In its Global Citizenship report 2009, Hewlett Packard reports on the labour rights awareness training program that is currently under way at its Chinese supplier Chicony. The report also provides an interview with the training partner and the management at the HP supplier factory. SACOM, a participant in the training programme is a member of the GoodElectronics network.
In its Global Citizenship report 2009, Hewlett Packard reports on the labour rights awareness training program that is currently under way at its Chinese supplier Chicony. The report also provides an interview with the training partner and the management at the HP supplier factory. SACOM, a participant in the training programme is a member of the GoodElectronics network.
In 2008, HP launched a worker training program at Chicony, one of its suppliers. Delivered in collaboration with Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), a Hong Kong-based worker training NGO, and its training partner, the program addresses these three areas:
- Labor rights awareness training
- Setting up a workers’ hotline
- Labor issues resolution and tailor-made training to the workers’ representative committee.
According to HP, more than 1,800 workers were trained by the end of November 2008, well over half of HP's goal to train more than 2,500 workers by mid-2009.
To ensure the continued success of the program, HP meets with factory management and the training partner monthly to discuss its progress and to follow up on workers’ inquiries. In 2009, the training partner will launch additional capability-building training for the workers’ representative committee at Chicony. The training will focus on counseling skills, communications and techniques for organizing recreational and communications programs, and will allow the worker representatives to take over the workers’ hotline in mid-2009.
Mr. Vic Lee, administration director of Chicony Electronics (Dongguan) Co. Ltd., and Ms. Suet-wah Choi, the lead trainer for this project, were asked to share their experiences.
