Role of Stakeholders

5:　Role of stakeholders

The many people who are associated with the Company, all contributed to its overall success to a greater or lesser degree. Their contribution is important and deserving of recognition in ensuring that their rights are given due consideration. Members of this group include creditors, both government and private sectors, also subsidiary companies as well as the Company management, office staff and employees. All of these people contribute to the ultimate success of the Company.

5-1:　Employees
The Company policy is to retain staff so that optimum product quality standards can be achieved. They are well compensated by the Company for their efforts. The Company’s wage payments include the minimum wage, overtime allowance and other welfare benefits prescribed by law and are in compliance with all regal requirements. Provident fund is one of the key long-term benefit programs to employees that the Company provides to help employees to save a portion of their salary in the event of retirement, disability, sickness or unemployment. The Company has been awarded of “Labor Management Excellence Award” by Ministry of Labor of Thailand for 15 consecutive years since 2008. In summary, the Company committed to providing various welfare programs for employees in order to make them have better life, good health, support for family etc., so that it could keep the moral and motivation of employees high and retain them for longer service duration.

Summary of welfare programs provided to employees is as follows:

5-1-1: Occupational health and safety in the workplace

In addition, the Company consistently and strictly abides with the laws and regulations regarding occupational health and safety, establishes a safe working environment, promotes good health, prevents injuries and diseases caused by working, and guards against dangerous activities by the employees and related parties, such as incidents causing loss of life, property, and the production process.

In order to achieve above-mentioned objectives, the Board of Directors has established the Policy of Safety, Occupational Health and Environment as follows:

5-1-2: Safety, Occupational Health and Environmental Policy

METCO is committed to providing a safe workplace, promoting an occupational health, and improving an environmentally friendly and socially responsible production process by

    1.Comply with the safety, occupational health and environmental legislation, the requirement of prohibited hazardous substances used in products and other related requirements, legislations, and obligations.

2. Improve and develop the management system of safety, occupational health continuously by providing the necessary resources which including personnel, time, budget and an appropriate or a sufficient training to achieve occupational health and safety objectives.

3. Eliminate hazards and reduce risks by assessing work risks which cover all activities and 5S Management in the workplace to be well organized, encouraging employees to participate in survey, inspecting and fixing non-conformity issues to raise to be the standard of the company. Also, employees will be protected from punishments or unfair treatment because of reporting incidences, risks, and opportunities.

4. Promote the occupational health, safety condition of working for the prevention of work-related injury and illness by complying with the objectives, risks and opportunities of occupational health and safety management system and the organization context.

5. Protect the environment and prevent pollution by reducing the environmental impact of the operations and developing environmentally friendly production process continuously.

6. Promote the efficient use of resources, including maximizing energy conservation.
7. Promote the conservation of biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the participation of community development for providing a sustainable society.

8. Encourage the participation and consultation about occupational health, safety and environment for employees and other related parties.

To achieve the goals, top management will communicate to employees to understand and can be practiced under the slogan

“Produce quality products, Practice with safety, Promote occupational health, environmental conscious and social responsibility”.

The Company has been certified for the Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems in accordance with ISO45001:2018. As the practices based-on the above-mentioned policy and the management systems, the Company is conducting the Annual Plan of Environment and Safety Improvement including the various subjects, for instance :

(1) Making IFR and ISR in each factory lower than its lowest record in recent ten years

(2) Providing all the employees applicable with special health check focusing potential risk by 100% in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, etc.

The statistics of accident and disease in recent three years are shown in the table below. When an accident and/or a disease occurs, a report describing the circumstances is submitted to the management, and steps are taken to identify the cause and implement necessary improvements.

5-1-3: Employee training and development

The Board of Directors has established the Human Resource Development Policy. According to it, the Company offers an employee’s development program to enhance knowledge and potential of employees by continuous training, which aimed at ensuring sustainable growth.  Throughout 2022, the Company couldn’t have sufficient training for employee due to prevent for the spread of COVID-19 Related training program as follows:

In addition, the Company has developed the Career Path/Promotion Program which provides the compensation to employees beyond short-term financial measures. Through the Career Path/Promotion Program the Human Resources Department is responsible for employee development enhancing their knowledge and potential. In the Career Path/Promotion Program the HR Department sets typical career path courses in the Company, continuously assesses individual performance of employees, provides them with a package of training courses and verifies candidates for promotions. Such activities could bring benefit both to individual employee who is ambitious to his/her own development and promotion and the Company which always requires new talents.

