General Motors believes that support for human rights begins by treating each other with respect and dignity.  GM employees are responsible for respecting each other in their business relationships and in the communities where GM operates.  GM's fairness and respect policies demonstrate support for employees' rights.  GM recognizes that the responsibility for managing the impact on society also extends to GM's suppliers.  This section addresses how GM discharges its human rights responsibilities to both employees and suppliers. 

Principles

GM honors all local laws, respects local customs, and adheres to the Global Sullivan Principles (GSP) throughout its global operations.  GM also encourages its suppliers to adopt the Global Sullivan Principles or another equivalent set of principles that support human rights.  According to the Global Sullivan Principles, General Motors will:

• Express our support for universal human rights and, particularly, those of GM employees, the communities within which GM operates, and parties with whom GM does business, as detailed in the rest of this section. 
• Promote equal opportunity for employees at all levels of the company with respect to issues such as color, race, gender, age, ethnicity, or religious beliefs, and operate without unacceptable worker treatment such as the exploitation of children, physical punishment, female abuse, involuntary servitude, or other forms of abuse.  See the diversity section in Social Performance
• Respect employees' voluntary freedom of association.  Click here...
• Compensate employees to enable them to meet their basic needs and provide the opportunity to improve their skill and capability in order to raise their social and economic opportunities.  See wages and benefits section in our Economic chapter.
• Provide a safe and healthy workplace; protect human health and the environment; and promote sustainable development.  
• Promote fair competition including respect for intellectual and other property rights and not offer, pay, or accept bribes.  See Winning with Integrity guidelines.
• Work with governments and communities in which GM does business to improve the quality of life in those communities - their educational, cultural, economic, and social well-being - and seek to provide training and opportunities for workers from disadvantaged backgrounds.  See the contribution section of the Economic chapter.
• Promote the application of these principles by those with whom GM does business.  Click here...

GM will be open in our implementation of the principles and provide information that publicly demonstrates our commitment to them.

Policies

GM has a number of policies in place that apply to employees and suppliers (detailed below).  Since GM purchases $150 billion worth of goods and services from more than 25,000 global suppliers, it also has a specific Global Purchasing Supply Chain (GPSC) Policy to help manage this complex area of our business.

Child Labor

General Motors respects all local laws regarding compulsory school attendance and does not hire children under the legal age for employment in any location.

GM's GPSC Policy prohibits its suppliers and their subcontractors from using child labor in the supply of goods or services.  GM continues to monitor performance in this area.

Forced Labor

The decision to seek employment is voluntary, and GM does not condone involuntary servitude in any form.  GM's GPSC Policy prohibits the purchase of goods produced with the use of forced or slave labor.

Freedom of Association

General Motors respects the right of all employees to choose union membership.  The Global Sullivan Principles specifically calls for respect for the voluntary freedom of association.  GM complies with all laws covering the right of employees to organize for purposes of collective bargaining and encourages employees to support or oppose union membership without fear of coercion or retaliation from General Motors, any individual, or external organization.

Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Policy

GM's GPSC Policy requires that any goods or services supplied must comply with all applicable regulations or standards of the countries of destination.  These relate to the manufacture, labeling, transportation, importation, exportation, licensing, approval, or certification of goods or services.  This includes environmental matters, wages, hours, conditions of employment, subcontractor selection, discrimination, occupational health and safety, and motor vehicle safety.  Each supplier must confirm, both at the time of contracting and periodically thereafter, that neither it nor any of its subcontractors will utilize child, slave, prisoner, or any other form of forced or involuntary labor or engage in abusive employment practices or corrupt business practices (see text on "Paragraph 25" below).
Read more on www.gmsupplypower.com

Compliance with Principles

GM's Corporate Responsibility Group has created a self-assessment survey (aligned with our Process Risk Management system) that will be used internally to evaluate compliance with the Global Sullivan Principles.

Compliance with Policies

Within GM, local management representatives are ultimately responsible for compliance with our policies; the benefits of being recognized as a good corporate citizen are well understood.  GM's internal Winning with Integrity guidelines and the Global Sullivan Principles have been communicated throughout GM globally and serve as guidelines for conduct.

