Respecting and upholding human rights is of great importance to voestalpine. voestalpine does not tolerate child or forced labor, nor discrimination of any kind—neither within the Group nor at its business partners.
The company’s commitment to respecting and upholding human rights is enshrined in detail in the chapter of the voestalpine Code of Conduct entitled “Respect and Integrity.” The obligation to uphold human rights is also firmly established in the company’s binding Code of Conduct for Business Partners.
Human rights training for employees
All employees of the voestalpine Group are required to complete a Human Rights e-learning course. This e-learning course is being rolled out in three modules:
- Module 1: Fundamentals of Human Rights
- Module 2: Human Rights in Day-to-Day Work
- Module 3: Human Rights in the Supply Chain
The e-learning course is available in the following languages: German and English as well as Mandarin & Cantonese, Czech, Dutch, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
In the business year 2022/23, fully 84% of the company’s employees already completed Module 1. Module 2 was rolled out in early April 2023; completion of this course is mandatory too.
Human Rights Policy
voestalpine’s Management Board adopted a Human Rights Policy in March 2023. voestalpine requires not only its executive and non-executive employees, but also all of its business partners to uphold human rights.
Human rights training for security personnel
voestalpine’s plant security staff largely comprises the company’s own employees, who are subject to the voestalpine Code of Conduct. All third-party security personnel used are subject to the Code of Conduct for Business Partners. Both documents mandate compliance with human rights. voestalpine provides human rights training for its own employees; external security personnel are trained by their own employers.
Collective bargaining and the right to freedom of association
voestalpine champions every employee’s freedom and their right to join unions. About 75% of all of the voestalpine Group’s employees are in an employment relationship that is governed by a collective agreement or comparable industry-wide agreements. The Group also has a European Works Council and a Group Works Council, both of which maintain good levels of communication with management.
Compensation and work hours
Work hours must comply with national legislation and prevent employees from experiencing excessive physical and mental fatigue. Employees should be entitled to at least one day off per week.
Employees must be compensated in accordance with applicable legal regulations and collective agreements, and this compensation must be sufficient to meet the basic needs of both employees and their families and to provide them with a decent standard of living.
Child labor
voestalpine absolutely rejects any form of child labor. Furthermore, care must be taken to ensure that the employment of young people does not jeopardize their health, safety, and development.
Forced and bonded labor, human trafficking, and modern slavery
voestalpine does not tolerate any kind of forced or bonded labor, human trafficking, or modern slavery. Forced and bonded labor refer to all work or services performed by individuals coerced to do so under threat of punishment. This also includes the withholding of identification documents and passports, restrictions on the freedom of movement, and debt bondage.
Both the voestalpine Code of Conduct and the company’s Code of Conduct for Business Partners explicitly mention and expressly prohibit human trafficking and modern slavery.
Rights of indigenous peoples
As voestalpine operates solely in developed industrial areas, its business operations do not impinge on the rights of indigenous peoples and/or local communities. Suppliers are required to comply with the rights of indigenous peoples as part of their supply chain management.
Diversity, equal opportunity, and ban on discrimination
voestalpine is committed to respecting all people with whom it has a relationship-irrespective of gender, skin color, nationality, ethnicity, religion or worldview, disability, age, sexual orientation, and identity. This commitment and corresponding actions promote a climate of acceptance, equal opportunity, and mutual trust. As laid out in the “Respect and Integrity” chapter of the voestalpine Code of Conduct, the Group does not tolerate any form of discrimination.
Human rights in the supply chain
As part of the company’s review of its supply chains (Sustainable Supply Chain Management, SSCM), suppliers are evaluated in targeted fashion with respect to compliance with human rights and, specifically, any violations of the prohibition of child, forced, and bonded labor. In case of violations, voestalpine takes appropriate measures that may ultimately lead to the suspension or termination of the supply relationship.
UN Global Compact’s Human Rights Accelerator 2023
voestalpine has been participating in the UN Global Compact’s “Business & Human Rights Accelerator” program since February 2023. This is a six-month program that supports companies in their efforts to strengthen human rights.
Reports of violations
Reports of human rights violations can always be submitted in person to supervisors, the local Human Resources (HR) departments, Group HR at voestalpine AG as well as to the Management Board. Violations may also be reported to the Human Rights Officer (see below) or via voestalpine’s online whistleblower system at https://www.bkms-system.net/voestalpine. This web-based whistleblower system allows reports to be submitted anonymously.
Human Rights Officer
voestalpine has created the position of a Human Rights Officer. In addition to the aforementioned whistleblower system, emails sent to humanrights@voestalpine.com or menschenrechte@voestalpine.com are read by the Human Rights Officer, who will promptly forward incoming reports to the relevant authorities for review. Depending on the incident in question, this may involve different departments such as local management, local HR departments, or relevant procurement departments. Compliance with human rights is also reviewed as part of regularly occurring risk management processes.
UN Global Compact – The 10 Principles
Human rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labor standards
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor;
Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labor; and
Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
By signing the Code of Conduct for Business Partners as required, voestalpine’s business partners undertake to respect and comply with human rights as fundamental values on the basis of the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Charter. In particular, this applies to the prohibition on child and forced labor, equal treatment of employees, and the right to employee representation and collective bargaining.