PPB June 2016

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JUNE 2016 • PPB • 71
PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
PPAI/Corporate Responsibility/Social
Responsibility tabs.
A code can contain as many or as few
components as an organization wishes to
include. In many cases the multiple standards
outlined by the ILO are often consolidated,
by one organization or another, into one
component or singular principle. The objec-
tive of this article is to help you understand,
at a high level, the basic intent behind each
principle within the PPAI Code of Conduct.
PPAI’s code is based on the UN Global
Compact, the ILO’s standards and good labor
practices recognized by the international
community, the Fair Labor Association
(FLA) workplace code of conduct and the
unique needs of the promotional products
industry. For more information on items 1-6,
go to
1. ABUSE OF LABOR Also referred to as
forced labor, this is defined by the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 as "all work or
service which is exacted from any person
under the menace of any penalty and for
which the said person has not offered him-
self voluntarily.” Forms of forced labor
include indentured, forced-prison, bonded
or slave labor.
What it means to you: Policies acknowl-
edging workers’ rights and educating
those most vulnerable are just a couple of
ways to eliminate abuse of workers.
2. CHILD LABOR Child labor is “work that
deprives children of their childhood, their
potential and their dignity, and that is
harmful to physical and mental develop-
ment,” according to the ILO. The
Minimum Age Convention, 1973 defines
the minimum age for which children are
allowed to work and the ILO website con-
tains a list of countries that have ratified
these standards. Within the 1973 conven-
tion there are three forms of children’s
work: children in employment, child labor
and hazardous work. The Worst Forms of
Child Labour Convention, 1999 defines a
child as someone under 18 years of age and
calls for eliminating the worst forms of
child labor. For more about child labor
trends and statistics visit the Resources
page at
What it means to you: Organizations are
expected to not use child labor and com-
ply with all minimum age provisions of
applicable laws and regulations.
3. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION At the
core of the ILO’s values is the “right for
workers and employers to establish and
join organizations of their own choosing
without previous authorization.”
What it means to you: Employees are free
to associate or organize without fear of
reprisal or interference from employers or
government. A well-intended code is
designed to foster respect for the rights of
employees to associate, organize and to
bargain collectively.
4. DISCRIMINATION The ILO defines
workplace discrimination as “treating peo-
ple differently because of certain character-
istics, such as race, colour or sex, which
results in the impairment of equality and of
opportunity and treatment.”
What it means to you: It is generally accept-
ed that discrimination not occur based on
age, religion, political affiliations, disabili-
ties, sexual orientation, social origins,
genetics and lifestyle choices.
Discrimination in the workplace, whether
obscured or public, is considered a viola-
tion of international labor standards.
5. HOURS AND WAGES “ILO standards
on working time provide the framework
for regulated hours of work, daily and
weekly rest periods, and annual holidays.
These instruments ensure high productivi-
ty while safeguarding workers’ physical and
mental health.”
The ILO standards on wages address
wage gaps, lack of guaranteed wages, non-
payment of wages and wages paid in other
RESOURCE
CODES
THE QUICK REFERENCE LIST below
features shortened links to the
websites included in this article, plus
two additional sites to help you bet-
ter understand, develop and com-
municate your company’s code of
conduct:
PPAI Corporate Responsibility:
PPAI Code of Conduct:
United Nations Global Compact:
International Labour Organization
(ILO):
Fair Labor Association Workplace
Code of Conduct:
BCorporation COD Development:
Ready For
Adoption
PPAI has developed a
code of conduct that is
available for member companies to
adopt. Download it in English,
French Canadian, Chinese and
Spanish versions at
under the Inside PPAI/Corporate
Responsibility tabs.