Social Responsibility
Rastgar Engineering Company (REC) became a volunteer UN Global Compact participant in 2006. Although the company, which is now 45 years old, had always been a moral and ethical company with fair policies, but having found the UN Global Compact guidelines, we have taken conscious steps to abide by these principles.
We, at REC, continue to strongly support and are fully committed to all of the Global Compact principles. Our stance on these principles has regularly been communicated to all stake holders in various forms, which include: |
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- Annual reports to share holders, creditors, bankers etc
- Declaration on our website www.rastgar.com
- Employees Handbook
- Emails to our suppliers, customers and employees
- Prominent Notices and Posters in our premises
- Occasional written communications to all stake holders
We are strong believers in the internationally accepted human rights and we take special care to ensure that we do not, even in any small way, indulge into the abuse of any human rights. There is absolutely no concept of any child or forced labour in REC.
We ensure our workers' involvement, association and participation in all job-related deliberations to improve simultaneously upon the working conditions, environment, productivity, profitability and compensations. There are Suggestion Boxes, as well as token rewards for useful suggestions, whether these are utilized or not.
Going beyond legal obligations, we have introduced following worker benefits purely from a humanitarian viewpoint:
- Educational Scholarships to workers' children
- Financial support / pension to deceased workers' dependants
- Special financial grants on dependents' marriage
- Special Paid leave on employee marriage
- Special paid leave in case of family bereavement
- Free / subsidized meals to employees
- Free meals / Iftari in Ramadan to employees on duty
- Special Ramadan gift packages consisting of food items
- Reimbursement of extraordinary medical costs
- Mark-up free loans to workers for purchase of motor cycles / bicycles
- Occasional other special grants on the basis of applications of employees
- Selection by Hajj Committee of the lucky worker for Hajj performance on company expense
Foreign consultants are engaged occasionally to study in depth the current working conditions. They mix up freely with our work force, obtain first hand impressions and responses from them, and recommend measures for improving the work conditions, productivity and benefits through inculcating team spirit.
A special cricket day was observed last year in which six teams from within REC participated. This event was happily witnessed by a Swiss expert too.
Workers are encouraged to participate in various physical fitness, hiking, sight-seeing and cultural events. Workers take keen part in individual fitness events like rope climbing, short races, push-ups, sit-ups.
During 2011 various site seeing and picnic trips were arranged wherein employees of REC participated enthusiastically.
Believing firmly in equal opportunities for both the genders, we encourage females to compete for jobs in REC. Female employees in HR, Procurement, Production, Labs and Finance departments are enjoying peaceful and harassment-free REC environments. We earnestly hope that they will prosper within REC and set example for others.
After being ISO 14001 certified in 2007, we are continually taking measures to ensure a safe and healthy environment not only for its workers, but also for the area in general. Adoption of Japanese 5S principles has brought about a lot of improvement in REC working environment. REC premises have been divided into 4 Zones for maintaining the standard environments; and Auditors from one zone carry out regular audit of other zones to ensure that everyone in REC is conscious of and attends to the respective responsibilities.
Practical steps have been taken to identify all occupational and safety hazards in REC to which our workers (and other assets) may be susceptible. Requisite precautionary measures, including emergency preparedness, first aid and fire-fighting equipment have been adopted for ready response / rescue in case of any untoward incident. Fire-drills are held to keep workers aware of their allotted roles in case of fire. In recognition of all these measures, REC was certified OHSAS 18001 compliant in 2009, which is a respectable addition to the REC distinctions. The risks and hazards are regularly reviewed for continual improvement in our emergency preparedness and response.
Our Chairman is of the staunch belief that business is to be done the right (and not the wrong!) way. Our suppliers and vendors have been notified that REC employees are not permitted to accept gifts from current or potential suppliers. Under the Suppliers' Code, all REC employees, suppliers, and other recipients of the code are committed to the highest standards of integrity, honesty, and fairness in all internal and external relationships. No employee is allowed directly or indirectly to accept or offer to pay bribes or kick-backs. In order to demonstrate strictness in this matter, the employees are under obligation to deposit even token gifts like diaries, pens, calendars and other small items with the REC Administration Department. This small but important direction is a part of the Employees' Hand Book, and all employees are annually reminded through email about this obligation. Copy of the latest reminder is attached.
Floods of 2010 played havoc with life and property of people of certain areas of Pakistan and left behind stories of miseries. Feeling its responsibility to humanity, Rastgar responded positively by initiating Rastgar Flood Rehabilitation Program (Housing & Drinking Water). Working in tandem with Salik Foundation, Rastgar helped in reconstructing homes of the direly poor in Khurabad and Pir Pai villages of Nowshehra. Volunteers from Rastgar surveyed and supervised this project on weekly basis. Rastgar Successfully completed Flood Rehabilitation Program by making over 40 houses and drinking water wells.
SAIF RASTGAR
Finance & Human Resource Director
Rastgar Engineering Company Pvt Ltd
Islamabad . |
