Employee Relations Policy En

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Policy

Mandatory

September 2010

The Nestl EmployeeRelations Policy


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Policy

Mandatory

September 2010

Issuing Function

Business Principles, Compliance and Employee Relations

Author/issuing department

Corporate Human Resources

Target audience

All employees

Repository

All Nestl Principles and Policies, Standards and

Guidelines can be ound in the Centre online repository at:

http://intranet.nestle.com/nestledocs

Approver

Jean-Marc Duvoisin, Deputy Executive Vice President

Date of publication

September 2010

Copyright and condentiality

The content o this document may not be reproduced, distributed

or disclosed to third parties without proper authorization. All rights

belong to Nestec Ltd., Vevey, Switzerland.

2010, Nestec Ltd.

DesignNestec Ltd., Corporate Identity & Design,

Vevey, Switzerland

ProductionAltavia Swiss

Paper

This report is printed on BVS, a paper produced

rom well-managed orests and other controlled sources

certifed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Climate neutralprinted

Certificate number:758-53385-0710-1010www.climatepartner.com

Mixed Sources

Product group from well-managedforests and other controlled sources

www.fsc.org Cert no. HCA-COC-1 00028

1996 Forest Stewardship Council


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Nestl is committed to promoting a greater know-

ledge and understanding as well as an integral

implementation o its Corporate Business Prin-

ciples as the basis or being trusted by employeesand stakeholders.

The Company complies with the laws

applicable in the countries in which it operates

and adheres to the eight undamental Conventions

o the International Labour Organization (ILO),

the Organisation or Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD) Guidelines or Multinational

Enterprises, the United Nations Global Compact

and the ILO Declaration on Multinational

Enterprises and Social Policy.

Thereore, the Company promotes relevant

international initiatives in view o continuously

improving working conditions.

1. Introduction

V

2. A company trusted by its employeesand stakeholders

Since its ounding, Nestl has built a culture

based on the values o trust, mutual respect

and dialogue. Nestl management and employees

all over the world work daily to create andmaintain positive individual and collective

relationships, and are expected to do so as a

core part o their job.

To oster this culture as a competitive

advantage, the Nestl Employee Relations Policy

provides a rame o reerence or the collective

relationships with trade unions and other

employee representatives based on the human

rights and labour practices chapter o the

Nestl Corporate Business Principles and on

the Human Resources Policy.

This Policy reinorces Nestls commitment to

long-term business development through an open

dialogue with its employees and external stakehol-

ders in line with its Creating Shared Value concept.The Employee Relations policy not only requires

strict compliance with the law, but it guides our

actions even i the law is more lenient or where

there is no applicable law at all.

The present Policy replaces the Nestl Industrial

Relations Policy issued in 2000.

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Nestl strives or proactive and continuous

improvement o its relationships with internal

and external labour stakeholders. The Company

accomplishes this approach through organizedstructures within the Human Resources depart-

ment at Corporate and local levels and ocuses

on the implementation o the ollowing strategic

areas:

Compliance with the social aspects o our

Corporate Business Principles, relevant inter-

national labour commitments and this Policy.

Promotion o the Nestl Corporate BusinessPrinciples, the Nestl Management and

Leadership Principles and the Nestl Code o

Business Conduct.

Enhancement o collective dialogue and

negotiations with employee unions and other

representatives associations.

Development and upholding o an open

dialogue with external stakeholders on labour

matters.

The implementation o the Policy is a joint eort

on two levels: at Corporate level to set direction

and to give guidance to local operations to live

up to this ramework; and at local level to take all

necessary actions to implement the Policy.

Local management must ensure collaboration

and consistency between all Nestl Businesses

in the country as well as to enorce Nestl group

principles, policies and standards.

Employee relations remain a clear responsibility

o the local management. Thereore, they will be

handled at the appropriate level: frst at site level

(actories, warehouse, etc.) and subsequently at

national level, according to law and practices.

Our commitment to long-term collective rela-

tionships with our employees is guided by the

implementation o a set o Principles which have

governed our Company since its oundation. We

will thereore continually seek to improve our

employees knowledge, understanding and enga-

gement with our Corporate Business Principles.

