Human Rights Management

Human Rights Management


 

Acter supports international labor-related human rights regulations. Based on international human rights initiatives such as “International Bill of Human Rights” and “International Labor Convention”, we have established “Acter’s Human Rights Policy” as our highest guiding principles for corporate human rights governance. In addition to strictly adhering to the regulations at our operations sites, we have explicitly stipulated the prohibition of child and forced labor, provision of equal job opportunities, allowance of freedom of association, respecting privacy, and combating discrimination, bullying, and sexual harassment. Acter’s Human Rights Policy applies to Acter and Acter’s reinvested businesses, subsidiaries, suppliers, customers, and business partners, ensuring that all our daily operations and business activities comply with these relevant requirements

Four-Stage Human Rights Management Mechanism
Risk assessment

- Define human rights issues

  • - Alerts for high-risk issues
Prevention

- Employment policy
- Human rights policy
- Sexual harassment policy
- Occupational safety and health policy

Mitigation

- Education and training
- Communication and advocacy
- System management

Supervision

- Complaint channels
- Audit system



 

Risk Assessment

 

To foster a work environment characterized by diversity, equity, inclusiveness, and a sense of belonging, Acter conducts an annual human rights risk assessment to rigorously evaluate potential risks from all perspectives. Our dedicated units adhere strictly to relevant guidelines, standards, and operational procedures to fulfill our commitments and responsibilities towards human rights. Based on the assessment findings, we establish corresponding management and improvement measures to ensure our policies and practices do not infringe upon labor rights of our employees. Concerning our suppliers and partners, we utilize public information and self-assessment forms to assess their adherence to sustainable development and human rights standards, thereby avoiding engagement with high-risk entities. By conscientiously implementing human rights policies, Acter strives to contribute to international human rights efforts.
 

Human Rights Risk Issues Mitigation Measures Makeup Measures Goals
Diverse employment and non-discrimination
  • - Prohibit discrimination through human rights policy, code of conduct, and employment management rules.
  • - Encourage diverse employment in all units.
- Increase the employment of indigenous and disabled people
- During the employment process, it is prohibited to ask for personal data that are not related to the work, and any discriminatory consideration shall be excluded.
- Equal work opportunities
- Eliminate discrimination
Prohibition of child and forced labor
- Verify new employees’ age documents.
- Respect employees’ work attendance status
- Employees shall provide the original copy of personal ID on the duty report date for on-site verification.
- Prohibit employing child labor.
- Prohibit forced labor.
Working hours, equal pay for equal work
- Manage overtime working hours,Regularly review employees' compensation, ensuring it is not below the local minimum salary.
- Approve employees' compensation based on their job duties, not on their gender, age, or race discriminatively.
- Monitor and control overtime working hours and the number of work days using the attendance system alerts.
- Cultivate employees' diverse capabilities and establish an effective internal human resource management mechanism to balance working hours and prevent overtime work.
- Reasonable working hours for employees' physical and mental well-being
- Provide fair and competitive compensation
Freedom of association
- Protect employees' statutory rights to establish, participate, or refuse to join associations and collective agreements.
- The labor representatives of the labor-management conference are directly elected by all employees to strengthen the "collective bargaining" mechanism.
- Create an environment of mutual respect, freedom of expression, and communication.
Occupational health and safety
- Implement preventive plans and monitoring for unlawful infringements in the workplace.
- Assess risks in the workplace, formulate protective measures, and provide education and training programs.
- Provide employees with mental and physical health counseling services.
- Offer accessible complaint channels, establish complaint advocacy procedures, and conduct investigations on filed complaints.
- Provide a healthy and safe workplace.
Prevention and treatment of sexual harassment and unlawful infringement in the workplace
- Specify “Sexual Harassment Prevention Act” and set a compliant hotline, allowing applicants to file a complaint in writing or orally.
- Hold education and training programs related to unlawful infringement in the workplace and sexual harassment.
- The Sexual Harassment Complaint Handling Committee initiates the investigation process based on confidentiality and non-disclosure principles, with a gender balance of 50%. The investigation results will be presented within 2 months. If the complaint is substantiated, it will be submitted to the Chairman for appropriate disciplinary actions.
- Create a secure and friendly workplace.
 

