Governance and Responsibility

Employees

Human capital investment is a key strategy for the group to ensure it attracts and retains competent staff to achieve business plan objectives.

The industrial relations structures of all group companies are well developed to promote effective employee relations and identify and resolve areas of potential conflict.

Initiatives implemented throughout the group are:

  • Specific training and development programmes
  • Effective employee relations
  • Professional recruitment and selection processes
  • Internal promotions
  • Market-related remuneration
  • Open communication channels
  • Building strong relationships with employee representative bodies
  • Employee assistance programmes.
  • All our companies prohibit child-, forced- or compulsory labour. All employees join the companies on a voluntary basis, and enter into open-ended, fixed-duration or temporary contracts in accordance with applicable legislation.
Employee participation

The group has its operating decisions made at the appropriate levels of its diverse business. Participative management lies at the heart of this strategy, which relies on the building of employee partnerships at every level to foster mutual trust and to encourage people to always think about how they can improve themselves and their operations. The group strives to liberate the initiative and energies of its people, because they are the ones who make the difference to the performance of the group.

Employee well-being

As part of an ongoing commitment to improve employee well-being, initiatives are maintained and re-evaluated to ensure that employees’ development and socio-economic needs are addressed. These efforts continue to be an integral part of the KAP business philosophy, and extend beyond compliance with applicable labour legislation and the creation of a stimulating and meaningful work environment include.

Divisional highlights:

  • Hosaf Cape Town has placed a number of employees at the Textile School of Technology at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and bursaries are made available to children of employees (three bursaries were granted to learners to study at University). It is in the process of supporting and developing one of its employees to start a small business enterprise to collect PET Bottles for recycling, and has a well-equipped health centre that provides employees with a good measure of primary health care and AIDS education. In addition the occupational nurse in conjunction with the health and safety committee ensures that the company complies with all health and safety legislation.
  • Hosaf Durban has an established clinic offering AIDS education, AIDS awareness and AIDS testing programmes, as well as full eye testing. Monthly health education and small group discussions are in place with a HIV/AIDS voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) programme in progress.

  • Glodina has Training and development as an integral part of its social responsibility programme, with learnership training programmes offered to the local unemployed matriculated members of the community who are unable to access tertiary education and have little hope of employment.
  • They also offer apprenticeship training targeted at learners and production employees who have displayed potential, technologist training targeted at both internal and external incumbents with good matric results in Maths and Science, and supervisory development targeted at employees who have the requisite potential. In addition to this, all shop floor employees attend in-house training concerning their welfare and to educate them on keeping up the ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards.
  • An established on-site clinic has the services of a full-time sister and an attending doctor once a week, offering primary health care, limited chronic medication, entry and exit medicals as well as occupational health and safety testing.
  • SABS have selected Glodina to pilot the implementation of SANS 16001 (HIV/AIDS Management System)and if successful in achieving the implementation it will be the first company in the world to receive this accreditation.

  • Jordan & Co have a policy of active participation at all levels of the National Bargaining Council for the Leather Industry, with management holding senior positions on the management bodies of the council where standards of conditions of service including provident, sick fund, insurance and housing arrangements are decided upon. This contributes not only to the well-being of Jordan & Co employees but also employees in the industry in general.
  • A drive to raise awareness of HIV in the workplace resulted in 85% of the workforce being tested for HIV during 2008 - the “know your status” campaign will be revisited every year.
  • Training programmes for equity candidates include 7 management trainees, 70 IT trainees and 60 seta-funded learners for the 2007/8 year. Formal studies in addition to the on-the-job training programme provides employees with considerable footwear related skills which are proving invaluable not only to the company but to the retail industry as a whole.

  • Bull Brand Foods, Krugersdorp, have enrolled employees and unemployed individuals on learnership programmes. The unemployed learners are offered service contracts at least for the duration of the learnership, with prospects of full employment thereafter.
  • An agreement was reached with the trade union to set up a trust to which employees will contribute on an annual basis, which will be used to combat HIV/AIDS. The trust and the AIDS Awareness Programme will be managed jointly by management and worker representatives.
  • Mossop offers its employees official qualifications in leather manufacturing by sponsoring their studies at the International School of Tanning Technology, offers bursaries at other institutions and conducts in-service training for all employees. Junior managers attended a Supervisory Development Programme at the Business Studies Unit (Durban University of Technology), as part of ongoing talent development within the organisation.
  • It provides financial assistance to employees’ sport and recreation clubs and provides assistance with their children’s education.
  • The Industrial Footwear division considers that addressing issues of health is of paramount importance and has an established on-site clinic that offers HIV/AIDS awareness, education and VCT programmes.