Mariner Clothing Mart recognizes its responsibility to ensure that its customers, suppliers and the employees of the companies involved throughout the manufacturing and order process are treated correctly and in accordance with all laws and applicable standards. In order to ensure fully comply with our Ethical Code of Conduct, Terms and Conditions of Supply, along with all relevant local, national and international laws, regulations and obligations.
Mariner Clothing Mart factories are under a contractual obligation to ensure that the following conditions are met. Any departure or failure in respect of this policy will jeopardize your working relationship with Mariner Clothing Mart
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Principles of Employment
Principles of Employment
• There should be no forced, involuntary, trafficked or prison labor.
• All employees should be a minimum working age of 15 years unless local law states different minimum working age. There should be no child labor.
• Factories must provide workers with information about their conditions of employment, rights and responsibilities, wage details and pay periods before entering into a contract of employment with the worker. These should be made available to the worker at all times.
• Factories have a responsibility to make sure a strong, reliable recruitment process is in place.
• process must ensure factories have all up to date copies of staff credentials such as passport, visa, ID card, taxation reference. The factory should verify and confirm the age of the worker during this process. This process must conform to all local laws and requirements and the data should be kept confidential and secure at all times.
• The factory must not hold onto or keep any of the worker’s documents or accept any form of a deposit for the employment of the worker.
• Workers must be free to leave work and freely terminate their employment providing they give reasonable notice to the factory. Such notice period should be clearly outlined in a contract of employment.
• Factories should ensure workers are not subjected to inhumane or degrading treatment, corporal
Punishment, or any form of abuse (verbal, physical, emotional, mental, intimidation)
• All disciplinary procedures must be clearly outlined in writing and workers should be given a copy of this when they are considering employment with the factory. They should also be clearly explained verbally to the workers before signing their contract of employment.
• Factories must ensure that any accommodation they provide to workers meets their basic needs and is safe and clean.
• Factories should not use employment arrangements in an unlawful manner for example the use of subcontractors to undermine workers’ rights, labor only contracts, seasonal or contingency work used to undermine workers job protection, apprentice schemes used as free labor etc.
Working Hours
Working Hours
• Workers should not be required to work more than 48 regular hours per week.
• During the working day workers are entitled to a resting break.
• All workers should have at least one day off in a 7 day week (6 days working, 1 day off).
• Overtime should be voluntary and not forced and should not exceed 12 hours per week.
• Any overtime must be paid at a premium rate which is at least one and a quarter times the regular rate of pay.
• All working hours must conform to local law.
Workers’ Rights
Workers’ Rights
• Workers should not be discriminated against by the factory for being members of a trade union.
• Factories should respect the workers’ right to collective bargaining.
• Factories shall not prevent worker’s representatives from having access to workers in the workplace or from interacting with them.
• Where there is a conflict with local laws allowing trade unions the factories will allow the workers to select their own representative who can discuss any issues directly with the factory management.
• Factories must not discriminate against workers, such discrimination includes but is not limited to; religion, race, age, gender, union membership, social background etc. Workers must not be disciplined or harassed for any of the reasons mentioned above.
• Workers are to receive fair payment of wages. Workers should be paid a wage which reflects their level of experience, skills and education as well as the hours they have worked. As a minimum standard, workers should receive the minimum wage as dictated by local law or industry benchmark standards – which ever rate is higher must be applied.
• Wages must be paid to workers regularly, timely and in full legal tender.
• Deductions from workers’ wages should only be done in full compliance of local law or as agreed by collective bargaining. Any deductions or disciplinary measure of this kind should be accurately recorded and records must be kept updated.
Health and Safety
Health and Safety
• Factories are expected to fully comply with all local health and safety laws and regulations.
• The factory is responsible for working with the workers to ensure a safe working environment. To achieve this the factory is expected to have in place a Health and Safety Committee or at least a Health and Safety Representative at management and worker level within the company who is then responsible for making sure that adequate systems are put in place to ensure the safety of the workers.