5-2:　Human rights
The Company gives importance to basic human rights and encourages respect of such rights and liberty without discrimination of nationality, religion, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, race, physical disability, or marital status, as well as allows involvement in political activities. The Company does not allow enforced labor, child labor, and implements preventive measures against brutality, sexual abuse, and physical and mental constraints.

5-3:　Customers
The Company strives to achieve the customers’ utmost satisfaction by offering good quality and safe products and services, and pays close attention to the importance of handling customers’ or consumers’ complaints promptly. The Company strives to maintain sustainable relationship with customers.

5-4:　Business competitors
The Company has a policy of running its business with an ethical, fair and transparent manner. The Company will not violate any intellectual property or copyright of competitors, not intentionally damage any competitor’s reputation, not search for any confidential information from competitor inappropriately or not be involved in any unfair competition by dumping, persecution or deprivation influence.

5-5:　Business partners
In order to achieve the very best in raw material supply and to maintain the highest quality standards, the Company makes and keeps equable agreements with business partners ensuring their loyalty and goodwill towards the Company. The Board of Directors has established the Supplier Management Policy which clarifies the Company’s responsibilities to and fair treatment of business partners. The Company promotes, educates, and encourages awareness among business partners of the policy and its practices including selection, registration, assessment and audit of them. Under the renewed Company’s regulations, the Purchase Department has prepared new criteria for such selection, registration, assessment and audit.  The Company expects to receive goods and services in the constant way, and strives to maintain sustainable relationships with business partners.

5-6:　Creditors
The Company has a policy of doing business with any creditor in a responsible, honest and fair manner. The Company will strictly comply with terms and conditions of any agreement as well as all applicable laws and regulations. In case of any non-compliance, the Company shall notify the creditor promptly in order to find solutions jointly. The Company will always conduct its business in a sustainable way for gaining creditors’ confidence and achieve benefits for both parties.

5-7:　Community services and development
The Company considers the demands of the community, and encourages its personnel to be partners with relevant local parties near the business premises to develop education, culture, society, and be involved in improving the quality of life in the community. The Company encourages and supports employees participating voluntarily in the community’s activities for the public interest.

5-8:　Conforming to Environmental Standards

The Company has determined an explicit environmental policy and complies accordingly. The Company strives to prevent causing pollution, minimizes the possible impact due to business operations, and implements an environmentally friendly production process. The Company arranges regular energy and environmental conservation activities, to conserve and maintain the ecosystem and environment of the community and has an organizational culture among the employees and operators in the Company that emphasizes green culture and sustainable green networks. The Company is implementing the training program in order to educate employees about the environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and energy conservation, through which it encourages utilizing its resources more efficiently for a sustainable society.

5-9:　Preventing software piracy and intellectual property

Since the company realizes the importance of intellectual property and piracy, the company sets a policy on intellectual property and property as follows:

5-9-1:　The Company shall always ensure that the information is used by the Company will not infringe the intellectual property and other copyright.

5-9-2:　The Company will ensure that the Executive Directors, Executives, and employees shall comply with the laws on the intellectual property and copyright.

5-9-3:　The Company does not allow and does not support for the Executive Committee, Executives, and employees to use illegal software in the company’s business.         

5-9-4:　Any intellectual property and copyright are made from the assigned role, assigned tasks, assigned training, or assigned tutoring that the Company provides to the Executive Directors, Executives and employees will be vested in the Company.

5-9-5:　The Company shall not allow the Executive Directors, Executives, and employees to use the Company’s intellectual property and copyrights for personal purposes.

5-10:    Anti-Corruption Policy and Measures

The Board of Directors must realize the importance of anti-corruption and ensure that there is good corporate governance in terms of operating with corporate governance practices and relevant laws following to Guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Therefore, the Board of Directors has formulated an anti-corruption policy as follows:

5-10-1:　Directors, Executives, and employees must not be involved in corruption and bribery of public and private officials, such as people from different companies who transact with the company directly or indirectly to obtain or maintain a business advantage or competitive advantage or the benefit of themselves or their family, relatives, or acquaintances.

