Where we stand on human rights
ArcelorMittal supports the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Core Conventions of the International Labour Organisation (or ILO) and the United Nations Global Compact.
We are active members of the United Nations Global Compact group on Responsible Business and Investment in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and have contributed to the recent publication “Doing business while advancing peace and development”. In addition we are drawing on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights framework for an assessment we are completing of our operations in Liberia.
A commitment to human rights is also one of our corporate responsibility objectives. In our business we sometimes have to deal with situations that raise particular human rights challenges, especially when we’re planning greenfield developments.
ArcelorMittal Human Rights Policy
To further support this commitment, ArcelorMittal published its Human Rights Policy in August 2010. The Human Rights Policy articulates our respect for all human rights, focusing on the areas that have been identified as priorities for our industry. This Policy complements existing policies in areas such as our Code of Business Conduct, the Health and Safety, Environment and Human Resources Policies and the Anti-Corruption guidelines.
The Human Rights Policy was developed as a collaborative effort involving a wide range of ArcelorMittal representatives and external human rights experts including from academia, non governmental and multilateral organizations, as well as individuals who work on human rights issues for the United Nations and other institutions. This Policy is the overarching statement for other standards and procedures that will be developed as necessary by ArcelorMittal on specific human rights matters.
Download the ArcelorMittal Human Rights Policy
Implementation of the Human Rights Policy
Since 2011, our main focus has been on raising awareness among all our employees about their human rights and how they are expected to behave. Each employee has received a copy of the Human Rights Policy in their local language. In addition, we set an objective for all employees to receive formal training by the end of 2011, and developed an online training course as well as face to face training materials. In addition, a guidance manual has been published for ongoing support and reference on each of the areas of the Policy and potential dilemmas employees may face. In 2011, over 140,000 employees of ArcelorMittal received specific Human Rights Policy training.
We believe this new Policy will increase awareness of potential human rights impacts, and clarify expectations for our employees and business partners, further developing our capability to manage human rights issues.
Our implementation of this Policy is expected to strengthen over time as risk assessments and due diligence procedures will increasingly take into account human rights aspects. Human Rights will also be integrated into existing social impact assessments, with separate human rights impact assessments completed where required.
We promote the content of the Human Rights Policy to our suppliers and other business partners also, through our Responsible Sourcing Programme that was launched in December 2010.
Download an update on ArcelorMittal’s Human Rights Programme
Security and Human Rights
ArcelorMittal aims to provide a safe and secure working environment for its employees and contractors and to protect its property. This is achieved in part through the use of public or private security forces in the locations where local conditions make this necessary. To ensure that every individual acts at all times in a manner that respects human rights and is in compliance with applicable national, state and local laws, ArcelorMittal adopted its Policy for Security Personnel on the Use of Force, Arms and Firearms in December 2011.
This Policy forms part of the ArcelorMittal Security Policy, Standards and Procedures which provides guidance on working with private and public security forces. It is derived from international standards and principles, including:
- The International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers by the Swiss Confederation
- The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR) also referred to in the ArcelorMittal’s Human Rights Policy
- The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
- The United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials
Case study: Implementing security and human rights in Liberia
ArcelorMittal has followed the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights as international best practice to guide its set-up of security arrangements.
In Liberia, our operations have been following these principles over the last two years. As part of this effort, a security and human rights risk assessment was carried out in the country by external experts. As a result of this first assessment, we have stipulated the need for relationships with public and private security forces as part of the ArcelorMittal Security Policy and Procedures. This is in alignment with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
Each new member of staff of ArcelorMittal Liberia or an associated contractor is subject to a 2.5 day induction programme. This includes our dedicated human rights training that is mandatory for all employees of ArcelorMittal worldwide.
In addition, all security guards working for ArcelorMittal Liberia and sub-contracted guard forces complete a month-long certificated training course that includes relevant human rights subject matter. The training programme includes topics such as ethics, code of conduct by security guards, use of force, as well as discipline and courtesy. The curriculum was developed by the Liberian Police Academy in collaboration with the United Nations Forces. The Liberian Police Force academy trainers conduct the training at ArcelorMittal sites.
Grievance mechanisms and access to remedy
We have established mechanisms for employees and communities to raise concerns about actual or potential non-compliances with the Human Rights Policy. All employees and members of the public are able to raise concerns or complaints using the confidential procedure that we call the whistleblowing procedure. Any issue may be reported on a confidential basis to enable the Audit Committee to assess the matter and, if appropriate, investigate it further. We will investigate any allegations of infringements of the Human Rights Policy, and take appropriate action as necessary. Serious breaches by employees will be considered gross misconduct, and may lead to their dismissal.
In addition to the whistleblowing procedure, employee concerns can be raised through the trade union or employee representative. In 2010, 85% of our employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements. Through continuous, open dialogue between ArcelorMittal and employee representatives (e.g. European Works Council, Worldwide Health and Safety Committee), concerns are raised and proactively managed.
To further the implementation of the Human Rights Policy, ArcelorMittal is bringing company grievance mechanisms inline with the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. ArcelorMittal has undertaken a Company-wide internal consultation process with the aim to collect good practices from various operations, as well as opinions and views that continue to inform the Group-wide approach to grievance mechanism.
Over 20 local business units participated in the process by sharing their respective grievance procedures. As a next step, ArcelorMittal will engage with interested external parties on how to develop and implement a meaningful Group-wide approach and standard on grievance mechanisms. Opinions and concerns from local stakeholders to global non-governmental organisations will be listened to as part of the consultation. We hope that this will help to produce a grievance mechanism model that will further support our Human Rights Policy implementation as well as our local stakeholder engagement programmes.
http://www.arcelormittal.com/corporate/humanrights.html