Human Resource Policy and Management Procedures. As of September 2021, Agrocorp employed 515 direct (full-time/permanent) employees. In term of gender breakdown, there are 55% male and 45% female workers. More than 40% of Agrocorp's permanent workers are within 18-35 years old.
Along the development of its IMS, Agrocorp is also strengthening its corporate Human Resource (HR) MS to ensure alignment with IFC PS2, ILO Conventions, and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) - HR related monitoring / reporting indicators. With the assistance of a consultancy firm, Agrocorp conducted a comparative analysis against above references and reported on documentation gaps and proposed recommendations. The company has a suite of HR policies and procedures at ACA and ACP operations (including Code of Conduct, Equality Policy, Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) Policy, Rehabilitation Policy, Employee Handbook, Employee WSHE Induction Handbook, annual and sick leave procedures, new employees, recruitment, induction and training procedures, competency awareness and training procedures). Agrocorp has a Code of Conduct (as defined within its HR Manual) and a Code of Ethics which formalize its corporate commitment towards applying ethical standards to its employees and business partners, including contractual agreement with employees (permanent / temporary), conflict of interest, relationship with suppliers and service providers, professional security management practices, prohibition of sexual harassment and/or bullying, and process of disclosing whenever non-compliance with the Code occurred.
The review identified aspects that need to be addressed in the company's procedures to meet IFC PS2, including forced and child labor, vulnerable groups in its workforce, overtime payment, obligations regarding third-party workers, contractors, and worker's grievance mechanism. Agrocorp will update its HR Policies and develop a corporate HR Manual of Procedures, aligned with ACA/ACP HR framework and meeting IFC PS2, including ILO Conventions (ESAP#8). The corporate HR policies will be rolled out in all Agrocorp' countries of operations, including the development of an HR Handbook. The HR policies will be designed to cover and apply to all workers (permanent, temporary, seasonal) in ACA and ACP, in compliance with IFC PS2. Each new employee will undergo an induction session. Agrocorp will communicate any HR update through multiple channels, e.g. HR Intranet, Bulletin Boards, e-mails, monthly Agrocorp HR news. The HR function will proactively invite any suggestions from workers through suggestion box. Inspection by the country-level labor authority may take place annually (e.g., Ministry of Labor). Agrocorp reported that it has not had a labor infraction nor court case during the last three years. The HR function in Singapore is composed of four resource-persons, led by a HR Director. Additional HR managers exist in Australia and Canada. To implement the upgraded HR Policies and Manual of Procedures, the HR function will be doubling in staff number in next months.
IFC's Gender-based Violence (GBV) risk screening tool indicated low risk associated with Agrocorp's operations in Singapore, Australia, and Canada. Agrocorp will develop and implement specific policies and procedures to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, and/or exploitation about women, including risk assessment of gender-based violence within its workers, in affected communities and/or supply chain. Agrocorp will develop a strategy and action plan on diversity, inclusion, and gender (ESAP#9).
Working Conditions and Terms of Employment. Agrocorp complies with the labor law of each country of operation for minimum wage, working schedule, overtime, holidays, probation period, labor contracts, for fixed (permanent employees) and determined (temporary workers). If a contract is required as a legal document in the country, it is signed by both parties and a copy is given to the employee; if there is no contract required, a detailed term sheet or offer letter is given to the employee to specify the agreed terms and conditions. All Agrocorp permanent employees are subject to the salary review policy, that can be done every two years or yearly, depending on how the market information grows and the financial situation of the company. This adjustment and revision apply to permanent employees and depend directly on individual performance, comparison to market information (derived from annual salary surveys per country), country inflation and the company's financial results. Additionally, Agrocorp provides in certain countries, complementary benefits to the employees such as: health insurance, life insurance, transportation, employee discounts for various services (e.g. dentists, ophthalmologist). For salaries, Agrocorp complies with the minimum wage salary of the sector in each country of operation and perform salary benchmark within the agribusiness sector to guarantee external competitiveness.
Worker's Organization. There is an explicit reference that all Agrocorp's employees are permitted to form or join worker's union organizations without the company's interference or discrimination in its draft corporate HR Policy. Agrocorp is committed to comply with national labor laws and negotiate in good faith and respect any collective bargaining agreements it signed. Based on information available at appraisal, it is understood that there is a worker's organization at the Agrocorp HQ in Singapore, but such provision has not materialized in Australia and Canada. There is no history of recent labor strikes among Agrocorp operations.
