TOPSustainabilitySocietyHuman Resources Human Resources Quality Assurance CSR Procurement Human Resources Human Rights Occupational Health and Safety Process Safety Social Activities Approach to human resources and employment Human resources development and active engagement Diversity Basic policy regarding labor issues The Asahi Kasei Group believes that all of the human resources working at the Group are the source of new value creation based on their diversity and capability to change. As a signatory to the UN Global Compact, the Asahi Kasei Group supports and respects the labor-related principles set forth therein. We also endorse the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Children's Rights and Business Principles, and we will use these frameworks to grasp and appropriately address labor issues in our business. The United Nations Global Compact stipulates the following labor principles. Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining Businesses should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor Businesses should uphold the effective abolition of child labor Businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation Furthermore, the Asahi Kasei Group Code of Conduct clearly states that the Group, as well as its suppliers, does not allow inhumane practices such as child and forced labor, prohibits discrimination for any reason including employment status, respects human rights and diversity, and carries out its business with sincerity and a sense of responsibility. Based on the above approach, we will not only comply with domestic and international labor laws and regulations on the following labor issues, but also strive to create a work environment where employees can reach their maximum abilities while working with safely and peace of mind. Prevention of child and forced labor Reduction of excessive working hours Formulation of working conditions based on consultation between labor and management We will maintain a certain standard of living for our employees through compliance with locally stipulated minimum wages and the payment of fair wages. Guarantee of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights We guarantee the freedom of association and collective bargaining rights for the employees we hire. The Group's working conditions are formulated and implemented based on consultation and agreement between labor and management. Management framework General Affairs and the Human Resources and Organizational Development Group at Human Resources oversee initiatives related to personnel and labor management and human resource development. Each Group company operates its own personnel system and strives for human resource development. The Group-wide status is confirmed through regular audits to ensure there are no violations of laws and regulations or improprieties. Initiatives for compliance with labor standards and work style reform Consultation between labor and management regarding labor standards We strive to ensure legal compliance through such means as sharing information on topic and amendments to labor-related laws with Group companies in order to ensure Group-wide legal compliance. In fiscal 2017, Asahi Kasei Corp. also established an expert committee for the labor union and company to examine work style reform, and measures such as a telecommuting system have been implemented. Moreover, we have promoted the use of annual leave days to reduce working hours. In addition to this, we monitor workplaces that have comparatively long working hours with the aim of preventing excessive working hours at the level of each organization. Specific work style reform initiatives (adopted in fiscal 2019) Work from home program Availability of paid annual leave in one-hour units Increase in number of annual leave days by one day, etc. In fiscal 2019, there were three cases of Labor Standards Act violations where labor standards were violated in the Asahi Kasei Group (in Japan). Overtime hours exceeded the monthly limit (80 hours) in each case, and we have taken steps to prevent recurrence at the workplaces where they occurred. Preventing harassment The Asahi Kasei Group Code of Conduct clearly stipulates a policy of zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination or harassment. To this end, we explicitly prohibit sexual harassment and other forms of harassment in our employment regulations. We also seek to instill our company policy of zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination or harassment through training on corporate ethics for employees at each level – new hires, and newly appointed assistant managers and managers (administrators). In addition, we implement corporate ethics training by business unit and geographical area. We are currently holding seminars through the Asahi Kasei Group focused on the theme of fostering a corporate culture where there is no power harassment, and seminars for executive officers and department managers were largely completed by the end of fiscal 2019. We will conduct them for all employees, including general employees, in the future. We have established a central point of contact for consultation about harassment and a compliance hotline (internal reporting system) that ensure anonymity for responding to various inquiries and concerns on related issues in the Asahi Kasei Group. Training and consultation are also provided for staff from placement agencies and employees of affiliated companies, as part of our Group-wide effort to prevent the occurrence of harassment. Employee survey Management and labor work in concert to resolve people-related issues based on mutual understanding and awareness. As part of this, we perform an employee survey of employees in Japan every three years to provide information to line managers that will guide organizational invigoration and management, gauge improvements to previously identified problems and track changes in employee perceptions over time. Survey results are also utilized in the evaluation of initiatives in each department and the consideration of new Group-wide measures. From fiscal 2020, we will change the content of the employee survey to one that contributes to greater engagement, and plan to conduct this survey every year. At the same time, we are working to understand the status of labor management and the occurrence of human rights and other violations in the Group in order to grasp the risks related to employee human rights issues. Communication between management and labor The Asahi Kasei Group supports employees' freedom of association and right to collective bargaining and strives to maintain a constructive partnership between management and labor. Discussions on the overall management of the Asahi Kasei Group are held on a regular basis between the management of Asahi Kasei Corp. and the labor union, and separate discussions are periodically held at each business unit and operating site. In addition, regular meetings with the federation of labor unions are held to provide the venue to enhance open communication between management and labor. We have concluded a union shop agreement with the Asahi Kasei Labor Union (an agreement under which all employees, except managers and supervisors, are members of the union), and the union has 9,762 members (as of June 1, 2020). 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