Ganapati responsible recruitment project

Why this project is needed

There are currently around 29.3 million people living in modern slavery in Asia and the Pacific. Human rights issues in migrant worker recruitment and employment are especially relevant in this region. And as new relevant legislation is introduced, companies and suppliers can be left unsure how to comply.

About the project

The Ganapati Responsible Recruitment Project is a practical, collaborative and consultative initiative to help address these issues. It provides handholding capability building for 18 suppliers to nine member companies that have direct and immediate impact on migrant workers in Thailand and Malaysia. APAC Hub member companies –Unilever, Nestlé, The Hershey Company, Reckitt, Mars, The Coca-Cola Company , and PepsiCo run the project in partnership with Embode, an Asian human rights consultancy.

The initiative gives supplier companies a voice so that they can share their ideas on responsible recruitment. This partnership-based approach is a move away from the traditional paradigm of issuing generic audit-based action plans. Doing this means unique challenges and problems can be taken into account.

There are three main phases to the project:

1. A gap analysis with suppliers using a comprehensive, region-specific responsible recruitment framework that includes contracting standards, recruitment fees and costs, post-arrival orientation, grievance mechanism and remediation and freedom of movement
2. A collaboratively design action plan tailored to each suppliers needs
3. Support to implement their action plan through targeted training, consultation, advice on implementing responsible and ethical practices and input on policy and procedure implementation
4. A second assessment is done at the end of the engagement to provide ongoing recommendations for each supplier

Goals and objectives

• Develop the “Ganapati Framework” providing outcomes, indicators and means of verification for ten themes of responsible recruitment.
• Conduct a rapid assessment of the recruitment practices of 18 suppliers using the Ganapati Framework and create time-bound action plans for each supplier
• Provide training, support and consultancy for suppliers to improve the outcomes of their recruitment processes for workers
• Monitor and assess suppliers to determine effectiveness and whether they have fulfilled their targets.