Human rights and employer-employee relationships

Our guiding principles on fair working conditions and social partnership are a crucial component in shaping our employer-employee relations. These principles are based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the core labour standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) as well as the 3 main principles of the Resolution on Forced Labour by the Consumer Goods Forum. Accordingly, our guiding principles contain the right to free unionisation and collective agreements, structured working hours and wages, occupational safety and health management as well as the prohibition of forced labour, child labour and discrimination.

We ensure that our and their national subsidiaries comply with the principles of fair working conditions by our regional headquarters, stores and logistics centres. In order to improve the working conditions in the national subsidiaries, corrective action plans are defined with the local colleagues, in which substantive measures with clear responsibilities and timetables are defined and executed. Since financial year 2016/17, extensive audits on with the METRO principles were performed in 15 national subsidiaries (Pakistan, Bulgaria, Japan, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, India, Slovakia, Moldova, Spain, Russia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Portugal and France). Many areas returned satisfactory results, while others showed potential for improvement, in particular in the area of occupational safety. The on-site audits were followed by comprehensive training on the METRO principles on fair working conditions. Additional of the companies are planned for financial year 2019/20 with the objective of auditing all METRO companies and continuously working on improvement measures.

In cooperation with the , a special course on forced labour was piloted at the national subsidiaries in Turkey and Pakistan in financial year 2017/18 and continued in Ukraine and Bulgaria in financial year 2018/19. The objective is to train METRO employees to recognise forced labour within the supply chain and to support the appropriate ability to act. The training will be introduced in all METRO countries by 2020.

On a national and international level, METRO maintains constant communication with works councils and unions and encourages management to engage in constructive and mutually informative dialogue with our employees and their representatives. This dialogue resulted in several collective employment agreements at the level of business units, countries or individual stores – depending on local laws and customary practices. Based on a survey at METRO Wholesale as well as a few service companies in the previous 2 financial years, 73% of METRO employees were globally represented by works councils, employee representatives and trade unions or covered by collective agreements.

Sales line
Part of a retail company that operates outlets or stores with a specific merchandising concept.
Glossary
Auditing
Also audit. A procedure that assesses an organisation’s processes and structures according to previously formulated standards and guidelines. Audits shed light on the effectiveness of process optimisation measures. If an audit is conducted by an external auditor, the certificate issued after the review can be used as evidence of adherence to standards.
Glossary
Compliance
All measures specifying a company’s and its employees’ behaviour in accordance with legislation, established social guidelines and values.
Glossary
Auditing
Also audit. A procedure that assesses an organisation’s processes and structures according to previously formulated standards and guidelines. Audits shed light on the effectiveness of process optimisation measures. If an audit is conducted by an external auditor, the certificate issued after the review can be used as evidence of adherence to standards.
Glossary
Wholesale, METRO Wholesale
The METRO Wholesale segment comprises the METRO Wholesale sales line of METRO AG with 678 wholesale stores across 34 countries worldwide. This also includes the delivery business (Food Service Distribution) with the METRO delivery service and companies like the delivery specialists Classic Fine Foods, Pro à Pro and Rungis Express.
Glossary
Amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative (Amfori BSCI)
Founded in 2003, this global business association for open and sustainable trade works to ensure that production in all supplier countries complies with minimum social standards. The initiative aligns its standards with the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Glossary