ETHICAL TRAINING INITIATIVES
Compliance training on Legislation / SIZA Standard
Regular training on labour law requirements and the SIZA ethical and environmental standards are essential, especially with SIZA membership growing at a fast pace and where new members are concerned. Although a lot of progress has been made, there are still issues including health and safety, working- and housing conditions on farms that have become vital to deal with. It is therefore envisaged that the SIZA programme will play an important role in this process to support continued improvement and a beyond audit approach. A growing need exists for all growers to understand what is required, and for them to have the necessary skills to implement such requirements to enable them to access all markets. We will continue to present these workshops in the years to come.
Emerging Growers: Compliance / Market Access
A strong focus will remain on Emerging Grower development and continued support to get them compliant with the SIZA standard, labour legislation and environmental assurance requirements which includes two core processes: monitoring (self-assessment and third party ethical audit) and capacity-building. Included in the SIZA Capacity-building programme is ongoing support for emerging growers. A major risk to emerging growers is the inability to provide evidence of ethical compliance to buyers which serves as a barrier to trade, particularly in international markets. SIZA wants to ensure that Emerging growers benchmark themselves against labour laws and become compliant with the SIZA standard requirements and code of conduct. In order to ensure compliance and management of business in line with the scope of the SIZA compliance criteria and relevant local labour and environmental legislation, it is important to have continued support for emerging growers on ground level. Click here to download the Emerging Growers Brochure
Remedy Programmes / Beyond Audit Approach for sustainability
SIZA implemented a remedy and best practice programme. This essentially means that for all the various code principles, best practice programmes will be identified and made available to suppliers and buyers online on the MySIZA Platform. For areas where non-conformances have been identified, suppliers will have access to a list of programmes / remedy service providers which will assist with best practice guidance on corrective action measures / remedial actions, etc. Wellness programmes to compliment and support these online developments are also implemented on ground level to ensure sustainable practices and a beyond audit approach.
Modern Slavery Indicators
Stronger Together in partnership with SIZA and WIETA, launched a global supply chain project to promote responsible employment in the fruit growing industries in South Africa. The UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015 requires that large UK based businesses take steps in addressing and reducing the risk of modern slavery within their global supply chains. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for South African producers to ensure that their labour management practices are fair and to reduce risk to their businesses. This will not only help secure market access and protect the livelihood of these sectors, but will also create a healthier work environment where exploitative labour practices are discouraged and workers are protected.
SIZA will play a role in promoting force and bonded labour compliance in the South African industry by monitoring and assess fair labour practices during audits. Therefore SIZA would like thier supply base to learn as much as they can so that they can understand the areas where they could be at fault. (https://www.stronger2gether.org/za/
Comic Contract (Part of Induction)
Comic Contracts are contracts written in pictures. They are legally binding contracts, in which:
- Parties are represented by characters
- Terms of the agreement are captured in pictures
- Parties sign the comic as their contract.
For more information please view: https://creative-contracts.com/
COMPETENCY GUIDELINES FOR TRAINING COMPANIES SEEKING SIZA RECOGNITION
SIZA is committed to establishing processes to ensure that monitoring and measurement of the SIZA Code is carried out in accordance with the SIZA Standard. Trainers and consultants must be competent, have the necessary agricultural knowledge and display the required interpersonal and vocational training skills. If you would like to be recognised by SIZA as a trainer/training company or consultant/consulting company that offers consultancy services to producers/farms, you have to comply with the SIZA specified criteria.
