Praxis addresses labor recruitment fees in the electronics industry

Shareholder advocacy |

Companies commended, asked for transparency

Praxis Mutual Funds® and other Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) members have worked with the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) to improve the labor conditions and environmental impacts of the electronics industry since the RBA was formed in 2004. For the past few years, attention has primarily focused on ethical labor recruitment, including a prohibition of worker-paid fees.

Guiding principles on forced labor – including worker recruitment fees – are well-established. However, solutions are fragmented across industries and geographies and only address certain aspects or specific points in a worker’s journey. Last June, the RBA launched the Responsible Labor Initiative that is a multi-sector, multi-stakeholder initiative to transform the recruitment system where employers assume their responsibility to pay for recruitment.

Praxis joined ICCR in sending investor letters to 11 leading electronics companies behind the Responsible Labor Initiative that commends them for their leadership and urges them to be more transparent about their implementation strategies. The companies receiving letters include Apple, Intel, and Microsoft, among others.

Chris Meyer, Stewardship Investing Research and Advocacy Manager | Praxis Mutual Funds

Author

Chris Meyer
Manager of Stewardship Investing Advocacy and Research

Disclosure

As of Dec. 31 2017, the Praxis Growth Index Fund has invested 7.46 percent of its assets in Apple Inc., 1.1 percent of its assets in Intel Corp.; 5.7 percent of its assets in Microsoft Corp.; the Praxis Value Index Fund has invested 0.14 percent of its assets in Apple Inc., 0.99 percent of its assets in Intel Corp.; 0.14 percent of its assets in Microsoft; and the Praxis Impact Bond Fund has invested 0.43 percent of its assets in Apple Inc., 0.27 percent of its assets in Intel Corp.; 0.34 percent of its assets in Microsoft. Fund holdings are subject to change. To obtain holdings as of the most previous quarter, visit praxismutualfunds.com.