SA8000 Standard
SAAS-accredited independent
certification bodies
certify facilities that conform to the requirements of SA8000.
SA8000, created in 1997 by Social Accountability International,
is an international standardized code of conduct for improving
working conditions around the world. Based on the principles
of thirteen international human rights conventions and developed
through a multi-stakeholder process, SA8000 is a tool to
help apply these norms to practical work-life situations.
SA8000 contains eight core elements including health and
safety, working hours, child labor, forced labor, discrimination,
freedom of association and collective bargaining, wages,
and discipline. The management system requirements of SA8000
move beyond a checklist approach, encouraging managers to
make sustainable systemic changes in how they run their
businesses.
SA8000 certification provides a public
report of good practice to consumers, buyers, and other
companies and is intended to be a significant milestone
in improving workplace conditions. Maintaining and improving
the systems put in place to achieve SA8000 certification
is an ongoing process and substantive worker participation
can be the best means to ensuring systemic change. The benefits
of adopting SA8000 are significant and may include improved
staff morale, more reliable business partnerships, enhanced
competitiveness, less staff turnover and better worker-manager
communication. To learn more about SA8000, visit Social
Accountability International’s website.
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