5-10-2:　Directors, Executives, and employees prohibited from accepting the gifts either directly or indirectly from the supplier, business partner and related contacts in government or private agencies.

5-10-3:　There is no system of patronage or monopoly for partisan or personal benefit.

5-10-4:　Directors, executives, and supervisors are prohibited from requesting or receiving any benefits or compensation from employees that affect performance evaluation.

5-10-5:　Purchasing/outsourcing must follow a transparent approval process and fair to all parties.

5-10-6:　The purchase / outsourcing must not be subdivision to reduce the amount of money below the approval limit.

5-10-7:　If any employee suspects any action that may be bribery or corruption Consult the supervisor directly or the following whistle-blowing channels:

– Chairman of Audit Committee: auditcommittee@metco.co.th

– Audit Committee: auditcommittee@metco.co.th

– Chairman of Executive Board: whistleblow@metco.co.th

– Vice Chairman of Executive Board: whistleblow@metco.co.th

– Internal Auditor: internalaudit@metco.co.th

– Red boxes for clues in each factory

Please specify your first name, last name, address, email, and contact phone number.

5-10-8:　The Company will keep the name, address, or any other information of the whistleblower confidential, and will limited to only those involved in the investigation to have access to the information.

5-10-9:　If Directors, Executives, and employees are corrupt will be terminated and punished with the highest disciplinary punishment and operate according to the law.

5-10-10:　Direct supervisors who ignore any wrongdoing or recognizes but does not act according to the policy will be terminated and punished the highest disciplinary punishment.

5-10-11:　Ignoring this policy and/or related laws will not be an excuse for non-compliance.

5-10-12:　The Internal Audit will always review the internal control system and processes to ensure that internal control systems is effectively against corruption and bribery.

5-10-13:　In case of complaints, Good Corporate Governance Committee will appoint a sub-committee to consider and investigate facts.

5-10-14:　The company must provide employees with knowledge and understanding of these anti-corruption policies and preventive measures.

Risk assessment from corruption

The Risk Management Committee assessed fraud risks as an experiment based on “Guidelines for Anti-Corruption Risk Assessment” published by the United Nations Global Compact using the form “Corruption Risk Assessment Table”, Appendix 1 of self-assessment tool for the Anti-Bribery. Thailand’s Private Sector Collective Action Coalition Against Corruption the Board reports the results to the Board of Directors as part of the annual report on risk management (see summary in “Risk Factors and Risk Management” in this annual report). Annual fraud risk assessment along with practical anti-corruption measures, The company did not find any issues related to corruption.

Training and Communication

The company provides educational programs for all employees, such as attending an orientation for new employees and participation in a foundation program for existing employees. These anti-corruption training covers the company’s anti-corruption policy and related policies. Including the Company’s Code of Conduct including a practical manual for the whistleblowing channels specified in the company. The company’s employees have been trained at a rate of 100 percent.

5-11:　Whistleblowing and Complaints

The Company has a policy to support and encourage employees and stakeholders to file complaints against the Company for any illegal, unethical, or unethical conduct. including corruption as well as any behavior that is against the code of conduct and business ethics which is done by a director, executive or any employee of the Company Employees and stakeholders may provide information, comments, concerns, reports, recommendations, and complaints regarding such issues to the Board of Directors through the following channels:

For employee:

1. The head of the employee’s unit
2. Chief and Audit Committee Member: auditcommittee@metco.co.th
3. Chairman of the Company, Vice President of the Company and Director: whistleblow@metco.co.th
4. Head of Internal Audit: internalaudit@metco.co.th
5. Workplace comment box

For stakeholders:

1. Email: whistleblow@metco.co.th

2. Website: www.metco.co.th

Complaint Handling Process

The Company’s secretary will collect and send complaints to the Audit Committee or the Board of Directors as relevant. The Company has a policy and mechanism for keeping such complaints confidential. Protect honest complainants from being fired, demoted, intimidated, harassed, or any other unfair act against employees and will reply to such person as appropriate In 2022, the Board of Directors did not receive any complaints through whistleblowing.