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Support for human rights at GM begins with treating each other
with respect and dignity. Our employees are responsible for respecting
one another in their business relationships and in the communities
in which we operate. We acknowledge the rights of our employees
and believe that our policies on fairness and respect show our support
for employees rights.
We honor all local laws and respect local customs throughout our
global operations and our approach to specific human rights and
labor issues is outlined below.
Child Labor
We believe that education should be a primary objective for children.
We therefore respect all local laws regarding compulsory school
attendance and do not employ children under the legal age for employment
in any location. Our Worldwide Purchasing Policy prohibits our suppliers,
and their subcontractors, from using child labor in the supply of
goods or provision of services when under contract with GM.
Forced Labor
The decision to seek employment is voluntary, and we do not condone
involuntary servitude in any form. Our Worldwide Purchasing Policy
prohibits the purchase of goods produced with the use of forced
or slave labor. This policy applies to our global operations and
to all of our joint ventures.
Indigenous Rights
In various geographic locations, we employ executives in decision-making
capacities that represent the indigenous people. These locations
include, but are not limited to, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Japan,
Korea and Thailand.
Freedom of Association
As part of our corporate policy, we respect the right of all employees
to choose whether to belong to a union. This concept is also outlined
in the Global Sullivan Principles and, in adopting these principles,
we have specifically endorsed respect for employees' voluntary freedom
of association.
We are also committed to complying with all laws relating to the
rights of employees to organize for purposes of collective bargaining.
In this regard, the legal right of employees to support or oppose
union membership without fear of coercion or retaliation is recognized
by the corporation.
In recognizing these rights, our employees will not be subject
to coercion from GM, or from any individual or external organization.
GM AwareLine
We have a 24-hour toll-free telephone reporting system that is
available on a global basis seven days a week. The GM Awareline
allows employees to anonymously report various concerns, such as:
possible criminal wrongdoing by the company, our management, supervisors,
employees or agents; actions believed to be contrary to corporate
policy; emergency or life threatening situations; or allegations
of harassment. Appropriate personnel investigate every complaint
that comes into the AwareLine.
Our business units around the world have customized this reporting
process to meet local language and cultural needs. Our operations
that choose not to use the AwareLine process in a given country
or location because of legal or cultural reasons are required to
implement an alternate process, which must be approved by our General
Director of Global Security.
In addition, we have the following processes in place throughout
the our operations:
The Grievance Process
Grievances or complaints by U.S. hourly employees are handled pursuant
to the procedures specified in national and local collective bargaining
agreements. These differ from procedures for salaried employees.
Open Door Policy
For salaried employees, complaints in the U.S. are managed according
to the Open Door Policy, detailed in "Working with GM."
The objective of the Open Door Policy is to ensure an open channel
of communication with management when employees have a question,
concern or complaint about any aspect of their employment.
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