GM has a number of initiatives in place to address challenges.  For example, GM supports indigenous rights by employing the most qualified individuals for the positions to be filled, which includes indigenous executives in decision-making capacities.

GM also maintains a 24-hour toll-free telephone line called "GM Awareline" that is available to anyone (including employees and suppliers) globally, seven days a week.  Callers can anonymously report concerns such as: possible criminal wrongdoing by the company, management, supervisors, employees, or agents; actions believed to be contrary to corporate policy; emergency or life-threatening situations; or allegations of harassment.  GM's business units worldwide have customized this reporting process to meet local language and cultural needs.  Operations that choose not to use the Awareline because of legal or cultural reasons must implement an alternate, approved process.  Currently the GM Awareline or an alternative process is available in 45 countries.

All Awareline complaints are investigated.  Based on the type of complaint,global security or the local human-resource representative is responsible for conducting follow-up activities.  Most cases are completely investigated and closed within 60 days from the date of the complaint.

Supplier Compliance

Suppliers are responsible for assessing themselves as well as their subcontractors' compliance with Paragraph 25 (see below) of GM's Purchase Order Terms and Conditions.  Global Purchasing has implemented an electronic survey that suppliers use to notify GM of their assessment.

Paragraph 25 (abridged) of GM's Purchase Order Terms and Conditions:  "Compliance with Laws; Employment/Business Practices"
–The supplier shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the host country or that relate to the manufacture, labeling, transportation, importation, exportation, licensing, approval or certification of goods or services.  This includes, but is not limited to, those related to environmental matters, data protection or privacy, wages, hours, and conditions of employment, subcontractor selection, discrimination, occupational health /safety, and motor vehicle safety.

– The supplier asserts that neither it nor any of its subcontractors will utilize child, slave, prisoner or any other form of forced or involuntary labor or engage in abusive employment or corrupt business practices in the supply or goods or provision of services under their contract.

GM Awareline

The GM Awareline receives a high level of attention within GM Management.  Complaint statistics and trends are reviewed quarterly with the Individual Respect and Responsibility (IRR) team and annually with the IRR Governance Board and the GM Board of Directors.

The general trend of Awareline complaints over the past four years has been a decrease within all of the complaint types; exceptions occurring in an increase in Employee Workplace Issues reported from 2003 to 2004, and in Safety from 2004 to 2005 - as set out in the table below.  It is felt that the reduction in numbers involving discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment is attributable to a corresponding decrease in incident occurrence.  This decline has been validated by concurrent decreases in related complaints, such as grievances and complaints to outside agencies.  Employee workplace issues are referred to individual operating locations to be resolved by the unit through the normal course of business as prescribed by local operating practice.

Complaint Type	2005	2004	2003	2002
Discrimination	4	9	17	46
Employee Workplace Issues	664	679	534	806
Harassment	5	14	33	61
Personal Threats	15	34	36	39
Safety	13	9	23	49
Sexual Harassment	13	15	22	23

Grievances and Complaints

Grievances or complaints by represented employees (generally hourly but may also include non-managerial salaried in some countries) are handled according to the procedures specified in the applicable national and/or local collective bargaining agreements.  Procedures for non-represented (typically salaried) employees generally differ from those established for represented employees.  For U.S. salaried employees, GM manages complaints according to the Open Door Policy, detailed in the U.S. HR Policies & Procedure web site.  This helps ensure open communication with management when employees have a question, concern, or complaint about any aspect of their employment.

In 2005, there were a total of 227 Open Door cases.  In all of the cases, management's initial position was upheld.  The table below provides a breakdown of the 227 cases by issue:

2005 Open Door Cases By Issue
Issue	No. of cases
Separation Incentive Program Participation	130
Discharge/Final Release	55
Discipline	10
Performance Appraisal	8
Miscellaneous	24

Results from GM's staff survey can be found in the employee satisfaction section>>