci est un investissement visiblement plus important concernant les questions liées à la qualité de vie que les efforts précédents de l'industrie, l'ERI et Electronics Watch exhortent l'industrie à ne pas perdre de vue le lien entre ces problèmes, le risque de suicide et les conditions de travail.

L'étude de l'ERI et d'Electronics Watch signale particulièrement les conditions de travail dangereuses telles que les heures supplémentaires contraintes et les restrictions au droit des salarié.e.s de démissionner de leurs emplois sans perdre leur salaire. Nos suggestions à la RBA concernant le programme de bien-être des salarié.e.s comprennent:

  • La nécessité de travailler avec la société civile et les experts en sociologie, et pas uniquement avec les experts en médecine, afin de porter une attention soutenue sur le lien entre le bien-être des salarié.e.s et les conditions de travail.
  • Le cadre du « bien-être » des salarié.e.s peut favoriser un état d'esprit positif tout en étant source de progrès nécessaire des conditions de travail, mais il ne faut pas perdre de vue les risques de suicide qui représentent un risque de blessures importantes pour les salarié.e.s..
  • Partez de l'étude de l'ERI et d'Electronics Watch pour tester nos hypothèses de liens spécifiques entre les conditions de travail et le bien-être des salarié.e.s

Le défi pour l'industrie peut être de passer des efforts charitables en vue d'améliorer le bien-être individuel des salarié.e.s au traitement des enjeux plus vastes concernant les responsabilités des employeurs quant aux conditions de production et aux relations de travail. Nous espérons que l'industrie est prête à relever ce défi.

Response from the Responsible Business Alliance (12 July, 2019)

Thank you for the input on the upcoming worker survey. As you are aware, the RBA was founded in 2004 with the focus of the original Code of Conduct on the worker. Our vision is: A global industry that creates sustainable value for workers, the environment and business.

The RBA is a leading organization in the areas of forced labor, the workplace environment, employment conditions, etc. as evidenced in our Code of Conduct and the work of our Initiatives. We work tirelessly to address issues in the workplace that may lead to conditions that create stress and impact worker well-being in the workplace. The focus on these issues was not identified or created during the last twelve months but rather over 15 years of committed work in this space.

Thank you for the input on the upcoming worker survey. As you are aware, the RBA was founded in 2004 with the focus of the original Code of Conduct on the worker. Our vision is: A global industry that creates sustainable value for workers, the environment and business.

The RBA is a leading organization in the areas of forced labor, the workplace environment, employment conditions, etc. as evidenced in our Code of Conduct and the work of our Initiatives. We work tirelessly to address issues in the workplace that may lead to conditions that create stress and impact worker well-being in the workplace. The focus on these issues was not identified or created during the last twelve months but rather over 15 years of committed work in this space.

We are very excited about the creation of a worker survey with our trusted, credible, partners Impactt and Ulula. We are confident that it will represent the single most extensive worker survey conducted in the industry. It is designed to identify the challenges that are present in the workplace and will help create a road map to address any systemic issues that are identified in a meaningful and impactful way on behalf of the industry and the RBA. The goal of this new tool will in fact link working conditions to worker well-being.

While the development of the actual worker survey has just begun, we will as you outlined, be seeking input from health experts, researchers and stakeholders both from within and outside the industry. We have not yet identified the list of experts that we will utilizing.

We view the survey as only one input into a broader body of work in the area of workplace wellbeing.  The survey is only a tool to identify the challenges workers face. The impactful work of advancing the wellbeing of workers will be developed in response to the survey results which will include external stakeholder consultation. Thank you for your offer to provide input.