Petra is fully committed to upholding the human rights of all of its stakeholders, including its employees, contractors and partners, and as such has a policy of fair dealing and integrity in place in terms of the conduct of its business. This commitment is based on the belief that business should be conducted honestly, fairly and legally. The Company expects all employees to share its commitment to high moral, ethical and legal standards, as set out hereunder.
The Employment Equity policy and the Disciplinary Code and Procedure adopted by the Company forbids any kind of discrimination. There were no cases of discrimination levelled against the Company or submitted to the Company about anyone during FY 2011.
In South Africa, all of Petra’s policies are compliant with the Bill of Human Rights enshrined in the South African constitution and the Company organises training in human rights for union representatives through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and they, in turn, disseminate their knowledge to all employees.
In Tanzania, the only section of the Constitution which addresses human rights is Part III (Basic Rights and Duties), section 12 to 32, however Williamson Diamonds Limited has developed its own policy on ‘Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights’, being ‘WDL – SEC – 16’. This policy was communicated and training was provided to all stakeholders of the Williamson mine, including the local police force and the other security forces related to the mine.
In Botswana, the ‘Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual’ are addressed in Chapter II of the Constitution of Botswana, and are upheld by the Company and its employees.
Neither child nor forced labour is permitted by Petra at any of its operations, and no incidences in contravention of this were reported during the year under review.
As far as the rights of indigenous peoples are concerned, the Company’s recruitment and selection policy requires all foreign people to produce work permits or residence permits before being considered for employment by the Company. There were no grievances levelled by employees in this regard during FY 2011.
http://petradiamonds2011.html.investis.com/human-rights.html