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Code of Conduct |
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Travelway Group International is aware of the social issues surrounding the development of emerging economies. The company is also increasingly aware of the challenges faced by these countries as well as areas of their comparative advantages. However, there is a very strict moral and ethical code to which TGI holds itself and all of its business partners. In this respect, TGI strives to align itself with business entities that operate at a level that is in concordance with local as well as international standards and regulations.
The failure of TGI suppliers to comply with the regulations outlined in this manual, or the inability to correct any violations that may occur, will result in the re-evaluation of the current business relationship. If, after a supplier is re-evaluated, they still do not meet the minimum standard to do business with TGI the relationship will be terminated.
TGI encourages its suppliers to go above and beyond the minimum requirements set forth by the international community. It feels that manufactures who adopt these policy changes will be more suitable to provide superior service as well as produce higher quality products. TGI actively works with its suppliers to help them create a working environment that is environmentally conscious, worker friendly and socially responsible. TGI also helps educate factories on the most recent local and international laws pertaining to their respective industries. It is the belief of TGI that high quality goods and services come from clean, efficient, well managed and fair business operations.
Child Labour
Child labour is defined as the assembly/manufacturing of products by a person under the age of 16, or of the age specified by the law of those countries where a higher age limit has been established.
- Every employee must meet the minimum age requirement, or is at least 16 years old, whichever is the older.
- The factory must maintain official documentation that verifies the employee's date of birth and date of employment, and this record must be made available to TGI and its customers upon request.
- There will not be any falsification of age documents.
Forced or Prison Labour
Forced labor is defined as the assembly/manufacturing of merchandise by workers confined against their will within a compound and without compensations.
The use of prison or forced labor in any facility that has a current business relationship with TGI is strictly prohibited. TGI will not tolerate the use of any forms of physical or mental coercion. This extends to all other subcontracted factories or input suppliers in the supply chain.
Fair and Equal Treatment
Work environments must be free of intolerance, harassment, abuse, corporal punishment and retribution for grievances. TGI will not tolerate discrimination in hiring and employment practices on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, national origin or religious affiliation.
Wages
TGI suppliers must compensate their employees for all work rendered while employed or under contract. All suppliers must comply with applicable laws as they relate to minimum wage, overtime compensation, weekly working hours, statutory holidays and employee benefits. Labour time sheets must be kept updated and be made available to TGI and its customers upon request.
- Suppliers must pay their workers in full, in a timely fashion.
- Workers may not work in excess of 72 hours in one working week.
- Workers must have 1 day off for every 14-day cycle.
- All overtime premiums must be paid.
- Factories must keep accurate and up-to-date information and contracts on all of its employees. These must include information on wages, duration of employment and age. These documents MUST be made available to inspectors as well as auditors upon request.
Environmental Regulations
TGI suppliers must conduct business to the best of their knowledge and ability in accordance with local and international environmental regulations. Suppliers may only discard waste that has been properly labelled and identified as not containing any hazardous material. Any supplier who, in the course of day to day operations, disposes of water or releases air emissions, must ensure that they comply with the latest local and international regulations. Factories must make sure that they have up-to-date emission permits as well as emission and water treatment equipment. All factories must be connected to the municipal sewer system and dispose of waste in an environmentally responsible manner.
- Suppliers must have up-to-date permits for wastewater disposal.
- Suppliers must have up-to-date permits for air emissions.
- Where applicable, suppliers must have the necessary equipment to dispose of waste.
- All vendors must certify that, to the best of their knowledge, all packaging and/or packing materials comply with all local and applicable international laws governing the use of heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium) or other hazardous or toxic materials.
- All vendors must supply the appropriate training to their employees regarding the treatment and disposal of waste.
Health and Safety
All TGI suppliers must provide their employees with a safe and comfortable working environment. All factories must have the necessary safety equipment (fire extinguishes, alarms, first aid kits, fire exits, sprinklers, water fountains) and provide the appropriate training so that they may be used effectively in the case of an emergency. Factories must be cleaned regularly in order to prevent debris build up that may cause a fire or block emergency exits.
- All fire exits and stairwells must be clearly lit and free of debris at all times.
- There must be at least two fire extinguishers per floor or working area and someone who is trained to use them.
- There must be a fully stocked first aid kit on every floor or working area and someone who is trained to use it.
- The factory must provide clean drinking water as well as clean washroom facilities.
- All work stations must be clearly lit and well ventilated.
- There may be no hanging or exposed electrical wires, or areas of over loaded circuits and poor insulation.
This document details the corporate quality policy and structure of the Company and refers to appropriate Operating Procedures. The document should be used as a guide that can be referenced by TGI and all of its partners. This document describes the actual process and controls applied to all activities concerned with the attainment of a quality assured product. Customer satisfaction and quality are achieved by operation in accordance with the documented quality system. Any and all specific customer requirements that are identified and documented during the sample development and order placement stages will be communicated and carried out, ensuring completion of all customer declared needs.
TGI has its own team of Quality Assurance inspectors. This team routinely undergoes training sessions and attends customer seminars, so that they may be in tune with the latest standards and requirements. TGI's in-house team inspects every order that passes through TGI's system. Before the production of any given order can start, the factory must have a signed confirmation sample on hand. A confirmation sample is one unit of the given order that has been approved and signed off on by the customer and TGI. A confirmation sample must be on hand throughout all productions and inspections. Inspections are carried out at three stages during production:
- Inspection of raw material
Before production can start, inspectors will test the raw material to be used. Material will be rigorously tested for tensile strength, bursting strength, corrosion, tearing and colour consistency. Any hardware used for production will also undergo relevant testing.
- In-line inspection
Goods will be inspected during the actual production of an order. Depending on how large the order is, there may be two or three in-line inspections. Goods inspected on the production line will be compared against a signed confirmation sample. TGI and its suppliers will work together to ensure that all parties are properly informed of when and where production will take place. This is to ensure that in-line inspections can be carried out in order to avoid more costly problems in the later stages of production.
- Final Inspection
This is carried out once the order has been completed. Once again, the factory must be able to provide a signed confirmation sample during the final inspection. TGI currently uses AQL 4.0 (acceptable quality levels), which is an international standard that outlines how many pieces per given order should be inspected, given the size of the order. For example, an order size of 100 units, using AQL 4.0, will recommend that eight pieces be inspected. Of those eight, if more than two pieces are faulty, the order is rejected. In certain situations TGI will carry out a 100% inspection of an order.
When TGI forms a partnership with a supplier it is usually with the intention of creating a long-lasting bond based on fair business practices, trust and cooperation. A key indicator of a TGI supplier is its ability to train and maintain its own quality control team. TGI actively works with its suppliers to help them build a quality control infrastructure that better enables them to satisfy TGI and TGI customer demands. TGI suppliers are encouraged to put a quality control protocol in place that acts as a safety net should anything be missed by a third party or TGI inspectors. Factory quality control teams will inspect goods during all levels of production (same as above) and work with TGI inspectors in order to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction. TGI recommends that factories empower qualified individuals with extensive quality control knowledge to the position of quality control manager or supervisor. In order to avoid undermining this person's job as well as to avoid delays, this person should report directly to their factory manager.
Occasionally, TGI will work with independent testing companies, such as ITS and Veritas. There are typically three circumstances where TGI will request a third party inspection:
- The supplier is not adequately equipped to carry out thorough inspection and/or product testing.
- A customer recommends that a third party be used to inspect production.
- The supplier has repeatedly violated the terms of their agreement with TGI, in which case a third party inspection will be carried out at the supplier's expense.
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