Non-discrimination & Equal Opportunity. Agrocorp is committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workforce. Its draft HR Policy prohibits any forms of discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, etc. based on race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Such provision will be documented in its HR Manual of Procedures and communicated during worker's induction sessions.
Worker Grievance Mechanism. At the time of IFC's review, Agrocorp was upgrading its Employee Grievance Mechanism which will be included into the HR Manual of Procedures. Grievances can be registered online or communicated by phone. Agrocorp will complete the development and implementation of its grievance mechanism, including (i) enhanced disclosure of the mechanism and training to direct workers (permanent and temporary), contractor's workers and third-party workers. In addition, mill's managers will be trained to ensure effective implementation; (ii) development of guidelines for resolution and response, including appropriate methods to handle grievances or concerns related to sexual harassment and gender-based violence; (iii) periodic monitoring of the grievances with defined KPIs; (iv) training to staff and to the grievance handling committee for consistent implementation of the grievance mechanism; (v) specific training to handle grievances related to sexual harassment and gender-based violence (ESAP#10).
Protecting the Workforce. Agrocorp is in the process of adopting an HR policy and procedure for prohibiting use of child labor in alignment with PS2 requirements, ILO Conventions, and applicable country-level Labor Codes. This procedure will stipulate that Agrocorp will not engage child labor in its processing plants and warehouse operations. As stipulated in HR Recruitment Policy, minimum age of employment is 18 years old for permanent and temporary workers. Job announcements with terms and conditions of recruitment indicate that the applicant shall met such provision. All applicants are required to present their age proofs to recruitment staff during the application process. A copy is kept on worker's personal file for reference. Internal rules against child labor are also posted on notice board at facilities. All expatriate employees at management and supervisory levels possess documentation required by local law. All operations are annually inspected by local authorities to verify the absence of illegal foreign workers.
Life and Fire Safety. All Agrocorp operations are maintained as required by local regulations. The plants and warehouses are inspected and certified by the local fire departments. Corrective actions, if any identified by the inspections, are implemented in a timely manner. The plants and warehouses' Committee are accountable for the timely implementation of the corrective actions.
Workers Engaged by Third Parties. Due to the seasonality of its activities, Agrocorp's processing operations can involve significant number of directly contracted and sub-contracted workers (e.g. loading / unloading laborers, truck drivers). For all operations, third-party seasonal employees are being recruited, which number was not available during the appraisal. This represents a significant challenge for Agrocorp in ensuring appropriate OHS/labor training for these seasonal workers. Going forward, EHS/HR officers will support processing teams to undertake due diligence before establishing a contractual arrangement with any labor agency or contractor, including registration with relevant labor regulators, as well as complying with local labor and OHS provisions, namely payment of worker's legal benefits, timely payment of wages, OHS training and provisions of PPEs, compliance with ILO Convention 138 on minimum age (ESAP#11).
Occupational Health and Safety. Agrocorp's processing operations in Australia and Canada are fully automated leading to avoidance and/or minimization of OHS risks. Conveyors belts are being used in storage warehouses for the loading/unloading of raw materials to avoid ergonomic hazards. Based on the ISM audit, findings confirmed that APA and ACA processing operations have adopted and implemented adequate OHS management systems and plans, in accordance with national laws and based on workstations' hazard identification, risk assessment and control (HIRAC). These plans are supported by OHS Policy and relevant procedures for hazards, crisis and emergency management, incident response, OHS inductions and refresher trainings, and use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). OHS Committees exist at all processing plants. There is no medical clinics in none of the plants but rapid evacuation to neighboring health clinics is arranged, as needed. Audits by external agencies also take place. As already indicated in ESAP#2 / #3 above, Agrocorp will further develop and document a corporate Integrated EHS Management System which be rolled out to all processing operations, including all workers, contractors (and sub-contractors), suppliers, and visitors. Agrocorp will also implement OHS leading / lagging KPIs, as outlined in PS1. EHS Monitoring and Reporting section. Agrocorp has indicated that it aims at certifying its OHS MS against ISO 45001 at all its processing operations. EHS function will be strengthened to ensure timely implementation (ref. ESAP#4).
Noise in numerous workstations in plants may be above 85 dB(A), including at processing lines, blower room. Agrocorp have implemented administrative controls to limit workers exposure in these high noise areas. As previously indicated, mills are fully automated which reduced noise exposure to workers. Also, in case of workers needed access to high noise areas, use of hearing protection are requested and strictly enforced. Anti-vibration rubber mats are available at workplace having high level of vibrations.
