SOCIAL SUSTA INABILITY
rights. A start has been made in 2004 on the develop
ment of a training programme to enable employees to
operationalise human rights within the organisation.
In fulfilling its responsibilities regarding the socio
economic rights of employees, Heineken has priori
tised six issues which are discussed below.
Employee representation
To help them make an active contribution to the
development of the business, virtually all Heineken
employees are kept informed on a systematic basis of
developments within their companies. In the majority
of our companies, it is a rule that employees must be
consulted when changes are made to the organisa
tion. More than half of our companies have com
plaints procedures.
Employee information in percentage of workforce
Yes No
Employees are informed about
developments within their company 100 0
Employees are consulted
on developments 63 37
Employee satisfaction is measured
on a systematic basis 51 49
Employee privacy is guaranteed 85 15
Internal complaints procedure exists
(at operating company level) 60 40
Diversity
Appointments and promotions are decided on the
basis of the candidate's education and training,
personality, expertise and skills and his or her reason
able demands. Heineken bases decisions in personnel
matters solely on objective criteria. Within reason
able limits, Heineken respects the personal beliefs
and convictions of existing and future employees.
Diversity within our organisation, in terms of na
tionality, gender, ethnicity and educational standard,
is crucial if we are to retain our position as one of the
world's leading brewers. We take the view that diver
sity in leadership enables the company to view its
operations from different angles, which will ultimate
ly help us to steer our business towards a future
which is more than a repetition of the past.
Reflecting Heineken's global presence, our work
force consists of a unique mix of nationalities. To
promote the development of leadership skills, 285
employees were sent on temporary assignment to
countries outside their country of origin in 2003.
The male/female ratio is 82/18 in our workforce as
a whole and 87/13 at senior management level.
Although these figures are good compared with
those for other industrial enterprises, there is still
much room for improvement.
Sexual harassment
Heineken promotes representation of employees by
works councils and trade unions. Heineken guaran
tees the freedom of labour to organise and gives
employees the right to be recognised via trade unions
as partners in negotiations on terms of employment.
The extent to which employees exercise that right
varies significantly from region to region, reflecting
local circumstances, traditions and cultures.
Percentage of employees who are members
of trade unions
Europe 40
Africa/Middle East 37
The Americas 60
Asia/Pacific 13
Average 38
Sexual harassment can be harmful to employees'
physical and/or mental integrity and, to guarantee a
safe working environment, we protect employees
against such abuse. Operating companies in the
Netherlands, Egypt, Slovakia, Ireland, the United
States and elsewhere have taken measures to protect
their employees and specific procedures have been
set up in some operating companies to provide active
protection for employees who are particularly vulner
able to sexual harassment. Many operating compa
nies operate a complaints procedure designed specif
ically for complaints concerning sexual harassment,
supplemented by procedures which ensure that any
complaints are dealt with transparently.
Although the information currently available to us
indicates that sexual harassment has not caused
problems within Heineken so far, we are continuing to
monitor this issue closely and are working to formu-
TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
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