• Any risks discovered need to be analysed and systems need to be put in place to protect workers.
• All workers shall receive regular health and safety training which is recorded accurately through a log book. Training is expected to be repeated on a regular basis (at least once every 3 years for current workers) and any new or re-assigned workers should also be trained accordingly.
• Factories should have adequate insurance in place for worker’s protection and buildings.
• Factories need to ensure that adequate medical assistance is available in the form of the appropriate first aid kits and access to a doctor as a minimum standard.
• Workers should have access to clean drinking water, safe and clean eating and resting areas, clean food preparation and storage area.
• Clean toilet facilities must be available for all workers to use. Male and female toilet facilities should be separate and toilets should be able to be locked from the inside to maintain privacy when in use.
• Where a worker is carrying out a specialist job where there are health and safety requirements for protective clothing, this clothing must be provided to the worker by the factory free of charge.
• Solvents/chemicals should be stored separately in an area suitable for the storage of solvents/chemicals (i.e. restricted access, secondary containment).
• All workers handling solvents/chemicals must be trained in the safe handling, use and storage of solvents/chemicals.
• All workers should be adequately trained on the equipment they use during their daily shift, records of training should be kept and workers should have refresher training at least every 3 years.
• Factories are expected to respect the workers right to exit the factory premises in the case of danger without seeking permission.
Fire Safety
Fire Safety
• A working fire alarm system covering the entire factory premises, including any out buildings. Visual alarms must also be fitted in relevant areas.
• Suitable firefighting equipment (fire extinguishers, sand buckets, hoses etc.) must be available in all areas of the factory.
• All fire exits must be clearly marked and kept unlocked and unblocked.
• Fire alarms and firefighting equipment must be regularly tested and inspected and all reports must be kept updated and made available upon request.
• Fire drills must be carried out regularly.
• Access to firefighting equipment, aisles and passages must be kept free of obstruction at all times.
• There must be enough exits in all areas of the factory to allow for quick and safe evacuation of all workers.
• All equipment (generators, boilers etc.) must be regularly checked and certified for use by an authorized person from an approved inspection company or local authority representative. Equipment should not be used if it does not pass the checks.
• Where required to by local law the factory should hold a valid inspection certificate from their local authority to show that the building has been inspected and certified as safe. Factories are allowed to use sub-contractors but they must be authorized by us in writing before allowing them to produce any of our products. Should you wish to use a sub-contractor to fulfil our orders you must complete the supplier form with the sub-contractor’s details and they must also sign the Terms and Conditions of Supply.
REACH Compliance
REACH Compliance
Mariner Clothing Mart obliged to ensure REACH compliance. REACH is the Registration,
Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals. The aim of REACH is to protect human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals. REACH requires Boi Trading Company to know which substances have been used in our products so we can ensure we meet the EU requirement to register certain dangerous chemicals so the EU can monitor the quantities of the chemicals in circulation and also ban some highly dangerous and toxic substances which have been deemed too dangerous to human health. More information for this can be found at http://echa.europa.eu/web/guest/regulations/reach/
In order to meet the REACH compliance, we must ensure the following: -
1) Chemicals on the REACH Annex XIV cannot be used AFTER the ‘sunset date’. Suppliers should check
the link below frequently to ensure they are working from the latest list. If there is a substance on this
list which you intend to use in manufacture you MUST inform us immediately with details of the
quantities you plan to use so we can seek approval. REACH Annex XIV List
2) There are a number of substances which are not yet banned but are of high concern, these are known
as SVHC – Substances of Very High Concern. A list of these substances is also provided with this
manual. Again suppliers should check the link below frequently to ensure they are working from the
latest list. REACH SVHC List
3) Chemicals on the Substances of Very High Concern List can be used in production, however if they
make up more than 0.1% of the total garment weight we MUST have a list from the supplier which
details all of the substances which have been used and the quantities used in production so we can
