Initiatives Related to the Protection and Respect of Human Rights
Basic Concept of Personnel Management
Our employees are important assets, whom we accordingly treat fairly and with respect. We also support our employees' diverse lifestyles and individual development and are committed to growing together with them. Meanwhile, guided by our Basic Concept of Personnel Management established in September 2000, we pursue a wide range of human resource initiatives to protect these valuable assets and increase their value, including proactive support for human resource development with consideration for fairness and soundness.
Advantest's human resources basic philosophy
At Advantest, we consider our employees to be indispensable business assets. We have established the following philosophy that underpins our personnel-related policies, and we are constantly working towards the achievement of this philosophy.
- Focusing on results
We promote a human resources system that highly regards and fairly handles employees that exhibit a can-do spirit with which they overcome challenges and achieve outstanding results. - Taking into consideration fairness and soundness
We take constant care to ensure that all of our policies and systems are extremely objective, fair, and sound so that we can achieve the biggest and best results with our employees as a result. - Pro-actively supporting human resources development
We actively support personnel that face self-development through persistent hard work in order to acquire advanced specialist knowledge and a broader education.
Reporting and consultation framework for human rights issues
We have set up a system to address human rights issues and concerns not readily resolvable in the workplace, designed so that those facing such issues draw on the support of our Corporate Ethics Committee and Corporate Ethics Helpline, and are able to report such matters to our Corporate Ethics Office and seek their advice. The helpline can also be accessed from outside of Japan.
We strive to create a stress-free work environment where all employees respect one another’s human rights.
Human rights education
Creating workplaces that respect human rights
The ADVANTEST Way and The Code of Conduct pledge that we will respect human rights without discriminating on the basis of age, gender, nationality, religion or other factors.
In addition, since April 2006 we have included training on human rights themes such as sexual and power harassment prevention in new employee training and new manager training.
In fiscal 2008, The Code of Conduct was revised to The ADVANTEST Way and The Code of Conduct to reflect these themes. As of fiscal 2012, training has been provided on these themes to approximately 210 new employees and approximately 100 new managers. We plan to continue providing education on these themes in the future.
Harassment prevention
To prevent sexual harassment and power harassment, in July 1999, we created a manual and placed it on the intranet for easy reference.
The key points are as follows.
- Definition of sexual and power harassment
- Sexual and power harassment in the workplace
- Impact of sexual and power harassment
- Sexual and power harassment prevention measures
We are working to devise methods for self-check that can be conducted in response to the issues above.
Employment of people with disabilities
Advantest Green Corporation (AGC) was established in September 2004 as a special subsidiary of Advantest for the purpose of promoting the employment of people with disabilities. Since then, AGC has been striving to offer job opportunities for and continuous employment of people with disabilities under the slogan, "Support employee independence and achieve social growth in partnership with the local community." These employees primarily engage in activities that provide a comfortable workplace environment for customers, such as landscaping, cleaning, reception duties, selling bread, deliveries, and the management of dormitories. Advantest also actively takes part in various activities in partnership with local communities and relevant organizations to create workplaces where all employees, regardless of their disability status, can work comfortably.
In line with our aim of attracting more employees with disabilities, we took steps throughout fiscal 2012 to make the workplace environment more conducive to their needs such as by standardizing work procedures, introducing equipment replenishment systems, and other such initiatives to streamline tasks. Meanwhile in this regard, we have also been reviewing the prospect of developing new job categories, bringing vocational trainees on board, holding on-site workshops, and otherwise pursuing initiatives linked to sourcing new recruits.
Advantest Group employment rate of people with disabilities (Japan)
A working employee
- We maintain a 2.0% or higher rate of employment of people with disabilities at the Advantest Group (Japan), and improve working environments by upgrading manuals and introducing equipment replenishment methods so that employees with disabilities can work more efficiently.
- We remain involved in social contribution activities such as workplace internships and company visits, geared toward needs of local communities.
During fiscal 2012, we hired one new employee with disability, and are continuing to pursue recruitment efforts targeting this segment of the workforce. Moreover, we actively connected with our local communities, honoring many requests for our support in the form of workplace internships, company visits, visiting lecturers and other such activities. Specific activities we participated in are as follows.
Activities geared toward local communities
Visiting lecturer with disability
addresses an audience
- Provided vocational opportunities to 26 trainees from local special needs schools
- Organized ten company tours for outside organizations
- Dispatched visiting lecturers on 15 occasions
- Conducted cleanup activities around our business sites on six occasions
- Took part in an event organized by local special needs school
Recognition from outside organizations
Recipients of Exemplary
Disabled Worker Awards
- Made presentation on case study on our employee development efforts and adoption of Social Skills Training (SST), at the 20th Research Meeting on Vocational Rehabilitation
- Two employees received Exemplary Disabled Worker Awards from the Saitama Employment Development Association
Relationship with labor unions
Labor unions currently representing our employees include company union JEIU in which over 97% of our labor union membership is enrolled, as well as industrial union JMIU. Advantest conducts labor negotiations in good faith with each of these labor unions.
Considering human rights throughout the supply chain
In order to fulfill our social responsibility and that of our suppliers throughout the supply chain, the Advantest Procurement Policy is disclosed on our website and suppliers are requested to comply with the relevant laws, regulations, and social codes to ensure that human rights are considered across supply channels. In addition, we conduct questionnaires with our major suppliers each year so that we can better understand current realities. For fiscal 2012, a questionnaire was conducted in March 2013, with responses from suppliers indicating that human rights and labor issues were included in company policies and codes of conduct as a form of corporate social responsibility. We plan to conduct a similar questionnaire in fiscal 2013 to confirm the response of suppliers to the Advantest Procurement Policy.
The "Advantest Supply-Chain CSR Development Guidebook" prohibits the act of providing inappropriate benefits, and furthermore in that regard all of Advantest's business partners have concluded a "Memorandum of Understanding on Rejection of Antisocial Forces."
We have scheduled annual reviews into the use and non-use of conflict minerals in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established in the U.S., and intend to disclose findings of such review in May of the following year.