 

Prevention Policy and Mitigation Measures

 

To uphold our commitment to human rights and prevent occurrences of office inequality and workplace infringements, Acter's Employee Handbook specifies an “Employee Opinion and Complaint Mailbox”, allowing employees to voice their concerns via email. A dedicated unit promptly responds to and addresses these complaints, implementing risk mitigation measures and compensation systems as needed. Acter has also established relevant policies and operational procedures to explicitly declare our dedication to protecting employees' human rights in response to identified risk issues. Additionally, we utilize our internal E-Learning platform to conduct education and training programs that strengthen human rights standards, ensuring our employees have a clear understanding of their rights and Acter's human rights policies. In 2023, a total of 349 hours were dedicated to human rights-related training, with a training participation rate of 90.89%.

Besides, to protect the rights and interests of workers, Acter will adhere to the "Five Transfer Principles", "Labor Standards Act", and "Act for Worker Protection of Mass Redundancy" in case of significant changes to Acter's operations, business development (including new projects or case closure), or the transfer and career development of any individual employee. This will ensure that employees are given the shortest notice period for business handover, preparation for a new environment, and significant operational changes.

To collaborate with our customers and business partners in jointly promoting labor-management communication and friendly human rights management, we focus on three management directions: "education and training programs", "advocacy and communication", and "system management". Through these approaches, we continuously reduce human rights impacts while expanding our influence. Details are explained as follows:

Measures to Mitigate Human Rights Shocks Education and training programs Advocacy and communication System management
Employees
- Compulsory course on human rights issues for new employees.
- Conduct annual unlawful infringement training.
- Hold annual health lecture.
  • - Advocacy on maintaining reasonable working hours culture.
  • - Provide multiple communication channels.
  • - Regular advocacy on personal information privacy.
  • - Annual health facilitation activity.
  • - Annual stakeholder concerns survey
- Leave and Attendance Management System.
- Reasonable working hours culture management system.
- Audits and evaluations.
Customers/ Partners
- Human rights issue communication mechanism.
- Annual audit training mechanism.
- Advocacy at Supplier Meeting and through education and training activities
- Establish Code of Conduct for Supplie
- Sign Letter of Commitment for Sustainability
- Commitment to Integrity and Honesty
- Customer satisfaction survey
- Annual stakeholder concerns survey
- Risk self-assessment
- Supplier sustainability risk assessment

Supervision Mechanism

 

To establish an honest and transparent corporate culture and facilitate effective management, Acter has established clear reporting and complaint channels to uphold the code of ethics and business integrity principles set forth by the Company. In order to accurately address employee needs, Acter’s employees can submit their opinions to designated complaint units, and an investigation team will promptly initiate an inquiry. If the reported incident is verified to be true, the Company will apply internal penalties accordingly. Through these diverse two-way communication channels, Acter ensures its ability to listen to the voices of our employees.The implementation of employee complaint channels in 2023 is as follows :

Communication Channels Frequency Conducts Implementation status of 2022
Notification by e-mail Irregularly Upon receipt of the message, the most senior supervisor of the HR unit will timely respond and handle the complaints one-by-one. Zero complaint.
Internal corporate platform Irregularly Upon receipt of the message, the most senior supervisor of the HR unit will timely respond and handle the complaints one-by-one. Zero complaint.
      Employees’ opinions mailbox Irregularly Upon receipt of the message, the most senior supervisor of the HR unit will immediately handle the complaint. Zero complaint.
Employees’ seminar Quarterly The seminar enables Acter to share our business performance with the employees and exchange opinions bi-directionally, helping to reach a consensus between our employees and supervisors. Held 4 supervisors' meetings and 1 plenary consensus meeting, with a 100% participation rate.
Employees commitment/ satisfaction survey Quarterly With respect to items with which our employees are not satisfied and their opinions, the Company will carry out an internal review and draw up improvement measures accordingly. Employee commitment/ satisfaction level reached 86.56 out of 100.
Labor-management meeting Quarterly Conduct bi-directional communication regarding employees’ health, environmental safety, and benefits, and send the meeting minutes to all employees for their information. Held 4 labor-management meetings, with the percentage of labor and management representatives being 50% each.