Worldwide our Corporate Business Principles

are available in the local language o each

location in which we operate and are explained to

employees as efciently as possible.

I

3. A proactive and ocused approach

4. Corporate culture

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Our operations in each country shall take all

necessary steps and put mechanisms in place

in order to ensure compliance o its employees

with the Nestl Corporate Business Principles, the

Nestl Code o Business Conduct and this Policy.

One important tool is the Nestl CARE

programme which verifes, through independent

auditors, that Nestl operations comply with this

Policy and the social and environmental aspects

o the Nestl Corporate Business Principles and o

local legislation.

According to the Nestl Code o Business

Conduct, all employees shall report cases o

non-compliance with the Code, which have to be

properly investigated. Local management shall

provide the procedures and establish mechanisms

to manage the complaints that may be made,

where appropriate, on a confdential basis.

Nestl prohibits retaliation against any

employee or employee representatives or the

exercise o the right to complain within the

respective national or local legal ramework.

6. Compliance

Nestl promotes a continuous improvement o the

working conditions, giving special attention to the

ollowing Corporate labour priorities:

Respect the right o our employees to establish

and join organizations o their own choosing

and engage in constructive negotiations.

Oer competitive wages and benefts that allowour employees to cover their needs according

to local standards o living.

Respect Corporate guidelines regarding

temporary employees based on which

temporary sta shall only be used in

circumstances where it is justifed by the

temporary nature o the job and will not result

in unjustifable dierences in employment

conditions.

Respect Corporate guidelines regarding

outsourced activities which indicate that

only those activities which are non-core to

the business may be outsourced and that the

people perorming them will be treated airly at

all times.

Implement the Corporate guidelines regarding

working time or our employees to assure a

sae and healthy workplace and a working

environment respectul o their amily lives.

Treat every employee with dignity and without

any tolerance or discrimination, harassment or

abuse.

5. Corporate labour priorities

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We ensure that direct and requent communi-

cation is established at the workplace between

management and our employees, both union

members and non-union members. While dia-logue with trade unions is essential, it does not

replace the close relationship that our manage-

ment shall maintain with our employees.

Regular dialogue with our employees and

union representatives creates an opportunity to

discuss matters o mutual concern and allows

our employees to acquire a ull understanding o

the business activities and the objectives o the

Company.

In the spirit o continuous improvement, we

encourage dialogue with our employees that

goes beyond the traditional aspects o collective

bargaining in order to share knowledge and to

fnd jointly opportunities related to other important

matters such as the health and saety at the

workplace and our concern or the environment.

Nestl avours a policy o long-term

employment. In the case that the closure or

alienation o a Nestl operation is necessary, it

will be handled with ull respect to applicablelegislation and our Corporate Business

Principles. In such cases, employees and their

representatives shall be inormed within a

reasonable timerame and a social plan will be

elaborated, taking into account the legitimate

rights and interests o all concerned.

Nestl upholds the reedom o association o its

employees and the eective recognition o the

right to collectively bargain.

When collective negotiations take place, they will:

be established within the legal ramework o

each country;

be air and constructive, based on the principle

o good aith and an open exchange o

inormation;

relate to relevant working conditions such

as wages, benefts and the exercise o union

activities;

ocus on meeting common interests to improve

urther our competitive advantage such as the

workplace environment.

The Company and employee representatives are

expected to make all necessary eorts to develop

air and constructive negotiations, overcome the

difculties that they might encounter, reach sus-

tainable agreements and implement them.

7. Collective dialogue

V

8. Collective negotiations

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Nestl continuously seeks areas o dialogue, dis-

cussion and mutual understanding at all levels

o its operations. This includes communities and

authorities as well as local and international stake-holders representing employees and unions such

as the International Union o Food Workers (IUF)

and the Nestl European Council or Inormation

and Consultation (NECIC). In doing so, we enrich

our knowledge o social realities, we share our

vision and eorts or sustainable growth, and we

constantly aim to fnd opportunities to improve

our practices.

At local level there should be a sustained eort

to reach out to external experts such as the local

ILO ofce, OECD National Contact Point, employer

organizations, business associations, etc., in order

to be inormed about relevant market trends and

exchange views on labour-related issues.

9. External open social dialogue

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Documents

Employee Relations Policy En